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Thu, 03/16/2023 - 09:56
Thanks for the advise! We look forward to read more.
Our Women@LinkedIn ERG is gearing up for Women’s History Month and IWD in March, and one of the topics that’s come up repeatedly is how much invisible work women are shouldering every day, both at home and at work. Raise your hand if you’re often asked to take notes in meetings, notice that you always organize the virtual offsite or party, or find yourself as the leader/mentor who people naturally come to more often because you say the right things to help them move forward? Ever feel that a lot of the nurturing, collaborative, high-EQ traits that make women invaluable at work get dismissed as not important (or that focusing on these things is distracting to getting real work done)?
HBR reported in October that during the pandemic, women took on even more invisible work, ranging from leading DEI initiatives to ensuring work-life balance and providing more consistent employee support. So this month we’re talking about what to do when you’re asked to shoulder invisible work that keeps teams together and often goes uncredited. How can we shine a light on how important this work is?
Let’s see what our experts around the globe have to say!
Executive Advisor, Diversity Strategist and LinkedIn Learning Unconscious Bias Instructor Stacey Gordon Suggests Documenting Frequency and Comparing Notes
Do you have agency to say something? Sometimes you’re the most junior person in the room and don’t feel as though that is something you can bring up. If that’s the case, document how often it happens, check to see if it’s happening to other junior individuals and then, even if you are the junior person in the room, you can use your documentation to provide facts to work from. You’ll be able to make the case for why this shouldn’t be you every time, how often you miss out on other opportunities because of it, how it hinders your progress and that it’s time to spread that responsibility among other team members. You may also want to discuss the positives – if there are any – and note that those opportunities should be shared as well.
LinkedIn VP of Trust Tanya Staples Acknowledges the Compliment in the Ask, Sets Limits, and Highlights the Work in Context
This is a great question and one I know we all often struggle with. Here are a few thoughts on how to think about it:
Take it as a compliment. If you’re being asked to take on tasks--regardless of what they are--first take it as a compliment that your manager, your peers, and your colleagues have a high degree of trust in your abilities. Likewise, if people are reaching out to you to talk, it’s because you’re most likely providing tremendous value to them. You’re awesome and they all know it.
Know your limits. Now it’s all well and good to take it as a compliment, but you also can’t shoulder all the burden on your own. So know how much you can realistically take on without impacting your performance and your overall well being. And know that this can change. Sometimes you’ll have the energy to take on a lot, sometimes you’ll have the energy to take on a little. But know what your limits are so that when things come up, you can decide if they’re inside the limits or not.