Positive Benefits of Working Shift Work
Let’s face it, many people who work shift work only talk about the negative. But for some, it’s the positive aspects that lead the way. There are certain lifestyle benefits that can come from working shifts. For example, some people choose to work shift work for social, financial, or lifestyle reasons.
One postal worker reported that she loved her unique work schedule. She was a postal sorter and her hours were from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Monday through Friday. She was 60 and she’d been working similar hours for about 40 years! Working nights and early mornings was perfect for her.
Another person worked at an air force base in the commissary – working nights stocking shelves and taking inventory. She had worked this schedule for over 15 years and just loved it.
A woman told us about her overnight work as a security officer, she’d been at the job for over ten years. She said she’d never work another schedule.
Here are the main comments these two women had about their schedule:
1. They liked the freedom of working in a more solitary environment, without many other work associates or managers around; they felt empowered to do their jobs, almost like they were running their own businesses. This does bring up one of the challenges organizations with shift workers face – making the people working non-daytime shifts feel part of the overall organization.
2. These women all live near major metropolitan areas and so they all pointed to the lack of traffic when they go into work and how they are travelling against the traffic when they come home. One women said this alone saves her ten hours a week of commuting time.
3. One other important comment they each made was about how they were able to work all night and still have time during the day to go off and do shopping, see a movie, or go to the beach, at a non-peak time for these recreational options. Of course, they recognized the need for sleep in order to maximize their readiness for work the next day, but their schedules were flexible enough to take advantage of a few recreation hours during the day.
4. The postal worker said she saw the most beautiful wildlife in the area on her way to work for her 3 a.m. shift. Who else has the opportunity to be outside when all the animals are awake and socializing with each other!
5. These women thought it was safer working nights than days. They pointed to less possibility of accidents – fewer people at work and many less on the roads.
6. The women felt they were all more productive working nights than they would have been during the day. More productivity, they believe, comes from having less interruptions, something that may be due to having fewer work associates and managers around.
7. They each pointed to how invigorated they felt at the end of the shift as opposed to how tired they remember having been after a day time shift. Mentioning how much they looked forward to going home, maybe reading the paper and having some breakfast, they pointed out how good it feels when it’s only the early morning and your work is done for the day – while you see others commuting in to start their day.
One point to note – all these women were longer term night shift workers. Their shifts didn’t rotate. They were on nights all the time. Over the years, they became some of the lucky shift workers to adapt to working a night time schedule.
Some workers are more able to adapt than others; some never adapt. The likelihood of adapting is much greater when the shift is fixed and not rotating. But of course, some organizations have to use a rotating schedule as there are not enough workers willing to work the non-daytime shifts.
Tags: Human Capital, Productivity, readiness for work, shift work, Working Nights
