Which term describes the combination of paid work, unpaid domestic labour, and emotion work?

Which term describes the combination of paid work, unpaid domestic labour, and emotion work?

• A. Expressive role
• B. Triple Shift
• C. Occupational segregation
• D. Family wage labour

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how many women juggle three kinds of labour at once: paid work outside the home, unpaid domestic duties, and emotion work—the effort of managing others’ feelings and maintaining family relationships. The term that captures this combined burden is the Triple Shift. It highlights how the workload doesn’t end with paid employment; women often take on the bulk of housework and the emotional management of family life too, leading to a cumulative strain.

For context, emotion work involves coordinating and smoothing people’s feelings, such as comforting partners and children, which adds to the time and emotional energy dedicated to home life. This concept helps explain gendered patterns of time use and stress in many households.

The other terms don’t fit this specific idea: the expressive role refers to emotional duties within family life in a more general, functionalist sense; occupational segmentation is about how jobs are divided by gender in the labor market; and family wage labour describes a historical arrangement where the male breadwinner is supported by a wife’s income, not the combined workload at home.