Surviving swing shift
December 10, 2015 4:28 AM Subscribe
A company that I am interviewing with has decided that they need management types on second shift (2 pm- 10 pm). I haven't done shift work in a long time and I'm feeling a bit weird about it. The work is Sunday-Thursday. Can you tell me some advantages and disadvantages?
Second shift is a great shift in a lot of ways, but there can be a few dealbreakers.
Advantages: So much time in the morning, when shops and banks and the gym and stuff are open. Sleeping in more than you would with a day shift job (advantage x a whole bunch if you are a night owl like me). Less traffic, so your commute sucks so much less. If you have pets and a partner who works day shift, more time for pets to hang out with their people during the day.
Disadvantages: Management higher up the chain of command are not at work for most of your shift so if you have to call someone to escalate something, you are likely bothering an on-call person at home. Your social life may suffer if you are an early-to-go-out person. You may have to cook food for dinner ahead of time if you get tired at night, or spend more money and possibly gain weight doing takeout. If you have kids, especially young kids, you won't see them during the week after school except for a kiss while they're already sleeping--and childcare may be more expensive.
posted by skyl1n3 at 4:44 AM on December 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
Advantages: So much time in the morning, when shops and banks and the gym and stuff are open. Sleeping in more than you would with a day shift job (advantage x a whole bunch if you are a night owl like me). Less traffic, so your commute sucks so much less. If you have pets and a partner who works day shift, more time for pets to hang out with their people during the day.
Disadvantages: Management higher up the chain of command are not at work for most of your shift so if you have to call someone to escalate something, you are likely bothering an on-call person at home. Your social life may suffer if you are an early-to-go-out person. You may have to cook food for dinner ahead of time if you get tired at night, or spend more money and possibly gain weight doing takeout. If you have kids, especially young kids, you won't see them during the week after school except for a kiss while they're already sleeping--and childcare may be more expensive.
posted by skyl1n3 at 4:44 AM on December 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
Swing can definitely be a social life killer, depending on when your friends/family work. My cousin has done 2pm to 11pm, Sundays and Thursdays off, for half of forever, and I see him on ... Sundays and Thursdays, because even though I'm not 8 to 5 comes, by the time 11 comes, I'm getting ready for bed. So if I'm out of town one weekend or he is, we sometimes have trouble scheduling. We make it work, but it can be frustrating.
On the other hand, if your friends/family are all either mostly on swing or random retail/food service/health care/etc schedules, then it might not be so much of an issue.
posted by joycehealy at 4:54 AM on December 10, 2015
On the other hand, if your friends/family are all either mostly on swing or random retail/food service/health care/etc schedules, then it might not be so much of an issue.
posted by joycehealy at 4:54 AM on December 10, 2015
If you come home and eat dinner and then go to bed right after (because it's late already), you're like to develop acid reflux. This very situation helped put me in the hospital with atrial arrhythmia less than a year ago, so don't take it too lightly.
posted by MexicanYenta at 4:56 AM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by MexicanYenta at 4:56 AM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
The biggest disadvantage: being disconnected from your company's management and dominant 9am-5pm work culture.
posted by Tanzanite at 5:05 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Tanzanite at 5:05 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Sunday - Thursday is ideal for 2nd swing in that it doesn't wreck the social patterns of at least the majority of adults -- you still have Friday and Saturday nights like a normal person.
In general, if you are a morning person this will be much harder than if you are a night owl. I would be all over a 2nd swing gig!
posted by DarlingBri at 5:07 AM on December 10, 2015
In general, if you are a morning person this will be much harder than if you are a night owl. I would be all over a 2nd swing gig!
posted by DarlingBri at 5:07 AM on December 10, 2015
I did swing shift tech support (1pm-11pm) back in my late 20s. As others have mentioned, it is nice to have daytime for running errands, shopping, etc. Commute was great. The vibe after mostly everyone else left was pretty loose. I wasn't big on going out, so that wasn't an issue. When I got home, I would usually eat a little something, watch some late-night TV, then sleep from about 1-9. The hardest part for me was being on a 3-week days-off rotation and 4 10-hour days per week, not the hours themselves - if you have Friday and Saturday set as off days, it's definitely more doable.
posted by candyland at 5:10 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by candyland at 5:10 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd love it, because of all the errand-running and shopping and such that you're able to do on days-other-than-Saturday. And, you know, being home for deliveries and such.
