Anyone here working a 3 day/12 hour shift? What kind of job is it?

[Kaervak]

I work in EMS and 12 hour shifts aren't bad. The big factor is who your partner is for the shift. If it's someone you like working with and get along with the shift goes by very quickly. On the other side of things if they're an asshole the shift is a never ending torrent of misery. Thankfully where I work nearly everyone is cool and fun to work with. There are a couple of assholes but they aren't going to last long due to their attitude.

 

[ordphx]

I've been on 12 hour shifts for 16 years in a 24 x 7 Computer Operations work environment. I work 1700-0500. I work every wed, thur, fri, and every other saturday night. I have off four days one week and three days the next week. I love this shift. It's hard work during the week, but the work week is over before I burn out. I am very productive during this time, because I know that I am going to have off 3 or 4 days. It's an extreme motivating factor for me. We just got word that they are putting everyone on 8 hour overnight shifts now. I will have to work 6 days straight from 2100 -0500. I'll get 2 days off and then work 4 nights straight. I am literally depressed and demoralized about this new schedule. 12 hour schedule when you work 3 and then are off 4 has been the best for me, and one of the main reasons I remained in this job for many years. I have no passion, desire or enthusiasm to work at this job anymore because of the new 8 hour schedule. The dream job has turned into slavery and a nightmare. 12 hour work schedules are a huge benefit to employees, without the employer having to pay for it. It's an intangible benefit which makes the employee happy and ensures retention of the employee.

 

[crunkzilla]

Id take 3 12hr workdays no questions asked. Just the savings in gas commuting only 3 days a week would feel like a small payraise as well to me.

 

[Broheim]

I did four, 12 hour night shifts at Hynix.
It sucks so bad I think I may have had a breakdown had I gone any longer. Cant sleep during the day, even with melatonin pills. Always pissed off and miserable, couldnt eat right. Couldnt find the energy for exercise. Put on about 40 pounds. Attitude went so bad I couldnt even socialize normally. Didnt have any close friends by the time I left Eugene.

And the worst part is it screwed me up so badly it took about two years to unfuck my brain and 3 to remove the damage to my body. Am better now but I was a horrible person for a long time.
Didnt do much better in the Navy. Watch for 10 hours, work for 10, training and sitting around waiting for another 2. Only had two hours in the whole day to eat, shower, and sleep.
And they were broken up.

I wont get into the whole nocturnal thing but believe me when I tell you staying out late and drinking and dancing is NOT the same thing as working all night. Lots of folks think they can do it but really cant, not for the long run. Recommend avoid.

erm, why the past tense?

 

[JEDI]

I've always worked a 5 day, 40 hour work week. But lately I've been wanting to find jobs with a little more flexibility in scheduling. So for you guys who work the 3 day 12 hour shift, what kind of work are you doing? Nursing, dispatch, EMT, etc.?

federal cop in one of the fed buildings.
3 12's and get paid for 40

 

[shortylickens]

erm, why the past tense?

Check the dates, noob.

 

[Wreckem]

I know nurses that work 6 12s in a row then have 8 days off. They seem to love it.

Their schedules are Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun Mon Tues, off the next 8 then rinse and repeat.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I work in a NOC, my schedule is random but it's typically sets of 4 12 hour days or nights. There's also 8h day shifts though. I try to get more 12h nights though since that means more time off. Basically when the schedule is made, it's setup so everyone works 160h in 4 weeks. So I can end up with a whole bunch of 8's which kinda suck, or I can end up with more 12's, which means more time off.

I also have a stretch of 6 12h nights coming later this week. I sorta requested that though. The more 12's I work, the more time I have off, and nights are easier than days (no need to get up early), so I don't mind working more of them.

Now that I have this job, I could not see myself going anywhere else, it's the perfect job. I don't care what people say about moving up and all that. This job has awesome pay, awesome hours, practically no stress. Could not ask for more.

 

[zCypher]

I've had various schedules. Graveyard (would do a few doubles during those days), 4x10 hour shifts, and of course your usual 5x8 hours.

For the past while I've had four to midnight, usually working at least one weekend day. After getting used to it, I liked it quite a lot. Now I do 2-10 and I have a weekend day off, but 4-12 is nice since you never really need to worry about when you wake up. Don't need an alarm clock. Can get stuff done during the day regardless if it's a work day, can stay up as late as I want, etc. The 1 major downside of 4-12, is if you're stuck working both weekend days, you don't have much of a life with friends and family.

The times I worked 10-12 hour shifts, I liked them in small doses. They did start getting a bit long after doing them for a while. I imagine you would have to really love what you do in order to be OK with such long shifts.

 

[TridenT]

3 12s would be sweet if I got paid the same.

It depends on what I'm doing of course. I think it's better if I am able to eat while at work. (Downtime or extra lunch for dinner)

Also I would be a fan of 9am-9pm shifts. Anything earlier and that will interfere with regular life.

 

[Wingznut]

I am an Engineering Technician at Intel. I work 12.5 hour shifts, 3 days one week, 4 days the next. (Sun-Tues nights, every other Sat night.) I've been doing it for more than 14 years.

I absolutely LOVE the compressed work week schedule. I love that a 3-day weekend is a "short weekend."
I really want a day shift job. I currently have an opportunity to work a normal Mon-Fri shift, but I have no urge to pursue it.

I suppose it's not for everyone (but then again, no schedule is), but I disagree wholeheartedly with sportage. The vast majority of people I work with (and that's A LOT of people) work a compressed schedule, and have been doing it for years. I don't know of any of them who don't like it.

 

[mmntech]

Check the dates, noob.

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!

The meteorologists here work 12hr days four days a week. Two days, to nights. Then they get four or five days off. Can't remember exactly. They say it's exhausting but the mini-holiday between work weeks is nice.

 

[blackangst1]

I also work in a NOC, and work alternating 3/4 day 12 hour days. Sun-Tues, every other Wed, 7am-7pm. LOVE it.

edit: oh shit...necro thread...

 

[John Young]

I'm a snowmaker an work 5 or 6 12 hour shifts a week. Sometimes we'll go 10 or 12 days staight depending on the weather. It's hard work an if you don't like being cold or out of breath then it's not for you but the time flys by an it's a lot of fun. Seeing the sun rise an set from ontop of a mountin every day isn't too bad either.

 

[Brian Stirling]

As Wingznut indicated the semiconductor industry is big time into 12 hour shifts. Any industry that needs to operate 24/7 is going to benefit from 12 hour shifting because it permits them to maintain 24/7 coverage with four 12-hour shifts. In the semiconductor industry, where there is an enormous capital investment, and where that equipment must be operating to make money as close to 100% of the time there's just no way to operate equipment, costing upwards of $80M each, for only 40 hours/week.


The upside to the worker is a bit more pay and more time/days off -- particularly days off during the regular work week. The downside is working whenever your shift works and that's about half of weekends and half of all holidays. Workers get a small benefit in pay but the real winner is the companies as they get 100% utilization of there high dollar capital equipment at very little increase in cost. Fact is, a factory or institution is going to pay about the same cost/week for rent + utilities so being able to increase output bu upwards of 4X with little increase in these costs is pure profit.


Brian

 

[shortylickens]

Hey Brian, check the dates, noob!

 

[Ruptga]

Hey Brian, check the dates, noob!

Fuck you, necros are fun.

I did 10x5 for a while, and hated it. The first month was great, overtime and all, but after that I was just tired all the time and hated everybody. I'm sure I would have liked it better if I had been doing 10x4 with more than just a half hour of break time. Hopefully I'll get to try that at some point but I actually think I'd rather do something like 6.5x6 with a short commute.

 

[Jimzz]

I think I'd like to do 3x12... the 12 hours would suck, but having 4 days off in a week would be pretty awesome.

It more like 3 days off. The time it takes to get ready time wise and also get your sleep back eats about a day.

You have to remember they are not going to let you choose when the 12hr shift starts/ends. So think very early or late. Then everyone else is still on the 8-5 schedule mostly and want you to be also.


I did 12hr shifts and me and my wife did not see each other much till my days off were the weekend with hers. But even then if my last shift ended on a Sat I got home when she was waking up but had to sleep first.

 

[ctk1981]

Mechanic at a can manufacturing plant. 3-4 12 hour days, rotate nights and days every month. Switch ends of the week every 6 months.

I think its a double edged sword....yeah you get more days off but I typically waste a day catching up on housework grocery shopping and laundry. 8 hour 5 day a week no nights looks more appealing to me after 11 years of 12 hour shifts.

 

[drebo]

I'd work four 10's in a heartbeat.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I've always worked a 5 day, 40 hour work week. But lately I've been wanting to find jobs with a little more flexibility in scheduling.

Boy, that sure doesn't qualify in my book as "flexible" scheduling. It's just a different schedule. There's nothing flexible about it.

Whether you work three twelves, four tens, or five eights, it's all a matter of tradeoffs.

Working ten hours a day you have two fewer hours of free time, and less of a life, on your work days than you'd have working eight hours days. Working twelve hour days, you have virtually no life at all, with only 4-5 hours a day that you aren't in work or sleeping.

To me, it's just a matter of whether you value your weekends more than free time during the week. Three and four day weekends can be a nice tradeoff against being able to do almost nothing during the work week. For some people.

 

[DigDog]

much better than 8h imho. (i do 7 days over 2 weeks)

 

[coloumb]

Not 3x12, but currently working 4x10 Sun-Wed shift. Prior to being "asked" to work 4x10, I was working an 8-5 M-F shift and liked it simply because my body has been accustomed to getting up ~7am for nearly all of my life.

The first couple of weeks were brutal getting up at 5:30am...but my body/mind eventually started getting use to the hours and now I'm loving it for 2 reasons:

[1] 3 days off between work.
[2] Most of the company paid holidays fall on my days off which equates to free overtime.

 

[Demoralized]

4x10 here. Night shift, can't complain.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Whether I work an 8 hour day or a 12 hour day, my day is done after work and I don't really feel like doing much much after since I have to go to bed early for the next day. So I prefer longer hours and more days off. It also means less days having to get up early which on it's own is a huge bonus.

I worked a job where it was 10x4, that was probably the perfect balance really. It was consistent and you got all 3 day weekends. Though I do like the night shifts so I prefer what we have now actually and there are sometimes long stretches of time off which is awesome. For example I had this week booked off, and I start night shifts, but only on Thursday, but I only have to go in Thursday night, so I almost have 2 weeks off. The nights are nice too, no need to get up early.