By Colleen Temple — 2018
It’s called emotional labor. And mothers have a lot of it.
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CLEAR ALL
Sadness is a central part of our lives, yet it’s typically ignored at work, hurting employees and managers alike.
Much like the struggle to recognize the economic contributions of childcare for stay-at-home parents, there could be a similar gap in the working world. The definition of emotional labor being used here is that of unpaid, invisible work.
When workers’ emotions deviate from what’s expected of their gender, they are often left to process the backlash on their own.
A career time out to stay home with your kids might be tempting, but there’s a lot to consider before you give notice.
Mothers earn 3% per hour less for each child they have compared with women working in similar jobs who do not have children, say researchers.
When women in the workplace talk about their children, they’re often seen as distracted. When men talk about their children, they’re viewed as caring dads. New research supports that the “motherhood penalty” is real.
“The research is pretty clear that surface acting is almost always bad for you.”
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All those little details, necessary but distinctly un-flashy, are sometimes referred to as “emotional labor.” In the workplace, that labor may include booking a room for a meeting, reserving an event space, or keeping morale going with a Secret Santa exchange.
It could be dragging down your job performance and psychological health.
Effective strategies for discussing the invisible load you’re shouldering in the workplace.