When going 'the extra mile' backfires — 200 hours of unrewarded work?
Volunteering to do a little extra at work? Beware
While many news stories are focused on the mass layoffs of half of twitters staff, at Hustle Crew HQ we are more interested in Do you offer or ‘help out’ with things at work that aren’t in your job description? You might be doing “invisible work”.
For women, this equates to an estimated 200 hours of ‘unpromotable’ work — and for Black women? It’s even MORE. That’s 25 days of the working year doing work that may never be rewarded or recognized.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree with Aly’s comment from our Instagram, there’s nothing wrong with going the extra mile, especially when you’re passionate about a topic or it’s an area you’d like to develop in.
However, as this HBR article breaks down, it comes with a risk. Invisible work can lead to an increased sense of burnout for many, while typically white male colleagues rise up the ranks despite picking up fewer additional tasks. This is partly due to the subconscious perception that work carried out by underrepresented people isn’t always the ‘real work’. It may not always be obvious or explicit because we live under a patriarchal, historically white supremacist system which shapes the culture we live in (of course, if you’re reading this, we’re all on a collective journey to change that).
Just as the contributions that women made — and still make — in the home get taken for granted, ‘office housework’ is a real thing too.
So how you protect yourself? How do you make sure you’re being rewarded and recognised for the extra mile you’re going? It’s all about balance and knowing how to work the arrangement for your good. Here are 6 steps for doing the essential, additional work without being overlooked in the end:
Be clear on what you’re getting in return — that way you can decide whether it’s ‘worth it’ to you. Not all extracurricular tasks are made equal…
Set a date to review how things are going — are you still getting more value than you’re putting in?
Document, document, document your contribution — this helps you track your progress and supports the business case for why you should be rewarded and recognised for your work
Have the conversation with your seniors — show your receipts and lobby for recognition. Find senior sponsors and allies to advocate for your reward
Don’t be afraid to pushback — ask for extra support, use the data available to guide conversations if you find you’re being asked to do more at work
Know when to call it quits — sometimes you just don’t have the capacity to take it all on and that’s ok
Has this made you rethink how much extra work you’re doing for your team? Are you a firm believer in ‘extracurricular’ activities in the (albeit virtual) office? Let me know in the comments here.
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