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.

Sociologist Arlie Hochschild first defined emotional labor in 1983 as the........

© Psychology Today