Is Your Generosity Costing You?
Elizabeth is a freelance writer and project manager living and working in London. She runs The Otobos Group, a project communications consultancy specializing in project management.
The "Give to Get" theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is instinctively appealing. Generosity is a good thing, and if you’ve ever worked with colleagues who find it difficult to share knowledge or resources, then you’ll know we could all do with a bit more of it.
Many a project management career was built on collaboration and goodwill. However, there's a problem with giving time and energy at work that’s worth calling out: Research consistently shows that women carry a disproportionate share of invisible labor both at home and at work.
Linda Babcock and her colleagues created The No Club to say no to requests that pulled them away from work that mattered most to their careers. That turned into academic research and a book (back in 2022), and shone a light on invisible labor.
What does that mean for us as project managers? What you give matters just as much as the act of giving, so let’s think about how to give intentionally, in ways that will support your career.
What is invisible labor in the workplace?
First, though, let’s define invisible labor. You might recognize the term and link it to the person who books the meeting room, orders the lunch, takes the notes, or chases actions that nobody else chases. There’s also an emotional labor element: it’s being the person who notices when …
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The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. - Mark Twain |
