have you ever worked 3rd shift?

originally posted by: Illumimasontruth
I hated 3rd shift, only plus was more pay. I became physically and mentally exhausted after a month or so. Invest in black curtains or good blinds for the bedroom! Hopefully you are one who handles it much better. I was also doing extremely physical work, lifting near my body weight a few times per hour and other heavy lifting in between that which didn't help matters. Best wishes to you!

Dark curtains, check. The weirdest thing waking up to daylight coming in the room. Outside noise, too.

You thought sleeping at night was difficult. As well hope TST can adapt. Some people take to it. Depends on their 'bent'.

Later, during my outdoor phase, I chose night time to work on my scrap metal and flea market stuff under streetlights.

Edit: I became a 'night person'.

Many times on location night shoots, we will work 2 crews for 20 hrs straight but usually only 16hrs. Love that time and a half and double time even more.

thanks for all the feedback.
i already have blackout curtains. i have a sleep mask and i have loads of ear plugs that i bring home every night.
a heater now cause winter and a fan for summer.

im not doing anything physical. just inspecting different types of welds. making sure they are in the right spot. the right distance apart. things like that.
a few measurements with the calipers.....no big deal.

i figured it would work cause i can sleep till 1 or 2 and then till have about 8 hours with my wife and daughter. will not have to worry about missing things.

i honestly think the hardest thing to get used to will be the pace. im used to going full blast for 8 hours. i dont mind it and have never had a problem. i get antsy when things are slow but i think that has a lot to do with the fact that there are lots of people around. bosses. human resources...i always feel like i am doing something wrong and it makes me feel like they will come down on me.
not the case with this.
i report to the quality manager and he is the one that told me i will have all kinds of time to just do whatever. i just have to be by the quality station for when they welders bring their parts up. other than that it does not really matter.
im sure boredom will set in.

Ooooo!!!
You can use your computer! (as the light bulb just goes on!)

Coursera will be invaluable!
It's a online website where you can take free classes in whatever you are interested in! Use your time to position yourself to move up the food chain buddy!!!

Look into it, it'll keep you busy and benefit you.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Best of luck in your new journey. Since you're used to broken sleep, you'll make it 24 hours okay.

I took a 3rd shift manufacturing position... I lasted about 2 years. I am typically a night person, and never have any problems staying up 20 or so hours straight. It did begin to take a toll on me after the 1st year, and that 2nd year was a struggle.

The problem with it for me, was the fact that the sun beating on your skin through the day is actually a good portion of our vitamin D intake. Long story short, it gets depressing without the energy of the sun radiating the body... and we take it for granted typically. It snow balled into poor diet, then erratic moods and all. Add to that the fact that next to no restaurant sells good dinner foods for those who work 3rd shift... when they all want breakfast.

As far as career path is concerned, I ended up feeling like I was just there to keep the ship moving... nobody seems to care on 3rd shift. 3rd shift gives one the time to really learn about the equipment and processes. I'd use my time to find their biggest production flaws since I had the time to focus on it. I threw in the towel once I presented every plant boss in all depts., and presented a situation of which total scrap could be reduced 8% minimum. They had a flaw in production, and overly abused a tight tolerance product just prior to packaging. It fell on deaf ears, and they instead instructed that I keep working 7 days a week to make up for lost production. I just stopped showing up...

The 10% salary bump ends up costing more in life lost and access to normalcy's of life. You'll probably love it when you just get to sleep, and UPS rings your bell and runs off!!!

Sorry to poop on your already unsteady nerves. If I worked in maintenance, I may have liked it more... but I was supervising and repairing assembly lines with teams of assemblers. I could not escape people at work if I tried. I hope your solitude will bring enjoyment to your work.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Take your acoustic. Extended practice on fundamentals, new chord progressions, arpeggios you improve very fast.

It will be tough man. I am a morning person. Usually up around 3 am, start work at 7. 7 to 330 for like the last 30 years. I was offered foreman position on a new night shift, 5 pm to 330 am. I took it, more pay. I hesitated at first but the owner offered to pay for a hotel room, that job was 2 hours away from home. I drove it everyday.

I used the hotel for about the first 4 or 5 weeks maybe, but I like being home, you being a couple miles away is helpful.

