What is the Third Shift?

The Third Shift: How women make up the emotional and relational workforce

Women have made significant strides toward gender equality, excelling in various fields and industries. However, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that many women still bear the majority of household and domestic responsibilities, a phenomenon coined "second shift" as far back as 1989. Despite equal participation in the workforce, women spent an additional 15 hours per week on domestic labor compared to men during the pandemic, forcing women out of silence and catalyzing a moment for change. As a result of heightened awareness, many organizations implemented policies to support caregivers, yet significant challenges persist. Which leads us to wonder: If we know better, why aren’t we doing better?

One reason may be a related phenomenon: the "third shift." The concept of the third shift, building on the terminology of the second shift, describes the emotional and relational labor women undertake at home and work. At home, this involves the ongoing mental load of planning and organizing household life, events, tasks, and relationships. In the workplace, this includes managing emotions, resolving conflicts, and supporting colleagues—tasks often unrecognized and uncompensated. Could the invisibility of this labor be inadvertently undermining our progress toward gender equity in the workplace and beyond?

Let’s take a look at what third shift is, some of the ways it manifests in the current era, the implications on women’s personal lives and career progression, and what we can do today. 

The Third Shift: Emotional and relational labor in and beyond the workplace

The "third shift" describes the emotional or relational labor taken on by women in personal and professional settings and may be one reason why employer initiatives to support women haven’t fully realized their intended effect. 

Studies have underscored the disproportionate expectations placed on women in the workplace to engage in the emotional work of managing both one's own and others' emotions. Emotional labor, crucial for enhancing workplace efficiency and culture, is frequently misinterpreted as a 'natural' skill for women rather than a professional competency, perpetuating gender stereotypes and undermining professional contributions in the workplace. Women are frequently expected to take on roles that necessitate high levels of emotional intelligence, manage interpersonal conflicts, support colleagues, and foster a positive work environment. 

This expectation reflects of broader cultural norms that, from an early age, socialize women into caregiving and emotionally supportive roles. 

Outside of work, this phenomenon manifests in the cognitive burden that women carry in managing household and family tasks, and encompasses everything from planning and organizing schedules to remembering important dates and managing household chores. Also referred to as mental load, to describe the invisible labor that typically falls on one person within a household, this type of "third shift" labor impacts mental well-being and contributes to gender disparities in domestic responsibilities. 

DEI labor: over-represented and undercompensated

One uniquely current example of third shift labor in the workplace was set into motion alongside the racial reckoning that began in 2020. As swaths of organizations publicly committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aimed at addressing racial and gender inequities within their organizations, individuals stepped up to drive it forward. Since, studies have found that far from being a collective effort, women are often the drivers and sustainers of DEI initiatives, devoting countless hours to seeing positive change within and beyond their organization. Those in senior management, for example, are twice as likely as male counterparts to spend substantial time on DEI efforts outside their normal job responsibilities (2023 State of DEI in Tech Report - Built In for Employers, 2023). 

Most organizations rate DEI capabilities as critical for managers, yet less than a third take it into account during formal performance reviews (McKinsey, 2023). The lack of formal recognition for DEI labor in performance management and career development considerations disproportionately affects women in the workplace and highlights the broader issue where emotional and relational labor in the workplace, while recognized as crucial, is undervalued and undercompensated. This oversight can impact career progression and overall workplace equity, reinforcing the need for organizations to integrate these efforts more deeply into their operational and evaluation processes to truly support and advance the full spectrum of value women bring to their workplace.

Implications of emotional labor on women

It would be negligent to disregard the sense of satisfaction and meaning many women experience in supporting their colleagues, investing in their friends, and caring for their family in ways that fall under the "third shift." After all, many of us are driven as much by purpose as by paycheck. Healthy relationships are, after all, a balance of give and take, with voluntary reciprocation as a cornerstone. 
The danger occurs when women are expected to serve as team therapist, peacemaker, and "office mom" without the benefit of compensation or recognition, on top of primary work and household responsibilities. This scenario can have substantial mental and physical health implications including:

1. Increased Stress and Mental Fatigue: Women performing emotional labor frequently experience higher stress levels and mental exhaustion. This is due to the continuous need to manage, anticipate, and respond to the emotional needs of others.
2. Impact on Professional Growth: The energy and time invested in emotional labor can detract from personal and professional development opportunities, potentially affecting career progression and satisfaction.
3. Strain on Physical Health: Chronic stress from emotional labor has been linked to various health issues, including weakened immune response, increased risk of chronic diseases, and overall reduced physical health.
4. Relationship Dynamics: While emotional labor is often essential for maintaining relationships, the disproportionate burden placed on women can lead to feelings of resentment and inequality, potentially straining partnerships.
5. Economic Effects: The unpaid nature of emotional labor means it is often undervalued and not considered in economic analyses, contributing to broader gender inequities in economic and social spheres.

Understanding and addressing the implications of the third shift is crucial for achieving greater gender equity and improving the overall well-being of women.

Knowledge is power

Opinions are mixed when it comes to women’s experience of equity, inclusion, and support in the workplace. But most agree that there is substantial work to be done. One of the most unifying and empowering tools we have is the ability to name and discuss something. The emotional labor, the mental load, "the third shift" – being able to recognize and name it is the first step to addressing it in our lives and organizations. 

True progress in gender equity requires deeper exploration into the expectations around emotional and relational labor in the workplace, followed by changes that recognize and value women's emotional labor and supportive measures that create a more equitable and inclusive environment, acknowledging the full spectrum of their contributions.

The process is multifaceted, encompassing the demand for greater flexibility for caregivers of all kinds, recognizing the impact of and compensating DEI and other emotional labor, and debunking the myth that relational and emotional skills are natural to all women. Together we can make progress today, raising awareness, supporting one another, and continuing to be curious about how we and others function in life and in the workplace.