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2nd and 3rd shift gaf, pros and cons?

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DoomGyver

DoomGyver

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I've been working 1st shift my entire life, the last few years I have been getting up at 4:30am every day for work. I'm always tired, I feel like I'm never fully awake. Zombie-ish even. 4:30am is just too early for my body. I have the opportunity to move to 2nd or 3rd, and I'm strongly considering 2nd. 3pm-11:30pm mon-fri. I'd be able to wake up at 10am and go to bed around 2am. I think 3rd shift would be a terrible choice because I would throw myself off of that schedule every weekend whereas 2nd shift would be consistent seven days a week.

Whats your work schedule and how do you cope? Should I move to 2nd?
 
2nd - Feels like time is always short and that you have no life.
3rd - Can never get used to it, sleeping in the daytime is terrible (I could hardly sleep 3 hours straight---never getting much sleep) and your Saturday gets eaten by sleep so the weekend is even less lengthy.

I worked 10 hour days both shifts, so it appeared like I had even less of a life. Go with 2nd, It's better for the weekend!
 
I work 1:30 to midnight and I love it. I hate waking up early and I can stay up late. Best of both worlds.

I worked overnights before and it was literally the worst experiences I ever had. There's just nothing good to me about being on the opposite end of everyone else's time. It makes days off completely horrible too
 
LaserBuddha said:
Second is where it's at. It's what the human body wants.
Click to expand...

ssolitare said:
2nd - Feels like time is always short and that you have no life.
3rd - Can never get used to it, sleeping in the daytime is terrible (I could hardly sleep 3 hours straight---never getting much sleep) and your Saturday gets eaten by sleep so the weekend is even less lengthy.

I worked 10 hour days both shifts, so it appeared like I had even less of a life. Go with 2nd, It's better for the weekend!
Click to expand...

I'm sold on 2nd then, I do think it will kill the little social life I do have though. But I'm sure I'll find new 2nd shift people to hang out with from 12am-2am.

Do the days really seem shorter? I'd make a habit of waking up four hours or so before work so I can get things done before my shift.
 
Sucks for your social life. You also have a higher chance of needing to switch your sleep schedule around to do things. Eating schedules get weird too.

Pros? Not having to deal with day shift people. More money sometimes. Being a child of the dark.
 
2nd shift here. I can go out every night and sleep in. Or chose to get shit done in the morning while everyone is at work.

I havent set an alarm clock in 2 months. Somehow im always up and ready before work.
 
Full Recovery said:
I'm sold on 2nd then, I do think it will kill the little social life I do have though. But I'm sure I'll find new 2nd shift people to hang out with from 12am-2am.

Do the days really seem shorter? I'd make a habit of waking up four hours or so before work so I can get things done before my shift.
Click to expand...

Yeah, way shorter. Go to bed by two (as you mentioned earlier) and you will be able to get things done. With second shift you'll rarely be tired at least.

Honestly, 1st shift is the best shift if you want to have a life. With the other two you just won't have one :/.
 
All the freaky chicks come out on third shift, it's great if you're down with that though (I kinda was when I worked it). Trust me, Walmart is a god damn carnival on third shift. Sleeping during the day always made me feel guilty for some reason though.
 
Bad_Boy said:
2nd shift here. I can go out every night and sleep in. Or chose to get shit done in the morning while everyone is at work.

I havent set an alarm clock in 2 months. Somehow im always up and ready before work.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I definitely felt like my body got to decide when to wake up and I had plenty of time afterward to boot.
 
I worked 3rd for about a year and absolutely hated it. All you want to do during the day is sleep and it feels like your days off are wasted. Also, say goodbye to any sort of social life.

I love working 2nd shift. I'm not a morning person, so it's nice to be able to sleep in. If you have errands to run, you can do them before work.
 
ssolitare said:
Honestly, 1st shift is the best shift if you want to have a life. With the other two you just won't have one :/.
Click to expand...

