Anyone work night or swing shift?

[skcin]

Hubby starts a new job tonight (got laid off in January.) It's at a manufacturing company, pays well, he has experience & it's nice, clean, modern, etc.
The only bad thing is that it's a swing shift:

4 days 7pm-7am
5 days off
5 days 7am-7pm
4 days off
5 days 7pm-7am
5 days off
4 days 7am-7pm

Etc, etc, etc. He's obviously very nervous about the changing shift, staying awake, etc. Anyone have experience with this - personally or friends/family members?

I'm ambivalent about it: It sounds like he'll like the job itself & the money's there. BUT there will be days we don't even see eachother at all. BUT that gives us more alone time to do things we like to do but the other doesn't (aka: Mac obsessing :laugh: ) AND he gets lots of days off in a row.

[David]

He's obviously very nervous about the changing shift, staying awake, etc. Anyone have experience with this - personally or friends/family members?I once worked late hours -- about 4 pm to midnight/1 am -- back in my newspaper days.

I loved those hours!

[DrummerDeanna]

I never worked anything than long...but in my commercial radio days there were times I'd have to work the 6pm - midnight or the midnight to 6am shift. The midnight to 6 was brutal...hard to stay awake - since it was radio though I'd just have my boyfriend come by and we'd play games and stuff lol....I was the only one there....

At NPR there are people there 24 hours a day - and a lot of the people I knew worked swing/overnights....they get used to it after a while....

The many days off in a row thing is NICE though...I've never had that...

[catinthedark]

I have worked every shift in the book.

Overnights 10pm-8am.... lasted on that for nine months. :rolleyes:

Weekends 9am-7pm

Evenings 3pm-11pm or midnight

Days 9am-5pm or 10pm-6pm or 11am-7pm

Now I work noon-10pm, four days a week. But any four days. It changes every week. But I LOVE it. :nod:

The five days off at a stretch is nice. I think it'll be an adjustment but doable. The days (nights) he's doing overnights will suck, but I don't know what he'll be doing exactly. I know I needed to sleep 8 hours a day during the day when I was on overnights because it was the only way I could go on the radio every half hour and read a coherent newscast. :laugh: Maybe he'll be able to get by on less and be able to have supper with you or something? Or breakfast when he gets home? Good luck! Try not to worry too much...

[skcin]

Well, he'll be outside operating a front-end loader much of the time. Here's hoping he won't fall asleep driving that thing! :eek:

I worked 3p-11p for years, loved it when I was younger (OK, what am I, 100 or something? :laugh: ) cuz we used to go out afterwards. But I've been on days for about 5 years, and he hasn't worked mights in over 11 years, at least.

The nights should work out OK, since he'll be sleeping while I'm at work. It's the change in hours every week that's scaring us.

He said at one point "I'd rather take a day job making $8 an hour than not be home half the time." My reply: "I'd rather you not be home & make better money." :D

[sara1998]

I used to work 3 12 hour days, 6am to 6pm, off 3 days, and then 3 12 hour nights, 6pm to 6am. IT WILL TAKE A TOLL ON HIM!!! I put on 50 lbs working that damn shift, but boy the money was good. Just make sure he eats as properly as he can, and take a vitamin, and try to get as much rest as possible on working days. It can be done, but it is kinda rough. I liked it, but I like my straight 8 hour day shift better. I know lots of people here who have worked this shift for YEARS, and refuse to leave it because they can't live without the shift premiums and overtime. So, be careful of getting used to living on overtime.

Lemme know if you have any more questions.... I worked that shift for 4 years.

[amber]

My dad does, has on and off for years. It's kinda crappy, but since your husband has 4 days off, that will really help. :nod: It is a bit taxing on your system, though. He'll feel better if he's able to get to sleep within 1-2 hours of getting home...

[skcin]

Thanks you guys! :wavey: He took a nap yesterday evening & then stayed up all night to prepare for his first night at work tonight. We'll see how it goes.

There is a new medication that is prescribed for narcolepsy & shift work sleep disorders. It's not a stimulant, it's a bit different. Doesn't stay in your system long either, only about 6 hours or so. At least we know it's there if he needs it. That, or meth. :shrug: J/K

[ChrystalGypsey]

:] My boyfriend is a vampyre who has to stay up all night, which was difficult because he'd have class 2 days a week, one at 8:00 am. He would get little sleep the night before, but still stay up all night the next.

Sometimes you can't fight your body's natural cycle of sleep. With my B/F, he'd use his days off to sleep how he wanted, instead of keeping with the school schedule. It will be hard for you husband to keep that sleep schedule on his days off because he'll never see you! If he was always awake at night, it would be easier for this job, but it sounds like he's a normal sleeper. I guess that if he adheres to the day sleeping a day or two before his work week begins, he'll be okay.

Good luck!

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

I work a night shift 2 nights a week... 11pm til 7.30am. I don't think you ever get used to it. I still find sleeping in the day hard. I did invest in some blackout curtains and some ear plugs! I also had to stop the snacking at night when the weight started to creep up. I do drink plenty of coffee though and take the occasional pro-plus!

[Mad4stevie]

After college and before law school, I worked a job for 2 years that was one month of 4 to 12 midnight (2nd shift) and then one month of 12 midnight to 8 am (3rd shift). I loved the 2nd shift job because we would all go out after work :)

I hated the 3rd shift because I got so tired around 4 am and never could sleep right during the day. My appetite sucked during the shift, which meant that I lost weight. Even with blankets all on my windows, I couldn't sleep right.

Needless to say, I was ready for the hell of law school after working 3rd shift because I knew that I never wanted to work overnight again like that. Now my only late/overnights are when I am preparing for trial.

I do know some people that loved working the overnight shift, but I wasn't one of them!

[paleshadow]

Hubby starts a new job tonight (got laid off in January.) It's at a manufacturing company, pays well, he has experience & it's nice, clean, modern, etc.
The only bad thing is that it's a swing shift:

4 days 7pm-7am
5 days off
5 days 7am-7pm
4 days off
5 days 7pm-7am
5 days off
4 days 7am-7pm

Etc, etc, etc. He's obviously very nervous about the changing shift, staying awake, etc. Anyone have experience with this - personally or friends/family members?

I'm ambivalent about it: It sounds like he'll like the job itself & the money's there. BUT there will be days we don't even see eachother at all. BUT that gives us more alone time to do things we like to do but the other doesn't (aka: Mac obsessing :laugh: ) AND he gets lots of days off in a row.


I work an AWS shift at a manufacturing company. I work 6pm-6am 4 days on, 4 off, then 3 on and 3 off. The 4 days off in a row are nice, but usually I sleep the whole day on my first day off. The hardest part about it is going back to sleeping normal hours on your days off, and then having to sleep during the day on your work days. I try not to do that, but it's hard to get things done if you sleep during the day.
I reccomend getting a sleep mask, and ear plugs because the world does not cator to people who work nights. For example, they are doing work on the roof of my apartment right now, so like it or not I'm up. :(

Can't complain about the pay though, or the time off. For the 4th of July I end up with 11 days off without taking a vacation day, just because of how the holiday and my schedule fall.