For the past several years, I have worked the afternoon shift. The times were usually 3:00 to 11:30 or 4:00 to 12:30. I liked the hours quite a bit, and I especially liked the fact that I never had to be awakened by an alarm clock.
Fast forward a bit, and a few months ago, I accepted a new position at the same company, for more pay, which is good, but it is 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It didn’t seem too bad to me when I said yes, but every damn shop in my area is closed by 4:00. Seriously, how the do you day shift people (and I must now include myself in this category) get anything done during the week? Everything is closed before work, and everything is closed after work.
I’m guessing most retailers make their money on 2nd and 3rd shifters during the week, since they never seem to be open when we 1st shifters have time to head to their stores!
Changing my sleep schedule ended up being the easiest part of it. But damned if I hate using a Saturday to get all the little shit done that I used to do during the week!
Very long lunches, leaving early, sometimes (however rarely) arriving late. Long breaks and early outs seem to be very easy as everyone understands those constraints, but for a day shift worker it is get there on time or before so you can have the ability to get YOUR shit done also, but get their later and you may as well not show up at all as you won’t be missed. YMMV
All of those options have the side effect of either reducing the amount of the next paycheck, or eating up vacation hours, which are much better used on actual vacations. Lunches longer than 30 minutes aren’t even an option where I work.
I prefer 2nd shift, but it does suck if you wake up early and then have 5-6 hours to kill before work. Time off before work doesn’t feel the same as time off after work.
I liked something between, like a 10am-6pm shift. That way I didn’t need an alarm clock and still had time after work.
I do understand about not being able to run errands. It sucks.
most retailers and similar around me are open until late evening, so either I go after work on my way home, or if I can I wait for the weekend. exceptions like getting the truck serviced means I just drop it off at the place by work in the morning, and get a ride from a co-worker at the end of the day to pick it up.
I worked the night shift (6pm to 6am) for almost exactly 20 years before I was hired by a place that has no night shift - so I was forced onto the Day Shift. Ugh!
The night shift is so much more quiet… so many fewer meetings… nobody from Marketing lounging around my work area hoping (incorrectly) that I am going to finish their project at any moment. I used to go months at a time without seeing my boss.
I worked graveyard shift for many years, with mixed feelings:
The pros:
Owners aren’t around
Clients aren’t around
I could eat at my desk, as long as the work got done.
I could make and keep daytime appointments and do chores
Getting off work hours early, when the work was done
The cons:
The phone ringing while I was trying to sleep
Friends waking me up, because “I know you’re home now”
Going out with friends, or to a concert, before work is weird.
Loud construction noise while I was trying to sleep
Day-shift coworkers wanting me to do errands, “because after all you’re home all day”
Trying to sleep in sweltering daytime heat, with no air conditioning
Having coworkers who liked working graveyard, because they were social misfits
Becoming diabetic (yes, it’s high among graveyard shift workers)
An insane owner firing the entire shift on Christmas Eve
All in all, it’s so much better to work my own hours, at home.
Stores around here are open til 9pm, if not 10pm or midnight.
I’m a 2nd shifter, for about 10 years, and very much enjoy it. I also have a weekday off so can run daytime errands then, but generally don’t go anywhere until 6pm or so. Last time I was in a store on a Saturday I couldn’t believe the crowds and immediately regretted it. That had to be more than 6 years ago.
Another great thing about working the night shift was being able to put my children on the school bus in the morning & get them back off the bus in the afternoon.
Call me old fashioned, but I actually enjoyed raising the kids. So, having the ability to smooth that portion of the day was wonderful. There was never any need to rush around frantically. If they missed the bus, I just drove them.
There’s a lot to be said for working first shift (4AM-noon):
~ Total autonomy for the first 3-4 hours (that’s when everyone else including the boss comes in).
~ Ability to enjoy the afternoon whether it’s walking the dogs, exercising, meeting friends, etc.
~ Doing errands without much hassle
~ Getting a bump in pay for taking said shift.
The cons, OTOH:
~ passing out around dinnertime or shortly thereafter whether it’s physically, mentally, or a combination of both.
~ Forcing yourself to be in bed AND asleep before 9PM unless you relish imitating the walking dead.
~ Utter lack of social life because of these two points
I did overnight shifts off and on for 10 years and I still do them during the holidays. They’re like an extended version of first shift, tbh.
Doing second shift (7-3:30) was much easier on my body and social life but it completely messed up my internal scheduling because I’m so used to first shift.
And I feel you OP, I used to work shifts (earlies, lates, nights on a rotating basis) and enjoyed it but took a nine to five (well eight to four) Monday to Friday position when it came up because everyone said I would be crazy not to.
I’ve spent the last four years trying to get back to shifts, I feel like strangling people when they tell me how lucky I am not to be working them!
Most of us live in the 21st Century where the vast majority of stores are open late into the evening. That’s the core of your issue. Most doctor offices around here have late hours a couple days a week. It’s simply expected in the modern world.
Some parts of the country still do things the 1940s way. It *might *be lower stress. It’s definitely lower convenience.
As a serious suggestion, amazon or the equivalent can solve damn near all your non-food shopping needs. And do it 24/7. Grainger can do the same for the industrial stuff. Which leaves you needing perishable food, haircuts, and doctors. And not much more.