I am so boring.
posted by rokusan at 5:10 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am so boring.
posted by rokusan at 5:10 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
You will be missing some of the football on Sundays.
posted by AugustWest at 5:19 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by AugustWest at 5:19 AM on December 10, 2015
Response by poster: Rokusan I am so boring, too. I'm the cook in the family and I'm thinking the main meal is going to be lunch instead of dinner.
posted by kamikazegopher at 5:22 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by kamikazegopher at 5:22 AM on December 10, 2015
I worked Sunday-Thursday for two years and pretty much loved it. It's so great having Friday free to take care of doctor appointments, shopping, etc while everyone else is at work. You still have Friday and Saturday night free, and for some reason my office was just overall mellower on Sunday. We were working, for sure, but the stress levels were lower.
Caveat: this is before I had kids.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:22 AM on December 10, 2015
Caveat: this is before I had kids.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:22 AM on December 10, 2015
I worked swing shift tech support right after college. If you are a night owl like me, you may find it AMAZING. I have delayed sleep phase disorder and my natural sleep window is 2-10, give or take. With second shift, I could sleep exactly when my body wanted and still have time to do stuff in the morning when things are open! The downside personally is, as previously mentioned, in coordinating schedules with friends/family, but having set days off would likely be quite helpful for that.
posted by oblique red at 6:40 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by oblique red at 6:40 AM on December 10, 2015
I did something similar in a library job for about six months.
Stuff I liked:
- Really easy to do errands and things like doctor's appointments.
- I'm naturally a night owl, so being able to be up late was great.
- Being able to wake up without an alarm most of the time.
- I liked working on Sundays when things were quieter (more time for complex projects, just generally more mellow because we had people in the library but they were mostly doing their own thing.)
- A lot of flexibility at work (within the general guidelines of what I was doing) about when I did things, sequence, what I worked on when, etc.
Stuff that was tricky:
- I found I couldn't get to sleep until about 2-3 hours after I got home (which made morning appointments and errands tricky sometimes.)
- I found there was a lot of inefficiency of errands, because I'd have to get up to do something, but need to leave enough time afterwards to get to work, where if I'd been doing that errand after work, if it took longer, it wasn't a big deal. (Oil changes, waiting for something at the pharmacy, etc.)
- Difficulty coordinating with other people at work, sometimes (and one committee where the only time they could meet was 8am on Fridays, aka my day off after being at work until 11). Ditto some campus-wide meetings.
- The disconnect with other people I was working with, even when I tried to mitigate that. (It's not impossible, and I think it's a lot easier if there's more than one person in that 2nd shift role.
- Coverage issues if I was sick or wanted to take vacation (less flexibility than a normal day role - may or may not apply in your situation.)
And finally, I found that I did a lot less work on projects where I'd want to focus on them for an hour or two at a time. If I tried to do them in the morning, I'd get to "I could do X, but I have to make a decent lunch and then get ready to go to work so I don't really have time to get into this" and after work, it'd take me an hour or 90 minutes to decompress, make dinner, have a bath, and then I wouldn't necessarily want to start something that I'd work on for 2-3 hours. (Where if I get home from work, even if I get home at 5 and go to bed at 10, I still have a solid three hours of evening after the other necessary stuff.)
posted by modernhypatia at 6:53 AM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
Stuff I liked:
- Really easy to do errands and things like doctor's appointments.
- I'm naturally a night owl, so being able to be up late was great.
- Being able to wake up without an alarm most of the time.
- I liked working on Sundays when things were quieter (more time for complex projects, just generally more mellow because we had people in the library but they were mostly doing their own thing.)
- A lot of flexibility at work (within the general guidelines of what I was doing) about when I did things, sequence, what I worked on when, etc.
Stuff that was tricky:
- I found I couldn't get to sleep until about 2-3 hours after I got home (which made morning appointments and errands tricky sometimes.)
- I found there was a lot of inefficiency of errands, because I'd have to get up to do something, but need to leave enough time afterwards to get to work, where if I'd been doing that errand after work, if it took longer, it wasn't a big deal. (Oil changes, waiting for something at the pharmacy, etc.)
- Difficulty coordinating with other people at work, sometimes (and one committee where the only time they could meet was 8am on Fridays, aka my day off after being at work until 11). Ditto some campus-wide meetings.
- The disconnect with other people I was working with, even when I tried to mitigate that. (It's not impossible, and I think it's a lot easier if there's more than one person in that 2nd shift role.
- Coverage issues if I was sick or wanted to take vacation (less flexibility than a normal day role - may or may not apply in your situation.)
