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Invisible work at work and the reproduction of gendered social service organizations

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  • Einat Lavee
  • Amit Kaplan

Abstract

Studies demonstrate that the convergence of neoliberalism and New Public Management imperatives creates conditions wherein social service providers undertake various types of unpaid work, reemphasizing the role of gender in service provision. Drawing on these arguments, this study explores the process through which unpaid practices restructure gender in social service organizations, using the concept of “invisible work.” Applying the institutional ethnography method of inquiry, we examine experiences of social service workers in the Israeli public sector and operationalize unpaid work as informal personal resources that workers provide to clients. Analysis of 185 in‐depth interviews revealed three main discursive frames workers use to justify provision of personal resources. Through these frames, informal practices become invisible as work in multiple layers—to the self, the organization, and the society. Similar to invisible work in the household, its invisibility in the workplace constitutes a main force in the reproduction of gendered social service organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Einat Lavee & Amit Kaplan, 2022. "Invisible work at work and the reproduction of gendered social service organizations," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 1463-1480, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:5:p:1463-1480
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12839
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nancy Folbre, 2006. "Measuring Care: Gender, Empowerment, and the Care Economy," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 183-199.
    2. Barbara Glinsner & Birgit Sauer & Myriam Gaitsch & Otto Penz & Johanna Hofbauer, 2019. "Doing gender in public services: Affective labour of employment agents," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 983-999, July.
    3. Cassandra M. Guarino & Victor M. H. Borden, 2017. "Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(6), pages 672-694, September.
    4. Harvey, David, 2007. "A Brief History of Neoliberalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199283279.
    5. Peter Hupe & Aurélien Buffat, 2014. "A Public Service Gap: Capturing contexts in a comparative approach of street-level bureaucracy," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 548-569, May.
    6. Linda Babcock & Maria P. Recalde & Lise Vesterlund & Laurie Weingart, 2017. "Gender Differences in Accepting and Receiving Requests for Tasks with Low Promotability," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(3), pages 714-747, March.
    7. Nissim Cohen, 2016. "Forgoing New Public Management and Adopting Post‐New Public Management Principles: The On‐Going Civil Service Reform in Israel," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(1), pages 20-34, February.
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