Invisible labor
{{Short description|Unseen and undervalued work}}
File:Laundry-Lady-in-Mai-Chau,-Vietnam.jpg
Invisible labor is a philosophical, sociological, and economic concept applying to work that is unseen, unvalued or undervalued, and often discounted as not important, despite its essential role in supporting the functioning of workplaces, families, teams, and organizations.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-16 |title=Invisible Labor, Invisible Hands |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/invisible-labor-invisible-hands/ |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books|last=Anderson|first=Emily Hodgson}} The term was coined by Arlene Kaplan Daniels in the 1980s.{{Cite journal |last=Hatton |first=Erin |date=April 2017 |title=Mechanisms of invisibility: rethinking the concept of invisible work |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017016674894 |journal=Work, Employment and Society |language=en |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=336–351 |doi=10.1177/0950017016674894 |issn=0950-0170|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Daniels |first=Arlene Kaplan |date=December 1987 |title=Invisible Work |url=https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-lookup/doi/10.2307/800538 |journal=Social Problems |volume=34 |issue=5 |pages=403–415 |doi=10.2307/800538|url-access=subscription }}
The term has been applied to academics,{{Cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Hava Rachel |last2=Willink |first2=Kate |last3=Hunter |first3=Keeley |date=June 2024 |title=Invisible labor and the associate professor: Identity and workload inequity. |url=https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/dhe0000414 |journal=Journal of Diversity in Higher Education |language=en |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=285–296 |doi=10.1037/dhe0000414 |issn=1938-8934|url-access=subscription }} scientists,{{Cite book |title=Invisible labour in modern science |date=2022 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-5995-8 |editor-last=Bangham |editor-first=Jenny |series=Global epistemics |location=Lanham Boulder New York London |editor-last2=Chacko |editor-first2=Xan |editor-last3=Kaplan |editor-first3=Judith}} interpreters,{{Cite journal |last=Kunreuther |first=Laura |last2=Rao |first2=Sonya |date=2023-10-23 |title=The Invisible Labor and Ethics of Interpreting |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-anthro-052721-091752 |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |language=en |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=239–256 |doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-052721-091752 |issn=0084-6570|doi-access=free }} wait staff,{{Cite book |last=Crain |first=Marion G. |title=Invisible labor: hidden work in the contemporary world |last2=Poster |first2=Winifred Rebecca |last3=Cherry |first3=Miriam A. |date=2016 |publisher=University of California press |isbn=978-0-520-28640-5 |location=Oakland (Calif.)}} secretaries,{{Cite journal |last=Wichroski |first=Mary |date=March 1994 |title=The Secretary: Invisible Labor in the Workworld of Women |url=https://meridian.allenpress.com/human-organization/article/53/1/33/72501/The-Secretary-Invisible-Labor-in-the-Workworld-of |journal=Human Organization |language=en |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=33–41 |doi=10.17730/humo.53.1.a1205g53j7334631 |issn=0018-7259|url-access=subscription }} and women in the household,{{Cite journal |last=Ciciolla |first=Lucia |last2=Luthar |first2=Suniya S. |date=October 2019 |title=Invisible Household Labor and Ramifications for Adjustment: Mothers as Captains of Households |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11199-018-1001-x |journal=Sex Roles |language=en |volume=81 |issue=7-8 |pages=467–486 |doi=10.1007/s11199-018-1001-x |issn=0360-0025 |pmc=8223758 |pmid=34177072}} who bear most of the invisible labor in terms of cleaning, planning, and organizing.{{Cite journal |last=Kaplan |first=Amit |date=December 2022 |title="Just Let it Pass by and it Will Fall on Some Woman": Invisible Work in the Labor Market |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08912432221128544 |journal=Gender & Society |language=en |volume=36 |issue=6 |pages=838–868 |doi=10.1177/08912432221128544 |issn=0891-2432|doi-access=free }} Even when women are equally employed, they still are responsible for the majority of invisible labor, including cognitive labor.{{Cite web |last=Piñon |first=Natasha |date=2020-09-11 |title=Invisible labor is real, and it hurts: What you need to know |url=https://mashable.com/article/what-is-invisible-labor |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=Mashable |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Daminger |first=Allison |date=August 2019 |title=The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labor |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122419859007 |journal=American Sociological Review |language=en |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=609–633 |doi=10.1177/0003122419859007 |issn=0003-1224|url-access=subscription }}