And finally, I found that I did a lot less work on projects where I'd want to focus on them for an hour or two at a time. If I tried to do them in the morning, I'd get to "I could do X, but I have to make a decent lunch and then get ready to go to work so I don't really have time to get into this" and after work, it'd take me an hour or 90 minutes to decompress, make dinner, have a bath, and then I wouldn't necessarily want to start something that I'd work on for 2-3 hours. (Where if I get home from work, even if I get home at 5 and go to bed at 10, I still have a solid three hours of evening after the other necessary stuff.)
posted by modernhypatia at 6:53 AM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
One of the biggest disadvantages to management shift work is the "hours creep". Especially if you are closing the operation in lieu of a third shift. 2 to 10 is a lot different than 2 to close. If you close,that extends your work day significantly.mif you don't, you might regularly have issues when your relief doesn't show up. And generally, you are expected to be there 30 minutes before your shift and 30 minutes after to do a proper "hand off." Also, any mandatory corporate meetings will be held during the day and you will be expected to attend.
If this job is managing a warehouse or any kind of operation that requires you to be on your feet, it's going to be physically challenging. And you end up taking one day to recover. Then you take another day to get set up for your workweek, so you end up really with one day off and free of obligations.
For me, it looked good on paper but the reality was not at all what I expected. Feel free to memail me if you have questions!
posted by raisingsand at 7:28 AM on December 10, 2015
If this job is managing a warehouse or any kind of operation that requires you to be on your feet, it's going to be physically challenging. And you end up taking one day to recover. Then you take another day to get set up for your workweek, so you end up really with one day off and free of obligations.
For me, it looked good on paper but the reality was not at all what I expected. Feel free to memail me if you have questions!
posted by raisingsand at 7:28 AM on December 10, 2015
I worked swing shift for three years at a boarding school and I loved the hours. It feels as though you have a lot more time in the day to work on projects and you also typically get more time off. I usually had three days off working full time. It didn't impact my social life that much because I still had Friday and Saturday nights off and I mostly hang out with yoga friends in the am/brunch time. I work a 9-5 now and that switch has been killer on my body. I feel like I have no time now. If I could work the same job, swing status, I would in a heartbeat.
posted by Marinara at 7:37 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by Marinara at 7:37 AM on December 10, 2015
I worked swing shift (Sunday to Thursday) in academic libraries for around five years. It was a sort of a disaster for my social life, but I was single and didn't have a lot of friends and it sounds like you're more settled. Also I had a second job and was in school part time. So, not just a swing shift problem.
One thing that I don't think anyone else has mentioned that I really loved was that Sunday still kind of felt like a day off - sort of a half-holiday. I could still have a lazy Sunday morning, get brunch, whatever. And Sunday was a much quieter day in the library than class days were (obviously this may vary depending on what type of work you're doing and what your organization is like) so it was an easy way to start the week.
I was able to get a ton done in my non-social personal life, and I could do errands, go see movies, go to museums, whatever during the day. It was great in some ways! But isolating too.
Oh AND, in winter, you don't really notice or care so much about the short days, because you can generally wake up when you want (family considerations aside) and you're at work before it gets dark anyway. It's just as dark when I leave work at 6 now as it will be at 10.
posted by mskyle at 7:46 AM on December 10, 2015
One thing that I don't think anyone else has mentioned that I really loved was that Sunday still kind of felt like a day off - sort of a half-holiday. I could still have a lazy Sunday morning, get brunch, whatever. And Sunday was a much quieter day in the library than class days were (obviously this may vary depending on what type of work you're doing and what your organization is like) so it was an easy way to start the week.
I was able to get a ton done in my non-social personal life, and I could do errands, go see movies, go to museums, whatever during the day. It was great in some ways! But isolating too.
Oh AND, in winter, you don't really notice or care so much about the short days, because you can generally wake up when you want (family considerations aside) and you're at work before it gets dark anyway. It's just as dark when I leave work at 6 now as it will be at 10.
posted by mskyle at 7:46 AM on December 10, 2015
Swing shift can be amazing for raising children. When my first was an infant I was on the evening shift for the first 18 months with my husband on days.
Baby went to daycare for only about two hours a day. I had him in the mornings and my husband had him at night. It really squashed the "mom as the go-to parent" thing. They had their own routine and ways of doing things that didn't involve me or the ways that I thought things ought to be done. Twenty-nine years later they still have a awesome bond, and I give a lot of credit to those early days.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:56 AM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
Baby went to daycare for only about two hours a day. I had him in the mornings and my husband had him at night. It really squashed the "mom as the go-to parent" thing. They had their own routine and ways of doing things that didn't involve me or the ways that I thought things ought to be done. Twenty-nine years later they still have a awesome bond, and I give a lot of credit to those early days.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:56 AM on December 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
My husband was on swing shift for the first year or two after he moved in with me (before we had a kid). It wasn't actually that bad. I think that it makes a big difference if you have a partner and/or kid, though.
