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What is Invisible Labor 

Invisible labor is defined by Poster et al. (2016) as “activities that occur within the context of paid employment that workers perform in response to requirements (either implicit or explicit, from employers and that are crucial for workers to generate income, to obtain or retain their jobs, and to further their careers, yet are often overlooked, ignored, and/or devalued by employers, consumers, workers, and ultimately the legal system itself.” Hamblin et al. (2022) found that faculty defined invisible labor within a variety of missions, including academic, administrative, engagement, self-preservation, and as a result of rank.  

What were motivations for our project on invisible labor

Existing research includes quantitative comparisons of faculty time allocations, with some reports using self-reported survey data and others employing weekly activity diaries (O’Meara et al., 2017; Guarino & Borden, 2017; SSFN-RIG, 2017).  Many of these studies are focused more on comparative time expenditures on various work activities. Others are more narrative or qualitative (Hamblin et al, 2020).  Additionally, this work does not necessarily define the kinds of invisible labor that faculty members perform, making it difficult to reward, support, or more intentionally build into faculty work plans.  In turn, faculty wellbeing is affected by gender inequalities within and outside of the workplace (Elliot & Blithe, 2021, Reid 2021, Sabagh et al., 2022).  These inequalities have been substantially widened by the COVID-19 pandemic, making attention to equity and support for faculty workloads particularly critical (Malischa et al., 2020). 

North Carolina State University has appropriately directed attention and capacity to student well-being in a manner that is commendable and reflective of the urgency in which it should be attended to. Yet, we also identify from our own lived experience and observed engagement with our peer faculty that faculty well-being is also a pressing concern (Elliott & Blythe 2021, Sabagh et al. 2022). Thus, to draw more concerted attention to faculty well-being, we proposed a collaborative project with the Office for Faculty Excellence to understand invisible faculty labor and applied to the College of Humanity and Social Science's Wellness Mini-Grant Program.

What was the initial scope of our project

The scope of our initial project was a pilot study to address faculty invisible labor in CHASS. The project is facilitated by a team including CHASS faculty (Dr. Kirsti Cole and Dr. Amanda Stewart) and OFE Faculty Fellows (Dr. Angie Smith and Dr. Laura Nelson). In the fall of 2023, we were awarded a mini-grant to support the collection of evidence and implementation of a pilot intervention with CHASS’s faculty. 

Our project scope of work included three components completed during the spring 20224 semester: 

1. Invisible Labor Tracking - Recruited a cohort of College faculty to engage with tracking their full effort. 

2. Invisible Labor Engagement with Departmental Leaders - Orient departmental leadership for awareness and tracking of invisible labor of their faculty

3. Broaden the conversation - Meet with University leadership to seek a broader actionable definition of service in RPT processes. 

Future Plans

• Secure funding for a larger, university-wide study

• Disseminate findings in conference proceedings or peer-reviewed journal in Higher Education research.