What are some disadvantages of shift work?
Answer:
i work shift work at my job (rotate between 7am to 3pm, 3pm to 11pm, and 11pm to 7 am every week). the biggest drawback to shift work is that it really cuts into your social and family life. depending on what shift you are on you might not see your kids or spouse for days at a time. working nights also eliminates most times you would be free to hang out with friends. this does take a huge toll on you after awhile. the other major problem is that it is havok on your sleep schedule. it can be hard to sleep during the day time because of sunlight and noise. and every time you change shifts it takes your body several days to aclimate to your new sleep schedule. and having to go through this every week is really rough. night work also screws up your eating patterns and digestion. it can be hard to eat regular meals when you are on night work and the late hours cause alot of people problems with their digestion.
You have to wait for a rota to know your free time.
You can start very early in the morning
You can work till very late at night
You may have difficulty getting transport between the hours of 12-6am (depending where you live!)
You might not be able to eat regular meals.
You’re sleep pattern can be knocked about.
Generally people working shifts work more hours per week.
You might miss time with your partner or children
You may not be able to participate in social outings with friends who work a normal working week.
Due to the nature of work you could end up working overtime in response to the environment
Sometimes you can be working alone.
I think the biggest disavantage is the stress it puts on your body.
Whether you like or not , you have to get used to switching to night shift and a couple of day later you get back to day shift.
So it's hard physically and mentally.
Working nights can be frustrating. It takes some getting used too. I think the hardest part would be resetting your sleep schedule. I do not know about others but I cannot sleep during the day, no matter how dark it is in the room. Especially if you don't live alone. When I was in the military, I live alone and working nights wasn't a big deal, I actually preffered it but all of those daytime convieneces will not be available to you if you are working nights, like fast food, open stores, gas stations, friends who work days will become strangers, and family as well. It is quite an adjustment.
My wife is an RN and works 7PM to 7AM and basically sleeps when I am awake and vice versa. I attend college full time, so staying up all night isn't a smart option, plus I get all the household duties, and dealing with the kids as well.
If you don't have as much going on, it would take a little adjustment but you could do it.
Will they at least pay you more for working the late shift?
Mr Mom
The biggest is the time of the shift. Most people don't like to change shifts. Once they are at one time, they like to keep it that way. Others are, depending on the shift, no one is around to make decisions during the graveyard shifts. I find it a good thing, but most people don't. If the crews are going to be the same, I don't see the problem but you people, who could go out and play with the rest of the world before this change, will not longer be able to. It might create some problems for you. Good luck!!
The main disadvantage of shift work is that our bodies have a circadian rhythm and light/darkness affects our ability to think and concentrate correctly.
Working at night is great...if your not married and dont' really have a life. It also helps to be a loner as there are darn few bosses around to answer the simple, or even the hard, questions about the job.
Down side, Weight gain. You snack to stay awake at work, you can't figgure out if your eating breakfast or dinner at times. Perinial sleep depprivation. You're always sleepy. First of all eveyone you know will figure, "hey, your home anyway during the day, you can go do x and y and z while I'm at work." Then after you convence them that you really need to sleep instead, you have to turn off your phones ringer and the answering machine so that doesn't wake you. But you can't do a thing about the kids comeing home from school and playing outside. (or in your house if you have kids) Then there's the fact that you probably won't sleep very well during the day anyway. We humans are just plain made to sleep when it's dark.
The other problems you run into is safety. Safety can be undermind by the simple fact that you will be sleepy. On third shift you can't help it. (I know, I came to darn close to tree when I dozed off on the way home one morning!) This sleepyness also causes safety problems at work. I read a report once that driving sleepy is just as bad as driving drunk. There's even some states trying (maybe they have already, I haven't heard) to pass laws against driving sleepy for that reason. If its dangerous on the road its dangerous in the workplace.
Then there's the fact that you, as the super, will quite likely loose some of your workers. There are those who plain refuse to work at night. There are, however, those who prefer to work at that time. We are usually rather independent and sometimes not overly respectful of authority but that, in my opinion is a good quility in a night shifter.
Oh, by the by, the only reason some of us are willing to put up with third shift is extra pay for doing so. You might add that in to your decision. Good luck.
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