Advantages:
He was in school at the time, so he would get up in the morning and watch TV (a lot of horrible History Channel shows) while doing homework and puttering around.
He could take me to work, and then he would come have lunch with me before going to work (in part because we didn't have that evening time together). I really valued those times. Whenever he drops me off now (very infrequently), we still wave goodbye to each other in the goofy way we used to :)
Disadvantages:
It was a bummer to attend a lot of activities on my own, like pub quiz and dinners.
Sundays bothered me more than I thought they would. Those were the times I expected to do certain errands and then curl up and watch some TV in preparation for the week ahead, and it felt a bit lonely. If your partner is the kind of person who gets that Sunday anxiety (that "oh crap, I didn't get the stuff done I wanted to" feeling), that might play into things.
But it's also not so bad to have time to yourself -- for both you and your partner -- and it does make you value the time you spend together. Knowing what I know now about having kids, I think that would be different, but (as others have said) it's also got advantages for raising children.
The commute can make or break it. If you have up to half an hour it's not so bad; you and your partner can get a routine together by watching some DVRed shows and then going to bed. But if you're not getting home before 11, it's difficult to feel like you and your partner can unwind together.
I stayed up until 1 or 2 a.m. for years, even after he switched, because we were in that habit. So if you have a partner who likes to go to bed early or can't afford to have their own bedtime creep later, that might be an issue. Of course, you don't HAVE to share a bed or bedroom.
Overall, I think it was a little annoying, but the pay differential was a huge help to us. Particularly if you know that there are advancement opportunities or a light at the end of the tunnel to move to other shifts down the road, I say go for it :)
posted by St. Hubbins at 8:21 AM on December 10, 2015
Advantages:
He was in school at the time, so he would get up in the morning and watch TV (a lot of horrible History Channel shows) while doing homework and puttering around.
He could take me to work, and then he would come have lunch with me before going to work (in part because we didn't have that evening time together). I really valued those times. Whenever he drops me off now (very infrequently), we still wave goodbye to each other in the goofy way we used to :)
Disadvantages:
It was a bummer to attend a lot of activities on my own, like pub quiz and dinners.
Sundays bothered me more than I thought they would. Those were the times I expected to do certain errands and then curl up and watch some TV in preparation for the week ahead, and it felt a bit lonely. If your partner is the kind of person who gets that Sunday anxiety (that "oh crap, I didn't get the stuff done I wanted to" feeling), that might play into things.
But it's also not so bad to have time to yourself -- for both you and your partner -- and it does make you value the time you spend together. Knowing what I know now about having kids, I think that would be different, but (as others have said) it's also got advantages for raising children.
The commute can make or break it. If you have up to half an hour it's not so bad; you and your partner can get a routine together by watching some DVRed shows and then going to bed. But if you're not getting home before 11, it's difficult to feel like you and your partner can unwind together.
I stayed up until 1 or 2 a.m. for years, even after he switched, because we were in that habit. So if you have a partner who likes to go to bed early or can't afford to have their own bedtime creep later, that might be an issue. Of course, you don't HAVE to share a bed or bedroom.
Overall, I think it was a little annoying, but the pay differential was a huge help to us. Particularly if you know that there are advancement opportunities or a light at the end of the tunnel to move to other shifts down the road, I say go for it :)
posted by St. Hubbins at 8:21 AM on December 10, 2015
I have a job that isn't exactly a swing shift, but I am mostly scheduled to work those kinds of hours. It's mostly great for me because I'm a night owl. At the same time, since it feeds into those night owl tendencies, I have a hard time regulating my sleep schedule, so I often get into the habit of staying up until 3 or 4 am and sleeping until 10 am or 11 am which isn't exactly ideal, but it's a hard habit to break, especially when you're regularly getting home at 11 pm.
As many other people have mentioned, it's nice being able to run errands when places are relatively emptier. I also have more energy to do creative pursuits since I can do them before I'm tired out from work. Oh, and it means your commute typically won't be that busy. In particular, if you drive and your route has the potential for heavy rush hour traffic, this can be really awesome and save you a lot of time.
