The world has changed from the standard 9 AM to 5 PM working day to a 24 hour working day with more and more companies operating 24 hours in order to compete with other organizations, and for some services (police, hospitals, firefighters) it is necessary to be a 24 hour facility for public safety. However, many people have misconceptions about what it is that night shift workers do and have to adjust to in working this opposite work shift. Here are a few myths and truths about what it's like to work night (graveyard) shift:
Myth #1 - "Working night shift is nice because you get your days free."
Many people who haven't worked night shift or don't know anyone who works the night shift think that night shift workers have their whole day free since they work at night. When do night shift people sleep then? Night shift people do NOT have their days free. While it's true they may be able to adjust their sleeping schedule to accommodate doctor's appointments, picking/dropping off kids from school, night shift people (just like people who work during the day time) still need to sleep (night shift people aren't super-humans who can function with no sleep at all). Do people who work during the day shift say it's nice to work days since they get their nights free? No, same thing for night shift workers.
Myth #2 - "Night shift work is nice because you hardly have anything to do and you can sleep for most of the time you're at work."
Some people assume that if you work at night, you really don't have any work to do and can basically just be paid to sleep. That's not true at all. If a night shift worker doesn't have anything to do the whole night, every night, then there's no reason for them to be there, right? Companies and organizations that have people working night shift have them there for a reason, there's work that needs to be done at night. Although in most places it's not as busy during the night as it is during the day, there are other background tasks that night shift workers get assigned and finish (such as cleaning out old stock, doing reports or audits, etc). Also, studies have shown workers during the night shift won't be as productive as their day time counterparts because no matter how long they have been working night shift, night shift workers' bodies are still fighting against the natural urge to sleep at night. So it's still hard for them to get as much work done as a day shift worker who's fresh and awake with the sun shining.
Myth #3 - "Calling night shift workers during the day is okay since they are usually up anyways."
One mistake that some management people (who are usually working during the day) and friends/family of night shift workers make is that if there's something they need to talk about, they try to call them during day time hours (like around noon time or in the afternoon) thinking that night shift workers usually are awake, so if they need to talk about something, it's okay to call them. Luckily, now a lot of phones have a "Do not Disturb" setting, so any phone calls (unless truly an emergency) go right to voicemail and don't even ring. Just like how day shift people don't like getting calls at 3 AM, night shift workers don't like to get calls at 1 PM or 3 PM unless it's a critical emergency. People who work during the day don't appreciate getting a call at 3 AM from someone just to chit-chat, so night shift workers also don't like to get phone calls just to chit-chat or discuss non-emergency issues in the middle of their sleep time.
Myth #4 - "Night shift workers can be scheduled like day shift workers."
Although for day shift workers working 4 days in a row, then having 1 day off and then working again 2 more days is a fine schedule, this is not the case for night shift workers. Since part of their "off day" is spent sleeping, just having one off day in between several days in a row working does not allow for them to have adequate down time (rest time). Traditionally night shift workers often work 7 days on, 7 days off, however some companies have tried to go away from this schedule to try and schedule night shift workers more like day shift workers for easier scheduling. Although many night shift workers can work this alternate schedule, all of them would prefer to work several days in a row, then have a few days off in between; just giving a night shift worker one day off in between several nights of working does not give them proper rest time and when they come back to work, they are more prone to making errors and not being as productive due to the fact they didn't get proper rest.
Myth #5 - "If one spouse works during the day and one at night, the night shift working spouse can watch the kids during the day time."
Although it might seem like the perfect setup to have one parent working during the daytime and one parent working at night, so someone is always with younger children, just because night shift workers are at home during the day doesn't mean the person working night shift can just sit with toddlers or other young children. Night shift workers are at home during the day because they need to sleep and watching younger children isn't something they should be doing when they have been up all night and are exhausted. The kids will be very active during the day time and although they can take some small naps during the day time, they need constant supervision, something a night shift worker who is exhausted cannot provide regularly.
Final thoughts about night shift workers:
Night shift workers are hard to recruit for most all professions since it's such an undesirable and difficult time to work. Also, since there is less staff at night in most places, night shift workers must often do the work of 2-3 (or more) people and if there is a management issue that comes up during the night, night shift workers are often tasked with having to make the call themselves or deciding if it's important enough that they need to contact their manager to make a decision.
Usually most people don't look at working night shift as a long-term career path due to the effect it has on a person's health and the difficulty of working a shift that runs opposite of a person's natural body clock. If you do need to work night shift, it's important to have the support of your family so that you can get adequate rest during the day time. Night shift is an important part of any organization because it opens up many more opportunities for the organization to better serve it's customers or serve the public and those who are sacrificing a lot by working night shift should be respected for their sacrifices.