When I drove home I got home around 530 am and slept till ,maybe 8 or 9. You have different hours but you will go through the same thing. Of course I wasnt alone reading books at night, I was sitting on top of a 200 foot high stair tower calling in 600 lb wall panels hoisted by crane and dropped through the steel, on the shore of lake Michigan, but you will get through it.

that gig lasted all summer, I have had short term night gigs where I would fire up my grill and bbq hamburgers at 3 am.

Don't fret, we always take the night shift for the extra money. mine was like 3 bucks an hour plus foreman pay on the last one.

a reply to: ttobban

i hear ya.
i feel like i am gonna be on the dark side too. just keep the ship moving like you said. im cool with that though at this place. i left the foundry so i have only been here a short time and never intended on it being a career long thing unless something awesome shakes out.

its a pretty big company and there is room to move so we will see.

I think the biggest problem you will have is your wife or children waking you early to run them some where because "you're home in the day and available".
When I was on night shift I slept better than on a day shift but that was because the rest of the family respected my sleep time.
12 hour shifts? Easy peasy, when I was younger I worked on the show circuit and for 8 weeks worked 48 hours straight through, 12 hours off, another 48 hours etc. For 8 weeks. Now if anyone tells you that you can't sleep standing up or sleep on a pile of stones I' m here to tell you that you can.
The only problem I had when working normal nights was utter, utter boredom.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Both my husband an I have worked Graveyard Shift.

At first, I thought I'd do alright on it....Truck Stop register, no biggie, slow runs at night, not a lot of heavy duty details. After all, I've always pretty much been a Night Owl, right? Boy, was I ever wrong. My circadian rhythms got so messed up after the first week I had to quit. I simply couldn't sleep during the day, no matter how quiet or dark the room was. Head hit the pillow, next thing I know it's time for shift, with absolutely no rest whatsoever. I cracked after a week of straight shifts from sleep deprivation.

My husband managed five years Graveyard at the local Wal-Mart. But man, waking him up for shift was a nightmare. He would sit in complete silence for an hour over his coffee, radiating hatred and contempt for the world. The shift itself wasn't too bad, stocking items, helping late night customers, came home in a great mood, but eventually it became too much for him. He started reporting violent dreams and had increased difficulty in even minor changes to routine.

Now granted, we're both a little bit odd when it comes to our work habits. Routine is very important to both of us, but with the changes of trying to sleep well during the day (when everyone else is out and about making a daytime ruckus) and not getting any proper sunlight and an overdose of those florescent overhead lights - it can really mess with some folks.

Some people were Born to Night Shift, others have a more difficult time in transition and upkeep.

Wishing you the best of luck, but if you start having any severe or adverse reactions, I'd highly recommend looking for a more agreeable shift.

They don't call 3rd shift Graveyard for nothing.

Health issues are a risk for long term third shifts... I'd invest in a UV lizard lamp to help your physiology .. .10 -20 min a night should help, and would take a vit D supplement as well.

It's a bit alienating and lonely .. .but I always liked them. I cleaned businesses overnight for a couple years when in school and it was a riot.

I am proud/ashamed of one bad thing I did, though... knowing it was "bad" but fun. I figured out the 3 digit key code on the pharmacy door at a clinic from wear on the buttons and got some GREAT free pharmaceuticals to pass the time.. .I only took a few and then only from the masses of free samples and hopefully no body got in trouble, and that was before cameras were everywhere.. .so don't try that stuff now!

Also, playing hide and seek while on unpronounceable tranqs with your GF and frisky dog in a huge empty clinic-office space is FUN... fyi.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Taking melatonin will help you adjust your circadian rhythms.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Well, my opinion... if and when you start to feel any strains, immediately request to at least rotate back to a normal schedule to adjust back to normal. Sometimes, that's all that is needed to chug along. It will establish 2 things: first, it will indicate their primary focus (money or employee health). Also, it will indicate your value to them in an essence... if they deny your wishes, it indicates they value employees at an under cut rate.

In my case, it was clear that the body in the work area was more important then my health and happiness doing it... maybe that's what was depressing for me, I don't know... the point is to address it immediately.

