The Value of Invisible Work

By: Dr. Denise Renye

“What did you do all day while I was working?” It’s a question that stay-at-home parents are regularly asked because the work they do goes unrecognized. Historically, it’s cis-gendered men in heterosexual relationships asking that question of their female partners but not exclusively. People ask that question because the work of the person who stays at home is invisible. The phrase “invisible work” was coined by sociologist Arlene Kaplan Daniels in 1987. She argued what we consider “work” when we think of the term takes place in the public sphere and has financial recompense. That means a whole swathe of work goes unrecognized.

Examples of invisible work are chores, cooking, cleaning, and reassurance. But it’s not only the act of itself that’s invisible work, it’s also the conception and planning of a task. In the case of washing dishes, it’s noticing your partner likes a certain scent (conception) and keeping track of when the dish soap gets low, and putting it on the grocery list (planning). It’s also remembering birthdays (conception) and keeping a stack of cards handy to send out (planning).

French comic Emma illustrates the dynamic of invisible work in a comic from 2017 and dubbed the conception and planning part as “mental load.” It applies to more than just stay-at-home parents – it’s anyone in a cohabiting relationship who bears responsibility for overseeing the household. One person, usually the woman in opposite-sex relationships, is expected to be the “manager” of the household and tell their partner what to do as opposed to the person understanding there’s more than just the task itself to accomplish.

For instance, in her comic Emma says it takes her two hours to clear the table because while removing items, she’ll come across a dirty towel, which she puts in the laundry basket, and then discovers the laundry basket is full so she starts a load of laundry. On her way to the washing machine, she learns there are vegetables that need to be put in the fridge, which she does, but also realizes the household is low on mustard, so she puts that on the grocery list. If she asks her partner to clear the table, on the other hand, the towel stays on the floor, the vegetables rot on the counter, and there’s not enough mustard for dinner.

Even though it was published in 2017, Emma’s comic continues to be relevant because invisible work hasn’t vanished. It’s been a staple in societies, in fact. In January, the Pew Research Center published findings on parenting. In married and cohabiting parents in opposite-sex relationships, mothers say they do more than their spouse or partner while fathers say they share responsibilities equally. They don’t.  

Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) says the researchers’ questions are flawed. “We know that men overreport what they do, and women underreport what they do. We’re not asking the right questions, because if you ask who does the childcare or who does the groceries, of course couples will answer ‘both.’ But what you’re not going to pick up is that the invisible work, the conception and planning behind each of these tasks, is done by women.”

The conception and planning, in other words, the mental load, are only part of invisible work. The other part is emotional labor or emotional support. It’s comforting a child when they wake up from a bad dream, or listening to a partner complain about a bad day of work.

“If you valued an act like holding a child’s hand in the doctor’s office as much as you valued an hour in the boardroom, then a capitalist, patriarchal society would collapse,” Rodsky added. However, some places are doing exactly that – putting a price on invisible labor.

In China in 2021, a court ordered a man to pay his wife $7,700 for housework during their five-year marriage. The wife, known as Ms. Wang, told a judge in Beijing that she “looked after the child and managed the household chores while [her husband] did not care about or participate in any other household affairs besides going to work.”

The husband owed more than $7,700, frankly, because without her he would have struggled to meet his basic needs but this is the issue with invisible work. It’s hard to quantify what it’s worth because under patriarchy it’s not considered work and two, it’s essentially priceless. Can you put a dollar sign on comforting your kid in the middle of the night? You can’t and we don’t, but that means in our capitalistic, patriarchal society it’s devalued.    

Journal prompts

·      What feelings arose within as you read about this concept of “invisible work”?

·      Is this a new concept for you?

·      Have you experienced this firsthand in your life or witnessed it either in your family of origin or your current family?

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References

Emma. “The gender wars of household chores: a feminist comic.” The Guardian. May 26, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comic

Kaplan Daniels, Arlene. “Invisible Work.” Social Problems. December 1987, Vol. 34:5, pp. 403-415. https://www.jstor.org/stable/800538

Laine Perfas, Samantha. “Dad’s clueless, Mom’s fried. Maybe there’s a better way.” The Harvard Gazette. March 8, 2023. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/03/counting-invisible-work-in-household-division-of-labor/

Minkin, Rachel; Menasce Horowitz, Juliana. “Gender and parenting.” Pew Research Center. January 24, 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/01/24/gender-and-parenting/

Unknown. “How much is doing the household chores worth?” The Economist. March 8, 2021. https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2021/03/08/how-much-is-doing-the-household-chores-worth