Consequences of Unpaid Labor: Evidence from the U.S.

Abstract

Unpaid labor—such as caregiving and housework—remains foundational to the functioning of families and society, yet continues to be undervalued, invisible, and unequally distributed. This dissertation examines the lived experiences and consequences of unpaid labor focusing on three groups—grandparents, parents of minor children, and working parents—using nationally representative data. It asks: How do caregiving expectations shape labor force participation in later life? How do parenting practices aligned with intensive parenting norms relate to stress and fatigue? And how is unpaid labor timed across the workday in relation to paid work and subjective well-being? The first chapter examines how gendered dynamics unfold across generations to shape older adults’ labor force participation. The second chapter introduces “backdrop parenting”—moments of child presence without active care—and suggests that mothers experience greater fatigue than fathers from these experiences due to overlapping unpaid tasks. The third chapter explores how working parents schedule unpaid labor around paid work, revealing that stress and fatigue vary with its timing across the day. Together, these chapters offer a more contextualized understanding of unpaid labor, emphasizing not only how much time is spent, but also when care occurs, who is present, and how it is experienced. By highlighting less visible contours of unpaid labor—such as intergenerational interlocking of gender norms, backdrop parenting, and the temporal layering of tasks—this dissertation challenges conventional ideas about unpaid labor and underscores the need for intersectional, life course–oriented approaches to understanding unpaid labor.