That's the thing though, I'm so tired by the time I get home I might as well not have a life. I never felt this way working from 6am-3pm, but 4am is sucking the life out of me for some reason. Whenever I'm out with friends or family people ask me whats wrong? And I tell them I'm just tired from work.
 
When I had shift work in a call centre I always preferred early shifts (7am - 3:15pm). It was always mostly dead for the first hour (incoming call centre) so I could just go on GAF and the rest of the internet while waiting for a call to come in. It was also a not too far walk to work (1.6 miles, around 30 mins). Plus when you finish at that time even in winter there is still light out and it feels like you've got plenty of time to get stuff done before needing to sleep to get up again early. It did suck though in winter when it's dark and suuuuper sucked the week or so we had a lot of snow that stuck and then got slushy/slippery as the week went one. Dark + just woken up + really slippery paths = a bit scary.

It got busier as the day went on so 9am-5:15pm was usually the worst shifts because that was the busiest time and 2:45pm - 11pm was bad because it was busiest early in the shift and if you got a call right before 11 (when it switches over to night staff) you had to deal with it (but had to tell them to call back if it got up to 11:30 because the building had to get locked up). Also with lates it's dark out, people with 'normal' hours for work can't hang out with you, if people are going out then you have to be late to join them (time to get home, shower, change, food etc not taking into account if they went out earlier than you finish).

TL;DR Early is best.
 
I work morning shift (5am-1.30pm), I prefer it to afternoon (morning feels wasted, feel shattered by end) and evening (feel fucking terrible the whole time, even on RDOs).
 
Second shift is great because 1) you don't have to get up early in the AM and 2) traffic coming home is minimal at worst, nonexistent at best.
 
Mornings can be brutal. Actually I can't stand waking up early. I did however work nights (2200 to 0600) doing security and I hated it. My days were pointless because I would be in bed by five. I think you need to get some normal hours like starting at 0800. Waking up at 0430 every morning is hard. I did it a few weeks ago to drive to a hospital an hour away and I could of slept all day when I got back home.

How I cope?
I eat healthier foods (except on busy days)
I stay positive!
I plan a head with what I take with me.
I have "me time" because I'm not giving up my life at this moment for working a job I don't want my whole life. You have to obey your mind and body. Give yourself some leg room.
Get plenty of sleep and stay mobile/exercise.
Sleep is so important to your body, that and eating/drinking properly.
 
I love first shifts. I've done several 2nd ones, but I couldn't stand getting home around 9-10pm because I felt like the whole day was gone.
 
For about two years I worked the 3rd shift on weekends only (Friday and Saturday nights). My social life was nil, so it made difference in that department, and work was much chiller (front desk attendant in a senior living building). I got to watch Netflix, get high, play videogames on my laptop, and they gave me dinner. It was a sweet deal.

But my sleep was wrecked. I couldn't get much shut-eye and my room was bright as hell during the day. It wasn't good on my body and psyche.

Still, I cherished those weekend mornings, getting off work while other service industry types went to work. Very peaceful commute back home.

Can't imagine doing it full-time, though.
 
Working Graveyard isn't so bad. If you go to sleep right when you get off, you wake up around the time everyone is coming home. Go out, visit people, have fun and then work.
Although, sleeping during the Spring/Summer is killer when it get's hot.
 
Well I've done 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and on call over the last 14 years and basically as far as I'm concerned that's also the order they are best in.

On call is terrible, don't do it.

3rd really does make you a zombie. Really odd people and/or drunks work this. Your sleep pattern will be forever screwed after doing it. Sleeping in the day time gets easier, but between the phone calls, law mowers, loud vehicles, and hot days it can be rough. Oh and if you like going out to grab something to eat for lunch take your pick. Tacobell every night, or Burger King pretty much.

2nd isn't as bad, but kiss any social life you had or planned on having. Problem with doing those hours is even though you get to sleep in you spend the rest of your free hours waiting to go into work. You basically plan your day around how many hours you got left before your commute and I never felt relaxed knowning I was running out of time to finish what ever I was doing. Driving home, also can be a plus until you realize most of the other drivers are drunks or cops looking for something to do.

