I personally always preferred the day shift where I work 7 am to 3 pm. I was on night shifts for about three years where I worked 2 pm to 3 pm, 2 pm to 11 pm or 3 pm to 11 pm and absolutely hated it! Felt like I had no kind of life and my life consisted of sleeping during the day and up at night.
I'd say some kind of split shift that allows for an afternoon nap.
Honestly? I'd rather not work at all. Love retirement. However, when I was working (and single), I absolutely loved 2nd shift. I could do so many things during the day, like go to (regular) school, go surfing, do errands, etc., without the restrictions and/or interference (crowds) common in the evenings or on weekends.
I work 24/7 I own my business but I have children and grandchildren it's all about finding a balance
In my 30 plus years in the computer operations business, i spent many years on each and every shift and each has its good and bad points. working night shift used to pay a shift differential, in the 10 to 15% range, so THAT was always a big factor. Plus in the computer operation business there was just about always overtime, especially at month end, quarter end and year end, when so many critical reports were due. for a few years in southern california i worked graveyard and slept out by the pool for about 5 or so hours most days and really soaked up some awesome rays and had a GREAT tan. I also had all day, when I wanted to run errands and take care of any business. There were MANY nights I went to work without any sleep, because something or other came up and sleep had to be rescheduled, and many times there was no time left !!!! I did learn many things on graveyard shift, if you had something to do in the day time, DO IT ASAP, otherwise u will sit in a chair and be out like a light !!! and on weekends, don't try being a regular human, because your system will have a very difficult time getting back to 3rd shift routine !!!!
On 2nd shift, 4pm until midnight, i would find myself still sitting around until 3,4 or even 5 in the morning watching tv and the days would be wasted. so it really depends on what type person you are, how disciplined you are and what you priorities are.
for anyone who thinks shifts are bad, while i was in the USAF as a security guard, we worked rotating shifts. it began with 3 4pm to midnight shifts, then a 24 hour break from midnight until the following midnight, then there were 3 midnight to 8 am shifts, with another 24 hour break from 8 am until next day at 8 am, and then 3 days of 8 am to 4 pm shifts, and then you got a 72 hour break, from 4 pm on your last day shift, off the following day and reporting back to work at 4 pm the next day to begin all over again !!!! two of those cycles took about an entire month, talk about time flying !!!!! And I worked those crazy hours and days in Minot, North Dakota and had to deal with temperatures as low as 25 below zero with a 20 mile an hour wind !!!!!! I learned that things could always get much worse than you had ever envisioned, and I had grown up in Buffalo !!!! After my time in North Dakota, Buffalo was like Hawaii by comparison !!!!
The shift I work now is my ALL TIME FAVORITE !!!!! I retired 3 years ago and now TIME IS MINE !!!!!! LOL
We used to run a 24 hour shop, Monday through Friday. Working midnight to 8 AM was my favorite shift (and yes I worked all of them). It was quiet, not as much to do, no one around to bug you or whine about things. And I loved my social life. Sleep from 9 to 3 when everyone else is at work, and then you have all evening to hang with friends.
@nutrition_nerd
Yes, exactly! Granted I lived in the base dorms when I worked that shift, so I didn't have much "house" to clean. I'm talking about 179 square feet of living space, lol.
@nutrition_nerd
That's the truth! Cleaning certainly was. And the free Chow Hall food was mostly serviceable.
@nutrition_nerd
I think if I could pick between Chow Hall food and an attractive woman cooking for me, I'd also go Option 2.
Every.
Damn.
Time!
I've worked overnights for the better part of the last 15 years and I've loved it.
The 3pm-11pm shift is the worst because you pretty much have to give up your social life. At least us night people, who head to work around 10-11pm, can enjoy getting together with friends in the evening now and then
I would rather be on a beach sipping something strong with a young lady who is naughty. But that's me.
Hahaha!
Nights and graveyards. I'm not a morning person.
I'm usually awake and ready to go by 5:00 am, so I'm a morning person. If I have customers lined up, I'm usually at my first job of the day by 7:30 am.
If it's like the last two weeks have been, I sit in my house and stare at the wall for 12 hours a day waiting for my company to assign me work.
Night shifts cause problems with circadian rhythms and hormones. This can lead to cancer in some people which is why Denmark, I think, has introduced legislation which limits night shift work.
I work nights but I will transition over to days sometime in the near future.