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Am I crazy??? - dmc

Posted: Apr 14, 2011

My boss has offered me a 3rd shift position working 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. I work days now 10 a.m to 6 p.m. This 3rd position appeals to me because there would be no interruptions and hopefully my production would get even better. I could be up in the morning around 10-11 am and have the rest of the day to run errands, grocery shop or just do some baking which sounds wonderful. I am usually a day person, but this sounds intriguing. I realize the first couple of weeks would be really rough getting used to it. My husband is not crazy about it. He is disabled and so is home almost every day all day long. We don't have children at home anymore. But, I do get interrupted, you know, phone calls, people showing up at the door and "honey, have you seen my black shirt, I can't find it. Honey, where's the candy thermometer (to which I think, Oh God, what is he doing in the kitchen?" The dogs interrupt me a bit during the day too. "I need to go outside. I want a treat. There is flea on me, etc!" Ugh! My husband is very worried that I won't get enough sleep, although he keeps things very quiet on the weekends so that I can get extra sleep now. My sister has said "Don't do it. It's not worth it! People who work night shifts have more heart problems and health problems." (She has worked night shift before.) Part of me says oh the things I could get done during the day. Another part of me wonders if I am being unrealistic? There is NO shift differential and the company is being bought out by another company. If the new company believes they have too many employees after the buyout, would the night shift be the first to go? I get to keep my same accounts and same doctors. My boss assures me there is more than enough work at night, but ????? Sometimes during the day I run out of work, very frustrating (like right now, I'm out of work). She says she needs someone on this shift yesterday. Help me make the right decision!

It's not a horrible shift, but... - mtmom

[ In Reply To ..]
I think you will find that it takes quite a while to get used to. I'm sure there is more work at night (I work second shift up till midnight and I always have work to do), but it really messes up being able to have a schedule, plus after working 3rd before, I found that I ended up sleeping most of the day away. Being able to work uninterrupted is a big help though. My production improves greatly when no one bugs me. :)

My 2 cents - oaf

[ In Reply To ..]
The only way I would take is if there was a shift differential and you get pay more. I've been tempted to do the same thing but my hubbie goes through the roof. I would be sure that if after a few weeks it isn't working out that I could go back to the day shift if I were you. As we get older the night working thing takes more of a toll on our ole bodies too! I sometimes think of the day interruptions as a good thing, otherwise we would never get up and stretch a bit...

Am I crazy?? - dmc

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree with you that as we get old it is harder on our old bodies. I asked the boss if I would be able to return to day shift. Her reply was "I'm not going to say that you can't go back to day shift." Huh? What does that mean exactly? I have thought about the constant sitting too. I guess I would have to make sure I get up and walk around, stretch, etc.

Don't do it is my advice.....I'm afraid you will - MT 44

[ In Reply To ..]
have no social or family life. I would worry you will not be able to sleep during the day and you will get overtired. The only positive thing I see about it is the abundance of work and no interruptions. But if it does work for you let us know. It would be nice to get a weekly log/report as you go along. Good luck!

After just clocking out from my 11p-7a I say avoid it if you can! - Hayseed

[ In Reply To ..]
I HAVE to follow the work or else we are screwed. Daytime work dried up, second shift wasn't far behind (I moved to 2nd for years and loved it), so I went to nights (not only nights, but every weekend night too with 2 nights off in the middle of the week, double ick).

I gotta say though, my paychecks are absolutely rockin'. I only do straight typing. I went from STRUGGLING to making 1200 lines a shift, sometimes putting in 12 hour days to snag jobs, to a minimum of 1700 without breaking a sweat. I take a nap on my lunch hour and still only clock in 7 hours total, so not too shabby at all.

I've caught up on a buttload of bills but I have never been so sick in my life. I've had some sort of bug for over a month now that's like a bad cold. I feel hung over every day. On my 2 nights off, I HAVE to stay on a 3rd shift schedule or else I can't "swing" back into 3rd shift.

I go to a gym regularly though, so that helps, plus I'm pretty active outdoors, no matter what the weather, so when it's time for me to go to bed, I sleep pretty darned solid. I have a white noise maker and curtains that block out 100% of the light. I turn the phone onto "vibrate" while I'm sleeping, have a note on the voice message that says that I am sleeping and if it's an emergency to call right back and hopefully I'll wake up, AND I also have a note stuck to the front door saying, "Sleeping 3rd shifters, please call xxx-xxxx if emergency." THAT has been fantastic, as UPS/fed-ex/neighbors just leave things they want to leave or catch me later. :)

Having a spouse who is supportive is a tremendous help--he used to work 3rd shift too and is retired now, so he just sleeps when I do and gets up when I do. Makes things a whole heck of a lot easier.