Myth #1 - "Working night shift is nice because you get your days free."
Many people who haven't worked night shift or don't know anyone who works the night shift think that night shift workers have their whole day free since they work at night. When do night shift people sleep then? Night shift people do NOT have their days free. While it's true they may be able to adjust their sleeping schedule to accommodate doctor's appointments, picking/dropping off kids from school, night shift people (just like people who work during the day time) still need to sleep (night shift people aren't super-humans who can function with no sleep at all). Do people who work during the day shift say it's nice to work days since they get their nights free? No, same thing for night shift workers.
Myth #2 - "Night shift work is nice because you hardly have anything to do and you can sleep for most of the time you're at work."
Some people assume that if you work at night, you really don't have any work to do and can basically just be paid to sleep. That's not true at all. If a night shift worker doesn't have anything to do the whole night, every night, then there's no reason for them to be there, right? Companies and organizations that have people working night shift have them there for a reason, there's work that needs to be done at night. Although in most places it's not as busy during the night as it is during the day, there are other background tasks that night shift workers get assigned and finish (such as cleaning out old stock, doing reports or audits, etc). Also, studies have shown workers during the night shift won't be as productive as their day time counterparts because no matter how long they have been working night shift, night shift workers' bodies are still fighting against the natural urge to sleep at night. So it's still hard for them to get as much work done as a day shift worker who's fresh and awake with the sun shining.
Myth #3 - "Calling night shift workers during the day is okay since they are usually up anyways."
One mistake that some management people (who are usually working during the day) and friends/family of night shift workers make is that if there's something they need to talk about, they try to call them during day time hours (like around noon time or in the afternoon) thinking that night shift workers usually are awake, so if they need to talk about something, it's okay to call them. Luckily, now a lot of phones have a "Do not Disturb" setting, so any phone calls (unless truly an emergency) go right to voicemail and don't even ring. Just like how day shift people don't like getting calls at 3 AM, night shift workers don't like to get calls at 1 PM or 3 PM unless it's a critical emergency. People who work during the day don't appreciate getting a call at 3 AM from someone just to chit-chat, so night shift workers also don't like to get phone calls just to chit-chat or discuss non-emergency issues in the middle of their sleep time.
Myth #4 - "Night shift workers can be scheduled like day shift workers."
Although for day shift workers working 4 days in a row, then having 1 day off and then working again 2 more days is a fine schedule, this is not the case for night shift workers. Since part of their "off day" is spent sleeping, just having one off day in between several days in a row working does not allow for them to have adequate down time (rest time). Traditionally night shift workers often work 7 days on, 7 days off, however some companies have tried to go away from this schedule to try and schedule night shift workers more like day shift workers for easier scheduling. Although many night shift workers can work this alternate schedule, all of them would prefer to work several days in a row, then have a few days off in between; just giving a night shift worker one day off in between several nights of working does not give them proper rest time and when they come back to work, they are more prone to making errors and not being as productive due to the fact they didn't get proper rest.
Myth #5 - "If one spouse works during the day and one at night, the night shift working spouse can watch the kids during the day time."
Although it might seem like the perfect setup to have one parent working during the daytime and one parent working at night, so someone is always with younger children, just because night shift workers are at home during the day doesn't mean the person working night shift can just sit with toddlers or other young children. Night shift workers are at home during the day because they need to sleep and watching younger children isn't something they should be doing when they have been up all night and are exhausted. The kids will be very active during the day time and although they can take some small naps during the day time, they need constant supervision, something a night shift worker who is exhausted cannot provide regularly.
Final thoughts about night shift workers:
Night shift workers are hard to recruit for most all professions since it's such an undesirable and difficult time to work. Also, since there is less staff at night in most places, night shift workers must often do the work of 2-3 (or more) people and if there is a management issue that comes up during the night, night shift workers are often tasked with having to make the call themselves or deciding if it's important enough that they need to contact their manager to make a decision.
Usually most people don't look at working night shift as a long-term career path due to the effect it has on a person's health and the difficulty of working a shift that runs opposite of a person's natural body clock. If you do need to work night shift, it's important to have the support of your family so that you can get adequate rest during the day time. Night shift is an important part of any organization because it opens up many more opportunities for the organization to better serve it's customers or serve the public and those who are sacrificing a lot by working night shift should be respected for their sacrifices.