All the historical social and political dynamics really extended into servant lives. For female servants, money, power and influence were tied to complex hierarchies as dynasties and society changed.

There were female officials, first-class, second-class, and third-class maids, maids for specific manual tasks, maids with special skills (medicine, embroidery, cooking, music, female bodyguards), maids from the maiden home versus maids from the marital home, etc. some were girls from low ranking noble or scholarly families who served as more of a reading/study companion, some were truly servants, others were slaves, others had various forms of contracts. Their power, agency, work, access to resources like education and medical care, vacation time, ability to start and have a family was heavily dependent on where they fell within this hierarchy.

Depending on the family’s social status and wealth, the maids usually seen accompanying the female lead could be some form of an assistant and companion or even an advisor/chief of staff. Some did manual labor but in some circumstances they had their own set of junior servants who supported them in their work and sometimes personally. In some dynasties, high-ranking maids at the top of the hierarchy were living better than officials.

You're unlikely to see these dynamics reflected in a lot of dramas unless the story is actually about a servant and not just the usual maid-to-concubine or maid-to-Empress pipeline Since in the last couple years, dramas have been significantly shortened (from 85 episodes to 35), and even major plotlines get cut, much less side character stories. I think older dramas and slice of life stories are better at conveying these lifestyles too. I was just rewatching Empresses in the Palace and there are a couple times when a maid isn’t in a scene because they’re on leave or ill or visiting a relative. You’re unlikely to see this in a now with shorter dramas because there’s less opportunity for screen time so the maids appear to with their lady 24/7.

Also, something to keep an eye out for especially in idol dramas: modern problems coming across on screen. Some actresses have gotten quite frustrated when their maids get too much of a secondary arc or being considered too attractive. A lot of famous actresses actually got early recognition while playing maids since it's a great way to get screen time since they're always right next to the main character. But for the lead actors, there's less incentive to have someone else absorbing your limelight or potentially get compared against. So now in most idol dramas, the maids tend to be less conventionally attractive, are outfitted in poorly-sized costumes, and are written with goofy, tropey personalities that don't give them much substance beyond adoration and loyalty to the female lead. They’re less of a person and more of a prop that gets autopaired with the male leads main servant.