I'm going to stick it out as long as I possibly can though. The alternatives out there aren't pretty right now. I'd rather be permanently in a state of limbo than where I was nearly headed with the lack of work. Good luck in whatever your decision!

:-)

re: am I crazy - cr

[ In Reply To ..]
I HATED working graveyard! And I'm an insomniac - you'd think it would be perfect, but I couldn't hack it and quit after a couple of months. I could never sleep, was more lonely, and everything felt utterly hopeless, being isolated from the rest of the world.

Sleep - mt1347

[ In Reply To ..]
I would advise you not to do it. It sounds like you think you will finish work at 4 a.m. and tumble into bed and fall asleep - believe me, that will not happen. You will need time to unwind and it will be 6, 7 and 8 a.m. before you get to sleep. Your health might suffer if you don't get enough sleep. I need 3rd shift when I was younger, but I know I can't do it now, no matter how much money is offered to me. You might be more flexible in your sleeping habits than I am, though.

Third Shift - Tiny

[ In Reply To ..]
I worked third shift for a hotel at the front desk 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. I got home and didn't sleep some days till 2 in the afternoon, then slept my entire day away and had to get up at night and leave when everyone else was getting ready for bed. I know it's different because we are at home, but with no shift differential there is just no way I would go for this. The people who do night shift at our hospital get a pretty nice shift differential. If your boss needs someone that bad, they would be willing to pay someone to work that shift. Ask her for 3 cpl more than you make now to do night shift and see what she says. Keep us posted on what you decide and good luck.

Night shift - s/m

[ In Reply To ..]
I am a night person always been a night person. My shift is split I work from 1 pm to 4 pm and then 10 pm to 3-4 am and I love it. I have no trouble going to bed right after my shift and sleeping. I wake up around 9 am and off to the gym and never felt healthier and I am over 50. So it depends on the person really.

Same here - Jaz

[ In Reply To ..]
I also work a split shift (2nd ending at 2 a.m.) and love it. I can go right to sleep after work and get enough sleep. I have 7 hours between shifts and can get everything done I need to around the house, gardening, shopping, etc., in that time. I get more work done on 2nd shift because of fewer interuptions. I am getting too old to sit 8 hours straight and working in 4-hour shifts is just right.

That said, unless I was sure I could go back to day shift if it did not work out, I would pass since might not be able to adjust easily to night hours on top of not being paid any more for it. I get a nice shift differential, but many companies are doing away with that.

That's not too bad..........sm - Tiny

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are able to sleep and adjust to that, I think that schedule sounds okay. Wonder if the boss would consider something like this? I would ask her if I was OP.

It depends on how your body can physically adjust. I have a - similar schedule and feel awful all the time. sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I like my company, but after two years of working into the middle of the night, I still haven't adjusted and I wake up with the sun. I feel like I've aged 10 years and all I want to do in my off time is sleep. There are others who love that shift. In the long run, you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Don't do it for less than double what you are making now! - Lynn

[ In Reply To ..]
Time to start raising the bar for ALL of us!!! Time to start being paid what we're worth - I wouldn't do a third shift for less than double what the day shift is making.

And by the way, I wouldn't work as an IC for anything less than 10 cents a line...The taxes will KILL YOU!

I've been on 3rd shift since January. - shipaddict

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been doing this since January and I have to say I kind of like it. I am a night person anyway, and there have been many nights where I wouldn't go to sleep til 3 or 4am knowing that I had to be up at 7am to get the kids off to school and get to work. So now I just stay up the extra few hours, get a lot of work done without interruptions, and I'm up to send the kids off. Then I go to bed.

With this position, I work Sunday thru Thursday nights so I still get a normal weekend just like everyone else.

Having said all that though, I DO get a shift differential for working this shift. I wouldn't do it without some kind of incentive. No matter how easy it is for me to stay up all night, I still don't feel like I get enuf sleep during the day sometimes. And then there are some errands that can only be done between 9 and 5, so you have to rearrange your sleep some days to be able to get them done.

If your husband isn't on board, he's definitely not going to make this easy for you. I'm single, so it's a nonissue. But if you can't swing him to your point of view, then either pass or get ready for a lot of arguments!

Good luck in your decision.

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