Title: The Janus face of the informal work - A qualitative study of women's informal work Research question: What are women’s perceptions of the informal work? Purpose: The purpose of the study was to make an inventory of women’s perceptions of the informal work that is part of a woman’s lot. Method: This study was conducted with an inductive research approach using a qualitative research strategy. The empirical material used in the study was collected through unstructured interviews with seven different women. Conclusions: The answer to this study’s research question is that the study’s women informers’ perceptions of the informal work are both positive and negative. The study’s main finding is first and foremost that the study’s women informers experience two different kinds of informal work. The first kind is informal work related to household chores and the other kind is formal- informal work. The second finding of the study is that there is a Janus face to discover when it comes to women’s informal work since the positive sides of the informal work affects the neg- ative sides and vice versa. Keywords: Gender roles, gender stereotypes, gender status, gender hierarchy, work-life bal- ance, work-life conflict, stress, motivation, job satisfaction, unpaid work, informal work, invis- ible work.