Invisible Labor: What It Is and How to Lighten Your Load: Ladies Talking Love Podcast
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Ariel Finlinson, host of the Ladies Talking Love podcast, about invisible labor. Invisible labor is work that a person does that isn’t visible to the human eye. It can be broken down into two main parts:
Mental labor, which involves keeping track of tasks and details mentally
Emotional labor, which involves modifying or checking your own emotions to benefit someone else
For example, mental labor is tasks like keeping track of what time your kids need to be picked up, remembering who in your family is allergic to what, and having a mental inventory of what food is in your fridge. An example of emotional labor is remaining calm and level headed while your toddler is having a breakdown.
If you feel overwhelmed as a wife or a mother, there’s a chance some of that stress may be due to all of the invisible labor that you are in charge of. Invisible labor is heavy! It takes a lot of work, and often that work is thankless.
If you’d like to learn what you can do to lighten your load, listen to this podcast episode. Ariel and I talk more about how to share your invisible load with your spouse, how to create a partnership marriage, and more.
If you’d like to learn more about invisible labor, see the following resources:
