We did some workplace usability testing with non-technical staff (admin, sales etc) and this was a fair hurdle in our prototypes. We struck a better balance in

We did some workplace usability testing with non-technical staff (admin, sales etc) and this was a fair hurdle in our prototypes. We struck a better balance in different projects by either leaving them at a soft 30% opacity, or a desaturated and washed out look until hovered. Giving a subtle visual indication that the option is still there allowed us to remove the weight from the design while achieving a satisfactory level of discoverability. It was important to choose our visual cue carefully as, on text, the desaturation makes it look disabled. Icons with a desaturation (not complete) and a contrast tweak lend themselves beautifully to this. Disclaimer: no data kept, this is all anecdotal with a relatively small sample (5-10 people).