WHY Women: Invisible Labour

WHY Hospitality UK

December 23, 2024

Arlene Daniels coined the term ‘invisible work’ to describe labour that often goes unnoticed and unappreciated – despite being essential to the everyday workings of both at home and professional environments.  Such work is most commonly carried out by marginalised groups, by women and ethnic minorities.

Invisible work is commonplace, it’s found everywhere from the home to professional environments. Workplaces which, by their nature, necessitate nurturing environments – care homes, childcare, and, of course, hospitality.  These professions require employees to be caring and show empathy, skills most commonly attributed to women. 

So what?

This article unpacks the impact of invisible work in hospitality, how socialisation shapes the division of labour, and the steps we can take towards more equitable working environments.

Socialisation

The perceived dichotomy of ‘male’ or ‘female’ brains has been debunked as myth.  Research shows that gender has no impact on natural characteristics such as empathy or logic, therefore no gender is better suited to care-taking positions or to being hospitable.

So why then, do these perceptions persist?  From our first days in pre-school, and even before, socialisation begins to shape gender identity.  The toys we are given and the games we are taught to play subtly set expectations.  It’s likely you’ve encountered the theory before.  Girls are taught to be nurturing to their dollies, boys are given assertive, confident GI Joe figurines.  These early socialisation patterns may not be so obvious – and steps have been taken to remedy such clear gender dichotomies with Barbie’s many jobs and an emerging, more flexible understanding of gender– but their effect cannot be understated.

Girls are more likely to be marginalised during group activities and discussions.  Excluded at the sidelines, girls and other isolated groups develop a heightened ability to read non-verbal cues.  Picking up on body language and more practiced communication skills – as girls are more likely to be encouraged to sit and talk rather than go and play – means girls grow into women who are better skilled at empathy.  It is important to recognise that empathy is a skill, which is developed over time like any other skill, it is not an innate ability.

Women grow up to enter the workforce and these socialised behaviours follow them.  Often, women take on emotional labour in addition to their existing, formal responsibilities.

Tasks such as organising social/team building events, overseeing and tempering team dynamics, or simple housekeeping tasks are common examples of the invisible work.  These tasks are essential to the functioning of any business but are so rarely acknowledged and the burden falls disproportionately on women.

Pro-social Orientation

Pro-social behaviours are those which are intended to help other people – offering colleagues help with their assignments, emotional support, or donating.  Of course, pro-social behaviours all contribute towards a better society and we should all be engaging in them when we can.  Nevertheless, pro-social orientation or ‘the motivation to benefit others’ is an important topic in the context of equality.  There is an unspoken expectation that female employees will be more pro-socially oriented.

In all workplaces, the appearance of confidence is a major factor in career advancement.  For men, this means simply performing the duties contained in their job description to a competent level and having confidence in their performance.  Women must do the same, however, they must also engage in pro-social behaviours. Additional tasks – such as organising office events or smoothing interpersonal conflicts – are required, if they hope to compete with their male colleagues.

There is a clear double standard.  Women are evaluated not only for their professional ability but for the invisible work, especially the emotional labour, that is rarely acknowledged in career progression nor reflected in their wage.  Yet, failure to engage in these tasks may actually hurt a women’s career prospects – though shouldering the responsibilities rarely results in extra recognition or reward.

Invisible work and hospitality

The hospitality industry is a prime illustration of invisible work in action. Employees are customer and expected to be accommodating, empathetic, and patient. These "soft skills" are understood to be an inherent part of the role, and as a result, the emotional labor involved in these positions is rarely considered part of the formal job description.

In hospitality, emotional labour is required to create a positive, customer-friendly venue yet it often goes unrecognized. Women in these roles are particularly vulnerable to the added expectations of emotional labor, which include managing the emotions of not just customers, but their colleagues, too. This leads to burnout, stress, and a sense of frustration, as workers feel their contributions are undervalued and unappreciated.

What can we do?

Recognising invisible work may be the first step but recognition alone won’t be sufficient.  In fact, recognition by itself may be counterintuitive; acknowledging invisible work and pro-social behaviour without taking action may exacerbate the issue by reinforcing a cultural in which women feel they should be doing ‘more’.  Recognition without change will undoubtedly lead to more burnout, more frustration, and further marginalisation. 

To make meaningful change, it is crucial that invisible labour is compensated.  Emotional labour, organisation, and other pro-social or invisible behaviours should be included in job descriptions and reflected in the wages. These tasks would then become ‘visible’ and thus more proportionately distributed amongst employees, regardless of gender.

Going forward

Nearly 40 years after Daniels first defined invisible work there has been little progress in combatting its impact on marginalised groups.  The burden of invisible labour remains largely unaddressed and its disparities in compensation and recognition still persist today. 

Fairer and more inclusive workplaces are the ultimate goal and an important step towards achieving them is to redefine what constitutes valuable work.  The invisible should become visible and emotional labour, in particular, should be understood for what it is: an essential element for the success of any team and a learned skill that is deserving of recognition and compensation. 

Division of labour and recognition of invisible work is the next stepping stone on the way to a happier hospitality industry for us all!

This article was written by Ariane Roux a dedicated advocate for women's rights, diversity, equality & inclusion - and a passionate member of the WHY Hospitality team.