At the same time, one nice thing about a 9-5 type schedule is that your free time is once you're done with work, so you get that nice feeling of being all done for the day. With the swing shift, unless you completely switch your sleep schedule so that you're sleeping from 6 am to 12 pm, you basically will just be coming home and crashing. This doesn't really bother me because I like my job, and it's relatively low stress, but I've also had jobs where going to work felt like a bit of a burden, so that would make it harder to enjoy the mornings when you have free time.
One other thing for context: I'm single, childless, and I don't really have a very active social life. I could see this being more of a problem if you have an SO who works 9-5 hours, since you probably wouldn't get to see each other very much most days of the week.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:40 AM on December 10, 2015
As many other people have mentioned, it's nice being able to run errands when places are relatively emptier. I also have more energy to do creative pursuits since I can do them before I'm tired out from work. Oh, and it means your commute typically won't be that busy. In particular, if you drive and your route has the potential for heavy rush hour traffic, this can be really awesome and save you a lot of time.
At the same time, one nice thing about a 9-5 type schedule is that your free time is once you're done with work, so you get that nice feeling of being all done for the day. With the swing shift, unless you completely switch your sleep schedule so that you're sleeping from 6 am to 12 pm, you basically will just be coming home and crashing. This doesn't really bother me because I like my job, and it's relatively low stress, but I've also had jobs where going to work felt like a bit of a burden, so that would make it harder to enjoy the mornings when you have free time.
One other thing for context: I'm single, childless, and I don't really have a very active social life. I could see this being more of a problem if you have an SO who works 9-5 hours, since you probably wouldn't get to see each other very much most days of the week.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:40 AM on December 10, 2015
I loved swing shift! I'm a night owl who loves the quiet that comes after midnight so I'd come home from work and stay up for a few more hours and sleep late the next day. As a peon it was fantastic to not have the whole management team around - the swing shift managers were really laid back and there was very little stress from them. My co-workers and I would leave work and dash to a bar for last call: it was fun but didn't require excessive amounts of socializing with co-workers. Also, it was pretty easy to switch from weekend time to work-week schedules, exactly the opposite of graveyard shift.
My job was M-F and it was fantastic to stay up late on Sunday nights when the rest of the country was grumbling about having to get up early on Monday. I still wish I could go back to swing shift in my current profession.
posted by bendy at 8:43 PM on December 10, 2015
My job was M-F and it was fantastic to stay up late on Sunday nights when the rest of the country was grumbling about having to get up early on Monday. I still wish I could go back to swing shift in my current profession.
posted by bendy at 8:43 PM on December 10, 2015
I work rotating shifts, and swings come up one week out of my five week cycle. Like everyone said, it is great for errands, going to the gym etc. I lean towards night owl so it fits my natural sleep patterns better. It is nice waking up slowly with a cup of coffee and cat on my lap. During the summer, I can meet my boyfriend at a park on his mail carrier route for lunch, or bring him things he needs during his workday.
Downsides are mostly social life. I can't paricipate in book club while on swings, or see friends much. Taking evening classes is out. Other than lunch, I don't really see my boyfriend as he has to be up early for work. Those with young kids hate the swings, since they don't get to see their little ones and the other parent is stuck with dinner and bedtime hassles.
posted by weathergal at 9:13 PM on December 10, 2015
Downsides are mostly social life. I can't paricipate in book club while on swings, or see friends much. Taking evening classes is out. Other than lunch, I don't really see my boyfriend as he has to be up early for work. Those with young kids hate the swings, since they don't get to see their little ones and the other parent is stuck with dinner and bedtime hassles.
posted by weathergal at 9:13 PM on December 10, 2015
Response by poster: Well, I start the job in a week. All answers have been very helpful in considering how I will rearrange things. I thank you all for taking the time to read and answer.
posted by kamikazegopher at 4:46 AM on January 10, 2016
posted by kamikazegopher at 4:46 AM on January 10, 2016
« Older Outragefilter-filter: how to develop a mental... | Print experts! I need to know what kind of print... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
You could have a job if you dont have one and may get paid a shift differential.
You will be in full energy mode for Friday and Saturday night events.
I've often heard people feel freer from other management on swing shift but chances for a promotion increase because you're responsible for things on your own.
You would miss out on normal weeknight activities.
Disadvantages:
Your sleep cycle may get all messed up if you try to sleep from midnight or one until eight if youre an early bird. Mine did and it wasn't worth it.
You may feel less in touch with other management.
posted by Kalmya at 4:39 AM on December 10, 2015 [6 favorites]