Ancient Kemet was a stable, conservative society with a well developed class system and people were treated according to their standing, with blatant inequalities deeply ingrained in tradition. But tradition also set limits to the amount of work one could reasonably expect from one's workers and if the work quotas were seen as exaggerated (for whatever reason), it caused resentment and resistance.

Servants and subordinates enjoyed a certain measure of protection from abuse. According to an ostracon an official investigation was held at Deir el Medine against a workman accused of having abused a maidservant. Cases of sexual harassment in ancient times are known, though only from fiction. In real life the down-trodden had rarely the opportunity to leave enduring testimony of their misery. Above all female servants and slaves must at times have had a hard time.

Many of the servants employed in wealthy households were slaves, but a large number of servants were free. This meant that they had the right to leave their employer any time. Servants had many roles to play within Kemets society. A person’s position in society depended on what he or she did for a living. Marriage and offspring were always considered desirable, but in some societies wives were simply domestic servants and offspring acquired importance only when they grew up. Undoubtedly there were a number of very strong willed women who disregarded custom and ruled their families with the sheer force of their personalities, but they were the exception.

Those who could afford it had servants and slaves to do the actual work, but the 'mistress of the house' would still be expected to supervise and to see that everything was done properly. The nobles of ancient Egypt filled their tombs with statues of their servants to work for them in the hereafter. The servants would work in place of the nobles so the nobles could enjoy the afterlife. The tomb of Niankh-Pepi, found at Meir, contained a large number of statues depicting male and female servants carrying out various tasks, such as preparing flour, baking bread, roasting fowls, or brewing beer. The most unique of these statues is the one depicting the servant who is carrying his master's bags.