Ever knocked off work, sat in traffic, and thought, Why am I this wrecked? You didn’t stay late. You didn’t even have a major deadline. Yet you feel like you’ve run a marathon.
Chances are, you’ve been carrying invisible work.
Not the big-ticket projects that everyone expects to be tiring. It’s the smaller stuff. The side jobs. The emotional glue. The endless “little things” that keep teams afloat but rarely get a mention.
Like being the one who always writes up the meeting notes. Or the go-to person when someone needs a debrief after a tough call. Or the safe pair of hands people rope in to tidy up the client pitch before it goes out. None of it’s on your job description. But if you stopped? You’d hear about it quick smart.
The Weight That Creeps Up on You
Picture this. It’s 9:30am, and before you’ve even touched your own list, a few “quick ones” come flying your way:
“Can you fix the PowerPoint slides?”
“Mind walking me through the meeting notes?”
“Could you give this draft a polish before the client sees it?”
On their own, no big deal. So you say yes. But by lunchtime, you’ve chipped away half your focus. By mid-arvo, your real work is still waiting — and your energy’s gone.
That’s the trap. Invisible work doesn’t come crashing down in one go. It trickles in. It lingers. And because it never makes it into a report or KPI, no one’s keeping score.
Meanwhile, the “big wins” get celebrated with cake, speeches, or a pat on the back. But those small favours that kept the wheels turning? They disappear into thin air. Except for the person doing them.
Why Leaders Often Miss It
It’s not that managers don’t care. Most just don’t see it. Work usually gets measured in deadlines, deliverables, numbers. Invisible work doesn’t leave a tidy paper trail. Unless someone names it, it flies under the radar.
And here’s the awkward bit: it feels trivial to call it out. Saying “I’m over being the one fixing the formatting” doesn’t sound nearly as serious as “I’m buried in projects.” So people bite their tongue — until it builds up into burnout, resentment, or someone quietly checking out.
Where Mental Health Fits In
This is why workplace wellbeing has to dig deeper than fruit bowls and lunchtime yoga. It’s about recognising those unseen drains — the constant interruptions, the emotional labour, the glue work that keeps things ticking.
Good mental health training gives staff a way to talk about it: “This matters too.” And it gives leaders sharper questions to ask: “What’s weighing on you that doesn’t show up in the reports?”
These small conversations can be the difference between someone thriving, or burning out in silence.
Sharing the Load
Invisible work won’t vanish. Every team needs people willing to chip in and pull their weight beyond the basics. But it doesn’t need to land on the same shoulders every time. And it certainly doesn’t need to go unnoticed.
Some practical shifts:
- Rotate the small jobs so they’re shared around.
- Call out unseen effort when you spot it.
- Adjust expectations if someone’s clearly carrying more than their share.
Recognition doesn’t need bells and whistles. Even a quick, “Thanks for picking that up” makes the load lighter.
Why It’s Worth Seeing
On paper, invisible work looks minor. But in reality, it shapes whether people feel valued or invisible themselves. Ignore it long enough and good people switch off — mentally or literally.
But when workplaces make the effort to see it, share it, and respect it, that invisible work transforms from a hidden burden into a shared strength. And that’s when people stick around, chip in, and feel proud of what they bring to the table.
Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.
Connect with Peter Diaz on:
