What Are The Best Shifts To Work?

If your company runs a 24/7 service you might think of the most suitable shift for you or perhaps you are to join a company that requires changing shifts, you may want to explore your options and go for the most suitable.

What Is a Work Shift?

A work shift generally refers to the days per week and the hours per day that an employee is expected to be at their job. There are several different types of work schedules, which vary based on the organization and the position. Your schedule can also vary based on the time of year. For example, some jobs have work schedules that change, depending on the season. 

Shift work can be defined depending on the number of hours you work, what time of day you work, and the frequency of change between different types of shifts. 

A work shift also depends on the agreement between you and your employers, depending on the available shifts. It is very important you know the work schedules of any work before accepting in order not for you to regret it in the end.

Shift work Hours

There are different timing in the shifting job, below are the shift hours;

First Shift: 8 am – 4 am 

Second Shift: 4 pm – Midnight

Third Shift (graveyard shift): Midnight – 8 am 

Different work shifts including their Advantages and Disadvantages 

In the past, it used to be strictly one shift but as the new era began new inventions came into play, demand for goods and services increased, that was why the need for different shifts came into existence. 

We would look at different work shifts taking into cognizance the advantages and disadvantages that come with it. 

1. The Permanent Shift: This is a type of shift that is static, it does not change. This type of shift allows the employee to only work a particular type of shift. For example, if you are to work a particular shift. When you are employed you are being told that the shift available is either the day shift or it could be the night shift. It is also called the regular shift because it does not change.

2. Rotating Shifts: this type of shift changes as time goes on, and there is no particular time for it. This is because one worker can work the night shift and the other work the afternoon shift, that is how it is in this kind of shift. It is also called the irregular shift because it is not predictable. For example, a nurse can work the afternoon shift today and take the next day off from work and can be taken to do the night shift when she resumes work again.

3. Continuous shift: This is a type of shift that goes on the same way for some time. For example, a worker can work the day shift from Monday to Sunday, the following week work the night shift, and the next week do the afternoon shift. This is a continuous process and it can only be distorted by a worker’s resignation.

4. Discontinuous shift: This expression means that the employee works shifts from Monday through Friday, or Monday through Saturday. The whole weekend is not included.  

5. Swing Shift:Applying for a job with swing shift hours means that you have to work outside of normal business hours. While typical business hours might range from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., swing shift hours in that instance might range from 4 p.m. to midnight. Companies may offer you a choice of different shifts, but the amount of flexibility you have to choose your shift is at the discretion of your employer.

Advantages of Shift Work

1. Convenience: Shift work is convenient because people get to decide when is best for them to work. Also, it gives time to attend to other things. For example, a person who wants to take care of the home can opt for the night shift whereas a person who is free in the morning can opt for the night shift.

2. Reduced Amount of Working Hours: Shift work has a limited number of hours, unlike the normal shift where you work from the morning to the evening. The shift work consists of breaks and relaxation time which reduces the amount of working time.

The shift work becomes easier because you do not complete all the tasks, the next set of workers continues from where you stop. 

3. Training Prospects: The shift work gives you time to go for training without taking leave from work. One gets to upgrade his skills without any form of interruption from work.

With shift work, you get to have a balance between enhancing your career.

4. Avoidance of Rush Hour: Shift jobs can make you avoid the rush when you are going to work. Most times traffic can be horrible during the day because so many people are on their way to work by then. 

To those set of people who don’t like the morning shift, due to the stress of waking up early to prepare for work. So the night shift gives you an avenue to take your time and prepare for work.

5. It Allows You Leisure Time: The shifting job allows you to have time for other activities outside work, such as going to the gym, going to the cinema, and beach hangouts.

Shift workers get time to occupy the time where the regular workers are busy with their jobs. Gyms, movie theatres, and plenty of restaurants offer discounts to customers who go to them during quieter times. Even a few of the shops follow this.

6. Flexibility: A shifting job makes it easier to swap shifts with coworkers and even take leave during the week and compensate for it later. As it is on a rotational basis, one gets varied work, unlike routine where one person handles all aspects of the work. Different aspects of one work can be handled by rotational crews which increases and yields full productivity.

Disadvantages Of Shift Work

1. Abnormal Routine: The shift work can be tiring sometimes because it does not follow the normal work routine. People have become accustomed to the regular work routine which is why when they engage in shift work they feel left out. 

Night shift workers feel tired and lazy most of the time because they do not get enough sleep during the day because of the other activities they engage in.

2. Shift Inequality: Sometimes the shift work is based on seniority, the people at the top get the best shift time like the morning shift, while those below them get the night shift which they may not like.

The shift work does not allow for growth in the workplace because each level of workers is placed in a particular shift which does not give room for interaction.

3. Work Imbalance: The shift work is not balanced, this is because a particular set of shift workers do more work than the others. For example, in the hospital nurses on the night shift get to attend to more patients than the nurses on the morning shift. This is because more casualties happen during the night than during the daytime.

Also, workers in the 24 hours work Center who do the night shift attend to more calls than those that worked during the day.

4. Safety: The night shift is usually not safe, most night shift workers are prone to dangers and put their life at risk. Most of the time odd hour commuters become victims to ambush and robbery or rape.

Most times the organization provides mobility for its workers, but that does not stop harm from coming if it wants.

5. Health Issues: Night Shift workers are often prone to health problems. This is because as the body grows old it is natural that it will face sluggishness and inactivity which will not allow you to fully use the body with much less effort.

6. Family Conflict: Shift works bring about a clash between family schedule and work schedule. For instance, as a married woman who takes up a shift job and her duty falls on night duty, this will bring a problem in the family, especially with her husband. And parents of young kids who do not understand the working parent’s patterns also feel deserted. Thus shift working often creates tense environments at an employee’s home.

7. Lack of Adequate Sleep: Most shift work is demanding and when due to certain unforeseen factors, people who engage in shift jobs hardly have time to get enough sleep. For instance, if you are conditioned to sleep at night you will find it difficult to do the night shift and as such, you feel sleepy during work.

8. Boredom: When you engage in a particular routine for a long time, you get tired of doing the same thing all the time. The same thing happens to shift workers when they get involved in a long routine they get bored and their level of productivity drops.

In conclusion, not many people like to work the shifts, but there are a few of them who would love to work the shifts, but It all still depends on their preference and schedule.