Have you ever found yourself taking notes in a meeting – again? Or being the one asked to plan the team offsite while your male peers lead the client pitch? If you’re a woman in the workplace, this probably feels all too familiar. And if you’re a leader – especially a male leader – you might not even realise these patterns are playing out under your watch.

It’s time we talked about the silent career killer: office housework and how we begin to address it.

Want to see how this plays out in your team?
👉 Download the free Office Housework Audit Tool to uncover who’s doing what and how fairly it’s being shared.

What Is Office Housework?

Office housework includes the behind-the-scenes tasks that are essential to keeping teams and organisations running smoothly, but don’t lead to promotion or recognition. Think:

• Organising birthday collections
  
• Planning team socials
  
• Taking minutes
  
• Ordering lunch
  
• Serving on DEI or culture committees
  
• Mentoring junior staff (when it’s expected rather than chosen)
  

These tasks are helpful. They matter. But they’re often non-promotable, and the burden isn’t shared equally.

Want help identifying these tasks more clearly? Our Office Housework Audit Tool includes a list of 50 non-promotable tasks in the workplace.

The Data: What the Research Shows

The numbers are stark:

• Women spend approximately 200 more hours per year on non-promotable tasks than men – almost a whole extra month of unpaid, often invisible labour (The Guardian).
  
• In one study, women performed 29% more office housework than white men in equivalent roles (Forbes).
  
• When men decline these tasks, there’s little backlash. But when women do, it’s often seen as a lack of team spirit or cooperation (Harvard Business Review).
  

This isn’t just about tasks, it’s about how invisible labour reinforces power dynamics, slows down women’s careers, and feeds into burnout and inequality.

Curious how this might be playing out in your team? Use the free audit tool to track who’s doing what – and whether it’s truly equitable. 

Why This Happens

The underlying reasons for this disparity are systematic and therefore multifactorial:

• Stereotypes: Women are often unconsciously seen as more helpful, nurturing, or organised, making them the default go-to for supportive work.
  
• Unconscious bias: Leaders may not notice they’re repeatedly assigning admin work to women.
  
• Cultural conditioning: Women are more likely to say yes, fearing they’ll be seen as difficult or uncooperative.
  
• Workplace norms: Many teams still undervalue these tasks – or worse, don’t see them at all.

Want to take stock of where your time is going?

The audit tool includes a table to map task ownership by gender, frequency, and whether it was volunteered or assigned. A brilliant way to surface invisible labour patterns. DOWNLOAD HERE.

The Career Impact

When women consistently take on non-promotable work, it creates long-term consequences:

• Lower visibility: These tasks are rarely linked to key business outcomes or leadership pathways.
  
• Fewer promotions: Time spent organising logistics means less time for high-impact, strategic work.
  
• Burnout: The cumulative toll of workplace and home responsibilities can lead to exhaustion, disillusionment, and withdrawal.
  

What Leaders Can Do – A Shared Responsibility

Solving this doesn’t mean eliminating these tasks. It means distributing them fairly, valuing them appropriately, and removing gender from the job.

If You’re a Leader (especially a male leader):

• Audit your team’s tasks. Look at who is doing what, then ask why.
  
• Create a rotation system for admin and social duties.
  
• Make the invisible visible. Recognise office housework in reviews and team meetings.
  
• Be deliberate about who gets access to promotable work – and who is getting buried in support roles.
  

If You’re a Woman in the Workplace:

• Set boundaries. You don’t have to say yes to every request – especially those outside your job scope.
  
• Reframe your “no”. Try: “I’m prioritising client delivery at the moment. Can we rotate this task next time?”
  
• Track your work. Document everything, including the invisible contributions.
  
• Support each other. Normalise pushing back and proposing better systems.
  

Why This Is Personal

I’ve naturally been someone in my career who’s been happy (and even proud) to take on these kinds of tasks. I’m conscientious. I have high self-efficacy. I care deeply about doing a good job and being a good teammate. And if I’m honest, I’ve also been a bit of a people pleaser.

In many ways, these traits have helped me succeed. But they’ve also come at a cost.

It took hitting burnout for me to truly reflect on the hidden impact. I began to realise that always saying yes – even to the work no one else wanted – wasn’t just draining my energy. It was hurting my progression. It was affecting my earning potential. It was keeping me behind the scenes when I should have been leading from the front.

And I know I’m not alone.

I’ve worked with countless women who carry this invisible load every day. Not because they’re weak – but because they’re strong. Reliable. Capable. The ones who “just get things done.” And that’s exactly why the system leans on them.

But just because we can carry it doesn’t mean we should. And it’s time we stopped rewarding silence and sacrifice – and started building cultures that value fairness, visibility, and wellbeing.

Many women I coach are giving 110% at home, at work, and everywhere in between – while their contributions are going unnoticed or undervalued..

And I’ve seen male leaders ready to shift this too – once they can see the patterns clearly. That’s why I created this free tool to help start those conversations with clarity, compassion, and a plan.

This isn’t just a women’s issue. It’s a leadership issue. And it’s solvable.

A Call to Action

Leaders, I invite you to pause and reflect:

• Who is keeping your team running behind the scenes?
  
•  Who is getting the spotlight?
  
• Who is burning out quietly while others thrive?

We can’t change what we don’t name. So let’s name it. Let’s fix it. Let’s build workplaces where every task is shared fairly, every person is valued, and no one’s career is held back by outdated expectations.

Let’s make office housework everyone’s responsibility, not just women’s.

Want to assess your team’s task distribution or challenge workplace biases?

👉 Download our Office Housework Audit Tool 

👉 Book a Discovery Call with Luminate Group

Ready to take action?
Start by downloading the Office Housework Audit Tool and using it with your team. It includes 50 common non-promotable tasks, space to map responsibilities, and practical next steps.

Let’s name the invisible work. Let’s share the load.
Let’s build workplaces where everyone’s contribution is seen, valued, and rewarded.