The Mental Toll of Invisible Labor

Haley Swenson was quoted at length in an article on the toll of invisible labor at work and at home for the website and well-being app Happify:

In broad terms, invisible labor is any kind of work that you do domestically, in the workplace, or in the community, that you don’t get paid for and that other people take for granted. “It’s the kind of labor that we don't even necessarily see taking place,” says Haley Swenson, Ph.D., the deputy director of the Better Life Lab at New America.

While much invisible labor can be physically taxing—cleaning up after the dog when the kids have gone to bed—it’s often the emotional and mental work that can be the most draining.

“Sometimes invisible labor is invisible precisely because it's taking place literally inside your head,” Swenson says. “It’s those sleepless nights thinking, ‘What am I going to do about childcare this summer?’” she says. “It drains us of energy—the commitment of mental resources there means we can’t put them someplace else.”