Invisible labor has a toll on the mental, physical, and psychological well-being of those who perform it,{{Cite web |last=D’Ardenne |first=Kimberlee |title=Invisible labor can negatively impact well-being in mothers|url=https://news.asu.edu/20190122-discoveries-asu-study-invisible-labor-can-negatively-impact-well-being-mothers |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=ASU News |language=en}} and it reflects ongoing power dynamics and gender imbalances between those whose work 'counts' and those whose work remains 'unseen.'{{Cite web |last=Kalita |first=S. Mitra |date=2023-09-26 |title=How to End the Unfairness of Invisible Work |url=https://time.com/charter/6317237/how-to-end-the-unfairness-of-invisible-work/ |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=Time |language=en}}{{Cite interview |title=5 Things to Know About Invisible Labor|last=Rodsky|first=Eve |url=https://www.optum.com/en/health-articles.html/healthy-living/5-things-know-about-invisible-labor |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=Optum |language=en}} Invisible labor also falls disproportionately on marginalized groups as a factor of race or other identity characteristics,{{Cite web |last=Flaherty |first=Colleen |title=Undue Burden |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/04/whos-doing-heavy-lifting-terms-diversity-and-inclusion-work |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Inside Higher Ed |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last= |first= |date=2017 |title=The Burden of Invisible Work in Academia: Social Inequalities and Time Use in Five University Departments |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/90007882 |journal=Humboldt Journal of Social Relations |volume=39 |pages=228–245 |issn=0160-4341}} to the point it has been referred to as "cultural taxation."{{Cite web |last=Brahm |first=Nikki |date=2023-04-18 |title=Invisible Labor |url=https://www.insightintodiversity.com/invisible-labor/ |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=Insight Into Diversity |language=en-US}}
Strategies for addressing invisible labor include acknowledgement and increasing visibility, distributing tasks more equally, implementing policies that recognize or reduce such work, challenging disparate gender and racial roles, and assigning economic value to unpaid labor.{{Cite web |title=What 'Invisible Work' Looks Like in the 21st Century {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/our-invisible-work/202406/what-invisible-work-looks-like-in-the-21st-century |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Work: Stronger Policies to Support Gender Equality |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/10/15/Reducing-and-Redistributing-Unpaid-Work-Stronger-Policies-to-Support-Gender-Equality-48688 |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=IMF |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Jeffrey |title=Breaking Gender Stereotypes: Encouraging Participation in Non-Traditional Roles |url=https://www.inclusionhub.com/articles/breaking-gender-stereotypes-encouraging-participation-in-non-traditional-roles |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=www.inclusionhub.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-07-28 |title=Gender equality and inclusive growth: Economic policies to achieve sustainable development |url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2019/01/gender-equality-and-inclusive-growth |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=UN Women – Headquarters |language=en}}
The concept continues to influence public discourse through books and movies.{{Cite news |last=Winkelman |first=Natalia |date=July 7, 2022 |title='Fair Play' Review: Casting a Floodlight on Invisible Labor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/movies/fair-play-review.html |access-date=September 20, 2024 |work=New York Times}} Technology has not reduced invisible labor, despite expectations or promises that it would.{{Cite book |last=Hester |first=Helen |title=After work: a history of the home and the fight for free time |last2=Srnicek |first2=Nick |date=2023 |publisher=Verso |isbn=978-1-78663-309-5 |location=London; New York}}