Navigating Invisible Emotional Labor at Work

When I was in a leadership role, we held a corporate event that a group of women volunteered to coordinate and set up. This was not surprising—women often step into such roles due to societal expectations or because they frequently occupy support positions like administrative assistants. They did an excellent job organizing everything.

At the end of the event, I noticed something striking. To my left, the same women who coordinated the event had begun cleaning up, unasked and unassigned. To my right, five men were still seated, chatting. The women didn’t ask for help, and the men didn’t offer. It was as if the clean-up wasn’t even on their radar.

I interrupted, saying, “Hey guys, these women worked hard to organize this event. It’s not fair for them to also handle clean-up alone. Can you help out?” While the women responded, “It’s OK; we can take care of it,” I insisted, pointing out the lack of equitable workload distribution.

This moment highlighted an example of invisible labor: the unspoken, unacknowledged tasks—often performed by women—that contribute to an enjoyable and functional workplace. Even noticing and addressing this inequity required emotional labor on my part. Commenting on it also left me open to being dismissed or judged as “nagging,” which are additional ways women are expected to quietly serve, support, or nurture others without complaint.

What Is “Emotional Labor”?

Sociologist Arlie Hochschild first defined emotional labor in 1983 as the effort (work) it takes to regulate, manage, and prioritize others’ emotions and needs. Later, the term was expanded and applied to work settings to include the unpaid workplace contributions, such as managing others’ emotional well-being, creating a positive work environment, and supporting team cohesion. These activities are essential to organizational success but are often undervalued, disproportionately shouldered by women, and left undocumented.

In the short term, emotional labor improves organizational performance, work culture, and retention. However, the lack of recognition can lead to exhaustion, burnout, and resentment and creates inequitable workload for those doing this work, particularly women, especially those holding additional marginalized identities. It also reinforces gender biases and stalls career growth, as this invisible labor is rarely considered in performance appraisals or promotions.

Here’s a personal example: I frequently receive quick turn-around requests for advice or help (“Can we meet next week sometime?”) from non-clients who have not paid for my services and assume these requests are simple or minor. I’m always responsive, but with a packed schedule, I do place boundaries around how much emotional labor I can offer in a week. And not everyone appreciates those boundaries.

For example, one CEO became upset when I directed him to schedule time via my calendar link instead of taking a more “personal touch,” but then asked me to work with his (female!) assistant (not with him) without regard to the fact that he was asking me to offer my time for free and provide access to my connections! This entitlement to free labor, especially from women and marginalized groups, is so ingrained that it often goes unquestioned.

So, what can individuals and organizations do to minimize the inequitable distribution of this kind of work and make it more visible and valued?

Addressing Inequities in Emotional Labor

Here are five strategies to minimize the inequitable distribution of emotional labor:

1. Respect time and boundaries. In a culture that embraces a false sense of urgency and an addiction to busyness, we must learn to prioritize respecting boundaries and acknowledge that constant demands on people’s time, especially for emotional labor, are unsustainable.

2. Document and discuss contributions. If you are contributing significantly to creating a healthier workplace or supporting others and feel it’s not being seen or valued, have a conversation with your supervisor to ensure these efforts are visible and valued. This could lead to adjustments in performance expectations or recalibration of workload. In advance, spend a few weeks tracking and taking stock of how much you are contributing, how it connects to the organization’s (or team’s) health and outcomes, and how it might connect to your own performance expectations so that you are prepared to respond to those questions.

Emotional Labor Essential Reads

The Invisible Labor of Hosting Thanksgiving

Emotional Labor in Psychotherapy

3. Notice inequities. Team leads play a crucial role in identifying and addressing inequities. If you observe that certain individuals are contributing disproportionately to team well-being, effectiveness, positive relationships, conflict management, and other support, consider redistributing this workload, offering additional support, or engaging the team in evaluating how to share the burden.

4. Discuss the work done beyond the job description. Leaders should have explicit conversations about tasks not listed in formal job responsibilities. Understand what employees are doing above and beyond their roles. Do those activities need to be redistributed or shared? If not, can there be any explicit recognition of those contributions offered?

5. Value emotional labor. Rather than removing opportunities for meaningful contributions toward a positive work culture, make this an organizational value of the organization. Embed it into performance standards, team values, or organizational culture to ensure it is recognized and rewarded.

Start now. When you come into work tomorrow, what is one thing you can do to start attending to it?

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Note: A version of this post is also posted as a LinkedIn article with a focus on leadership development at the individual level. Thank you to Linda Lawrence of People Always Healthcare Consulting for the initial inspiration and to Michael Grube of AIIR Consulting for being my thought partner as we co-designed a global training for one of their clients that included this topic.