Taking on the Invisible Third Shift: The Unequal Division of Cognitive Labor and Women’s Work Outcomes

Journal article

The current research focuses on the gendered work-related impacts of the division of unpaid labor. Drawing upon the literature on gender roles and conservation of resources theory, we argue that women (vs. men) are particularly drained due to undertaking a greater proportion of cognitive labor—a hidden form of unpaid labor involved in managing a household—leading to undermined work outcomes. Data were collected weekly (during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic) for 7 weeks in April to May 2020 (N = 263) and aggregated. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, we found that women (vs. men) reported engaging in a disproportionate amount of cognitive labor in their households, which increased their emotional exhaustion and, in turn, was related to greater turnover intentions and lower career resilience. However, for mothers (vs. fathers), emotional exhaustion and undermined work-related outcomes were driven by disproportionate responsibility for childcare. Hence, division of cognitive labor uniquely affected work-related outcomes of women without children, whereas division of childcare shaped the work-related outcomes of women with children. Overall, this research highlights the differential challenges faced by working women with and without children and the need for gender equity initiatives focusing on both women with and without children.

Authors: Krstić, A; Shen, W; Varty, CT; Lam, JY; Hideg, I

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Journal: Psychology of Women Quarterly
• Volume: 49
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 205-219
• Publication date: 2025-04-21
• DOI: 10.1177/03616843251330284
• EISSN: 1471-6402
• ISSN: 0361-6843
• Language: English
• Keywords: turnover intentions; COVID-19; gender equity; cognitive labor; career resilience; division of labor; subjective wellbeing