Janelle E. Wells, Ph.D., and Doreen MacAulay, Ph.D.
Our (In)visible Work
How Invisible Work at Home and on the Job Fuels Burnout.
In 2019, the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases officially recognized “burnout” as a serious health condition resulting from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Importantly, the reference guide noted that burnout “refers specifically to a phenomena in the occupational context” and it “should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
However, the classification overlooks some significant aspects: researchers have documented that caretaking is a critical part of our invisible economy, contributing to burnout, and the invisible work in the workplace that isn’t “occupational” but often unrecognized emotional and domestic labor also leads to burnout. Healthcare professionals would be well advised to expand the understanding of burnout to extend beyond the workplace and include the effects of unpaid caretaking roles at home.