1st makes you wake up early of course and if you live in the North you'll never see the sun in the Winter and the commute sucks. It's still the best option IMO.
 
Working graveyard is hell on your health...and it can be tough to have a social life, I miss out on a lot.

Not having to deal with traffic is nice and if you hit the bed right after work, it is more manageable.
 
Ive worked 1st shift(6:30-3:00) for about a year and a half and also 2nd shift(2:30-11:00) for about the same.

With 2nd shift i try to sleep as soon as i get out of work, but i just cant. I always end up staying up and doing nothing but catching up on some shows. your life will basically be sleep work sleep work sleep work. I always end up pushing any errands i have to the weekends. but the weekends feel longer for some reason.

With 1st shift i always end up not getting enough sleep, Im always staring at my clock during the middle of the night. cold mornings are the worst. but you do have some kind of life when you get out.
 
I work 3rd shift 6:00pm-6:00am on a continuous schedule (3 days one week, four the other) and became accustomed to it quickly. I view it this way, I am either working during the day or sleeping at night or the opposite, either way I am gone during those times so it doesn't bother me.

Some pros of my schedule, I work less than half the year and my 18 days of vacation gets me over 9 weeks vacation on my short week.
 
I'm second shift. I hate it though. I waste my mornings doing nothing. Work till 11pm-12am, get home, stay up till 2, go to sleep and repeat. I need to fix this shit.
 
I have never heard of this 1st/2nd/3rd shift. Is it an American thing?

I work from around 8am-4pm on flexi-time. It's great.
 
Jakeh111 said:
I do 7pm to 7am m,t,f,s,s and then Wednesday Thursday the next week back n forth.
Click to expand...

Yeah these can be terrible. It seems like you'll be able to recover the consecutive off days but ultimately you can't, especially at first because the time gets slept away to no avail. 12 hour days are terrible when you're basically chained down.
 
Been working graves for 5 years now...dont do it! Not only have I not had a proper sleep schedule this whole time,Im actually turning pale in color from lack of sunlight. Zombie indeed. Oh yeah and enjoy that sunlight now because you will hate it with a passion when your trying to sleep during the day.
 
imo: 3rd >>> 1st >>>>>>>> 2nd.

right now I only have 1st and 2nd.
switches every week.

1st from 6:00 till 14:00.
2nd from 14:00 till 22:00.

I really dont like getting up early and it is always a little bit tough to go to sleep at 22:00, but I prefer 1st shift.
from 15:00 till 22:00 I have time to do things.

but when working 2nd I dont have anything of the day.
I get up at 9:00/10:00.
breakfest, shower, random stuff for 2/3 hours, and at 13:00 I start getting ready for work.
and after work I am not motivated to do anything.
and I am tiered as fuck the whole day.
I am home at 22:30 and go to bed between 0:00 and 1:00.


didn't have 3rd or night shift for a couple of years now, but always loved it the most.
I dont have to go to sleep early, I dont have to get up early and I have the whole day till 20:00/21:00 to do stuff.
got up around 13:00.

and I dont know how that is handled where you come from, but working night-time gave a pretty nice extra payment at the end of the month.


ChubbyHuggs said:
Working Graveyard isn't so bad. If you go to sleep right when you get off, you wake up around the time everyone is coming home. Go out, visit people, have fun and then work.
Although, sleeping during the Spring/Summer is killer when it get's hot.
Click to expand...

this!
you are working/sleeping at the same time, everybody else is.
you get up, your friends are coming home from work.
you go to work, your friends are getting ready to go to sleep.

and yeah, you need a cool room and a way to make it dark.
but working during those cool nights is a + too.
 
LocknessMobster said:
Been working graves for 5 years now...dont do it! Not only have I not had a proper sleep schedule this whole time,Im actually turning pale in color from lack of sunlight. Zombie indeed. Oh yeah and enjoy that sunlight now because you will hate it with a passion when your trying to sleep during the day.
Click to expand...

