Invisible labor is a benign way of describing the never-ending, sometimes soul-crushing to-do list that women manage in order to keep their children thriving and households running smoothly.
You might recognize the broader concept of unappreciated yet essential household work from a 2017 digital comic strip on “mental load.” Countless women saw their own exhaustion and simmering resentment in the comic’s feminist rendering of why women end up taking on tiny tasks like unloading the dishwasher to huge decisions like choosing a nanny. Of course, it went viral.
A new study, published Tuesday in the journal Sex Roles, offers original data to illustrate the widespread phenomenon of invisible labor — and its depressing impact on women’s emotional and psychological well-being. Read more…
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