Use your free time to document and cover your ass too... primary managers often put 1st & 2nd shift employees on blast for particular offenses and the blame often somehow finds its way onto the one who is asleep at home and unable to defend themselves. That goes for ideas too. Your idea told to the wrong person can be a 1st or 2nd shift employees claim to victory if not careful. Best of luck in the new journey!

a reply to: TinySickTears

I worked nights for about 7 years. I worked 12 hour shifts. I once worked 15 days straight. It is like you said though you are either going to love it or hate it. I will say during the day find a nice dark place to sleep. If you cant find a dark place then make one, that is what I did. My wife loves night shift. I can take or leave it. Good luck.

a reply to: TinySickTears

I think one of the keys to 3rd shift is staying on that schedule even when you have days off. When you try to start juggling normal hours and 3rd shift it gets ugly. I had a friend who worked 3rd shift and always kept to that schedule even on his weekends.

Like you I didn't always sleep well. During the last couple years of college, having been taking night courses, I decided to take classes during the regular hours and pack as much work in as I could over my days off. I used to work 32 hours between Thursday at 10pm and Sunday at 8AM. Two tens and a twelve. By Sunday morning I was beat. Then Monday at 9AM back to a full four days of classes.

I still have some sleep trouble because of it.

Hope it works out for you. It's really nice to have down time at work to study, read, etc.

a reply to: ttobban

Now that is a really good idea. Ask them for a trial run with the option to move back to your original shift if the night doesn't work out.

a reply to: ClovenSky

Well, really its a matter of human respect. We are creatures alive because of the sun... most all life rises and sets with the Sun. If they ask for imbalance, then they should offer channels to provide balance as well. Maybe it's a rotating shift, or a realization that night shift is just not meant to be? Either way, an employer shows their true colors by how they handle those specifics... it's more important than the product I believe.

It's disconnecting in more ways then time. The 3rd shift is a whole other world then the other 2 shifts, and it usually equates to alienating ourselves as 3rd shifters... instead of providing channels for all to know every aspects of production.

If I ran a 3 shift operation, it would be a rotating schedule... so all employees can work to improve all shifts and not just the shifts they work. Currently, shifts seems to compete more then work together. It would also indicate which employees are the most devoted. I understand it would not fit for all, but for those that did not partake, their long term role would be less controlling if they only knew certain aspects of functions. These are times for how much we all care... not so much how much we know or who we know.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Make tonight your first night n the new schedule. Push through. Sleep tomorrow ahead of your first night on the new shift.

A lot of good input, especially the heads-up on the sunlight/Vitamin D. I use liquid D3 drops to keep up.

Good luck with the transition.

I have worked all kinds of shifts.

I work at a steel mill (36 years next month)
I was hired to work C- shift, also known as Graveyard. The hours were 11pm to 7am. I was single at the time, and it was awesome. You need to foil or black out your windows. People wake you up running weed eaters and blowers.
It began to suck when I got married. My wife wanted me to sleep with her. And she didn't like tip-toeing around the house when she got home from work. I worked it 7 years that time

Then I took a swing shift position of Shop Operations Supervisor. That was 3pm to 11pm. It was kind of cool, but we had small kids by then, and my wife used to call me crying at night. She needed her man to be home to help out with the kids and their school work and have dinner together. I was also working 6-7 days a week for straight time. The president of the company rejected my request to jump shifts, but offered me overtime for Saturdays and Sundays. The following year he offered double time on Sundays. My wife became hurt and bitter that I did not quit. We eventually divorced. I worked that shift for about 13 years I guess.
I jumped back to graveyard to get my kids to school as a single dad probably 5-6 years.

Then they moved me to days 6am-2pm. It was awesome. 5 days a week with weekends off. I stayed there for 7 years.

Then they put me in environmental for 4 years 8am to 4pm. It was easy work but stressful.

Then they put me on a 12 hour day shift position. Its a rotating shift 2 on 3 off,3 on 2 off 6am to 6pm. I have so much time off its unreal, ant it pays real good too. That's where Im at now.

So days is best for family, and nightshift (graveyard) is second best for family but is poor for sleep. Swing shift can be fun for a single guy, especially if he likes some late night clubbing.

I hope that helps. I think you will be ok on graveyard.

You'll love it! If you're like me and you dislike people, you will love being able to work without having to talk to anyone. 😊 don't worry about the sleep cycle- your body will adjust quickly. You'll be into a groove before the first week is over! Enjoy.