Blackout shades are your friend. Your shield from the cursed sunlight, so you can sleep the sleep of the dead. I love mine.
 
I was previous working 4pm-12am and loved it. Now I got shifted to 9am-5pm and fucking hate it with every fiber of my being. I seriously get depressed as shit when my alarm clock wakes me up at 7:45 every morning. I loved my body naturally waking up around 12-1pm and not having to immediately get ready for work.
 
LocknessMobster said:
Been working graves for 5 years now...dont do it! Not only have I not had a proper sleep schedule this whole time,Im actually turning pale in color from lack of sunlight. Zombie indeed. Oh yeah and enjoy that sunlight now because you will hate it with a passion when your trying to sleep during the day.
Click to expand...

what do you do in the afternoon?
 
Gonna echo the fact that second shit isn't as great as it sounds. As others have said, you basically go home, do nothing, wake up and wait until work. Everything is pushed to the weekends, but you want to relax on the weekends since it's your last bastion of true free time.
 
Drazgul said:
Blackout shades are your friend. Your shield from the cursed sunlight, so you can sleep the sleep of the dead. I love mine.
Click to expand...

Ive got a mixture of tinfoil,duct tape,shades and a blanket covering my sliding door in my room. Still manage to get shards of light coming through which drives me nuts lol. Do blackouts cover the sides too?

Randam said:
what do you do in the afternoon?
Click to expand...

I sleep from 9am-5pm usually. Unless I got to be somewhere,Im at home.
 
I work 8am-8pm on day shift and 8pm-8am on nights. It's pretty awesome, but drawbacks definitely include lack of sleep and some social life. I've been working shifts for so long now I don't even think I'd be able to cope with a 9-5 job these days.
 
i like working 2nd shift better

but if i wake up "earlier" to "do stuff" before the shift, i feel like i can't get too involved in anything because i have work at a certain time.

i'd rather just sleep more in the morning and stay up later at night and get stuff done then.
 
Randam said:
and I dont know how that is handled where you come from, but working night-time gave a pretty nice extra payment at the end of the month.

this!
you are working/sleeping at the same time, everybody else is.
you get up, your friends are coming home from work.
you go to work, your friends are getting ready to go to sleep.

and yeah, you need a cool room and a way to make it dark.
but working during those cool nights is a + too.
Click to expand...

I get a .50 bump on my pay. Oh, when it's cold in Fall/Winter it's amazing to fall to sleep in. Plus, you go to work when it's dark and come home when it's dark.
 
2nd shift here (3PM-11PM), and screw the whole going to bed at a normal time thing. I'm up until 4AM most days and wake at noon, hell if I didn't want to have a few hours before work I could stay up longer and just sleep in more, but I think my body doesn't like sleeping much past noon anyway so I stick with this. Night is essentially my free time this way. Yes it would suck if I cared about going out and socializing, but fortunately for me I am a shut in with no friends! Except online, but I can conveniently talk to those friends at work.

So my schedule is wake up at noon > eat lunch around 12:30 > do whatever until around 2 > work from 3-11 with dinner in there around 6 > eat "breakfast" at midnight when I get home if I'm hungry > free time! > sleep at around 4-12
 
Third shift can be rough. I basically have the perfect setup for it though

  • Sundays to Thursdays, so I can have a social life on Fridays and Saturdays
  • My apartment is soundproof and faces the courtyard so no street level noise.
  • Double pane windows for further sound proofing
  • Blackout shades
  • I live 15 minutes from work
  • 11PM-7AM. Go to bed immediately after getting home, usually sleep until 3-4PM
  • No supervision so I'm not on as tight of a schedule as other people.

I've done first shift before but I could never do second shift. My hobbies require me to be around from 5PM to 10PM.
 
3rd shift here, work 3 12hr shifts (Fri, Sat, and Sun). My employer rounds me up to 40 hrs and I get a 50% bump in pay for it. It's real fucking hard to get used to the night life. If I had a family I don't think it be worth it. But as a single dude Ill take the extra pay right now.
 
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