Second Shift; Ch. 7; page 207
This is not the first time I have heard or read about the second shift concept. I think the second shift is no longer only considered routine for women. I myself (a man) have a second shift every day. I used to have three shifts in one day actually. I used to work two jobs and go to school full-time. So really I had four shifts a day. My routine was go to work in the morning, go to school in the afternoon, go to my internship at night, and then go home and take care of stuff around my apartment (general upkeep like vacuuming, doing laundry, emptying the dish-washer, etc.). My fiance also lives with me and she has a second shift life as well. She works all day (9-5) and then comes home to cook dinner and take care of other things. It will be interesting to see how drastic our second shifts will be when we start having kids!
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15 years ago
Hi GSackman,
ReplyDeleteYour post is something that I think the vast majority of us can relate to. Traditionally, it seems that women would have to engage in a "second shift" more often then men because more often than not, women are the ones who take care of children and often work as well. However, like you pointed out, more men these days have a second shift as well, and it is now become the norm to do so. My husband works full time and then volunteers in the "Big Brother" program. Also, he's my husband so when he comes home, we usually have dinner and then go to the gym. I know when we have kids, he will play a huge role in raising them - we're definitely not traditional when it comes to childraising!
I can certainly relate to your chosen concept of second shift. In my day to day routine i guess i have a four shift routine. I get up at 5am with my fiance, make his lunch and his breakfast, leave for school, then work then im home to make dinner. My fiance most days works a 10 hour shift. In my Italian family, we have very Italian traditions. The man works for the family and the women is 100% domestic. While my fiance enjoys helping me wheni need it- i usually like to have him maintain his second shift which is work then taking care of our dog in terms of feeding, walking, bathing etc. My form of work is hardly a contribution to our little family and its for a couple hours a couple times a week so i really like for my fiance to be able to relax after his long labor intensive job. On the other hand, i think it is great that people know that the second shift concept does exhist. Sometimes people do not realize that women have multiple shifts in a day and in a sense the work never stops. They have to go about there day to day business then maintain the household and kids after that. Great post all in all, i enjoyed reading it. its always fun to see a guys perspective on things that have to do with maintaining the house etc.
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