Stephenson, Emma K; Yeo, Gillian; Fruhen, Laura S; Wee, Serena

Mental labour or “the mental load” has received increasing attention from the popular press and researchers alike (Reich-Stiebert et al., 2023). It has traditionally been conceptualised in the home domain as an invisible yet taxing form of labour known as home mental labour (i.e., cognitive work performed to achieve communal home-related goals). More recently, work mental labour (i.e., cognitive work performed to achieve communal work-related goals) has been introduced as a distinct form of invisible labour performed in the workplace, and research suggests that, like home mental labour, it is disproportionately shouldered by women (Stephenson et al., 2022; Stephenson et al., 2024). However, its impact on wellbeing and other work-relevant constructs is yet to be explored. On one hand, work mental labour could align with the predominant account of home mental labour as effortful and resource depleting (Reich-Stiebert et al., 2023), and thus be detrimental to people’s, particularly women’s, wellbeing and careers. On the other, it could facilitate work goal accomplishment thereby satisfying feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Wayne et al., 2023), and thus, be beneficial. This begs the question: is work mental labour good or bad? Using a self-determination framework, we address this question by investigating (1) the impact of work mental labour on wellbeing and other work-related outcomes, and (2) the mechanisms that underpin these relationships. We utilise a time-lagged survey design (2 week time lag; N = 421 employed adults) to test work mental labour’s impact on wellbeing and work outcomes whilst controlling for home mental labour. Our results suggest that work mental labour is associated with both beneficial (e.g., work-family enrichment, positive affect) and detrimental (e.g., work-family conflict) wellbeing outcomes that cross the work-home boundaries. However, work mental labour only had a beneficial effect on work-specific outcomes (e.g., work engagement, job satisfaction). We also found evidence that basic need satisfaction mediates these beneficial outcomes, and suppresses work mental labour’s detrimental effects. Together, these results suggest that although work mental labour can heighten feelings of role conflict, it is simultaneously enriching and satisfies people’s needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Thus, although women are likely shouldering this mental load in the workplace, they may also be reaping some unanticipated benefits. This research provides a theoretical framework for predicting and explaining opposing effects of mental labour in the workplace, and sheds light on an under-acknowledged factor influencing employee wellbeing and gender equality.

1. Define and distinguish between home and work mental labour.
2. Understand the impact of mental labour on wellbeing and work outcomes.
3. Understand the mechanisms that underpin mental labour’s impact on wellbeing and work outcomes.