How difficult is graveyard shift?

I am thinking of working graveyard shift within my company

I would basically work 2300-0800 and have Friday Saturday off

My only worry is sleep - Fiance will probably be going back to school so she will know not to bug me, this wont happen until octoberish but I'm wondering if it's not that bad

I'm mainly doing it so I can study more at work as its usually slower - some are able to watch a full movie during their shift but i'll be using it to study

What are your guy's thoughts about graveyard?

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Comments

YFZblu

Our graveyard guys used to get a ton of time to study, but beware - where I work, someone high-level took notice of the small amount of work graveyard was doing and now the overnight crew has to justify their positions. Suddenly tedious projects are getting thrown on the night guys because "they don't do anything". Getting a bunch of work thrown at you might put you in the position where suddenly you work a crappy shift with no real benefit - besides an alternate shift bump in pay.

Of course, not every org will go through this - just a thought and a different perspective.

gbdavidx

I'm not worried about that, i'll actually get more pay - we have to have support since I work at a hospital

only thing im worried about is getting enough sleep

NetworkVeteran

You'd get the same sleep as usual, just shifted. I suggest going to bed within an hour of getting off work. That way you have the early evening off, just like the 9am-5pm folk, so you don't end up feeling isolated and out-of-time-and-place.

As you say, graveyard is typically more pay and less effort.

Buy good black-out curtains.

Switching between on/off days may be the trickest part if you want a 'normal' schedule on off days, but doable. Just look at alll the nurses at your hospital for examples, who really have to be 'on'. Do they look dazed and half-asleep?

ChickenNuggetz

I currently work graveyard shift (11pm - 7am) in a NOC. Its going to take a while (probably ~2-3 weeks) for your body to fully get used to sleeping. It can really depend on the individual. Some people are naturally "night-owls" and can acclamate very quickly; others like myself take much longer. To be honest I lose a lot sleep and really dont sleep as much as I used. I average probably around 5 hours of sleep or so a day. Here's a few things to keep in mind:

Get black out curtains, get really good ones. Block out as much light as you can. I actually sleep better on cloudy, gloomy days because its darker.
If you want to maximize time with your SO, I'd suggest going to sleep within a few hours of coming home (no more than 2) otherwise you'll end up sleeping when they get home.
Keep your sleep schedule on weekends/days off. If you dont, it will really mess you up, trust me on this.
Get a noise machine or something to help block out noise during the day. I use an iPod on an iPod dock with a looping ocean waves/rain track and it really helps me sleep.

Obviously everyone is different, just make sure you really think it out before committing to this. As for extra study time, I had similar notions of studying and thought it was good but in hindsight, here's what I think now:

Lots of study time is great. If your sleep cycle is jacked up, you'll end up fighting to stay awake (or just flat out passing out) during your shift thus getting no study time.
Every environment is different, make sure you know what is expected of you. My title is Jr. Network Engineer but honestly, I do little to no networking things at night. Most of the work in my environment is done during the day. The most I'll do is a few reports on the network team's ticket queue and monitoring the network (which we dont get many alerts for).
You will most likely get work from the day shift/swing shift that couldnt be finished. For my environment, this is usually the least desired work.
Considering the above two points, outside of my studies, I am not really learning anything and now regret not holding out for a day shift.
Really consider the pros vs the cons of nights vs days. Is the pay bump really that much more?
If there really is nothing else to do, studying every night for 5-8 hours will get boring fast and you'll run the risk of burning out. Again, not everyone will agree with me. I'm the kind of guy that needs something to do, I dont like just sitting there taking a workstation vacation, or just studying. I'm at my job to learn (get experience) if I get extra study time then that's a plus.

Obviously, not everyone will have a similar experience to my own. I actually think I'm on the "worse" end of the spectrum.

cruwl

I had a position that was more swing compared to night 315am-415pm, and we had tons of down time 8-10 hours a day easy. I too had notions of studying ect, and it gets old fast. If you have the determination, self control and motivation then it might be good for you.

Just be careful you dont slip into the watching movies/TV and playing games all night or shift long thats what happen to me and I'm glad I got out of that shift and into roles where I actually work and learn.

gbdavidx

Im only gonna do it for 6 months then hopefully get a better job w/in my company

hoktauri

About 10 years ago I tried it at Target unloading trucks around Xmas, lasted about a month. While I am naturally a night owl I couldn't get around sleeping during the day even with blackout curtains and sleeping pills.

rensational

I didn't have trouble sleeping during the day. I sometimes had more of a problem staying awake at work, and this is despite being a night owl and naturally being able to stay awake all night at home. I am not into movies or YouTube enough to watch that all or even part of the night, and I needed to be able to hear so couldn't really listen to music--which would probably have been my top preferred way to pass time--so my biggest problem was just being bored. Also, there were times I thought maybe I could study, but that would make me sleepier. It's hard to stare at a PC or books at night, and I can never focus on studying when I'm in any sort of public place. And then add to that times when you're at work sick, and I just flatout couldn't keep my eyes open those times.

Times like these, I miss working night shift. I work tech support, and I am flatout sick of dealing with people. I was mainly left alone most nights. There were a few times busy work was left for me, but for the most part it was peaceful with nothing really to do. I didn't usually go home and go to sleep right away, as I like to watch sports talk shows (another thing I miss about night shift vs day shift). I would sleep from about 2 or 3pm until it was time to get ready for work, and the good thing about that is waiting so long would make me tired enough to sleep without needing curtains, etc. It's also way easier to job hunt if you work nights because you have no problem going to interviews during the day, another thing I miss a lot. Sometimes I really think about going back, but it would mean a pay cut unless I could find an IT job working night shift (I didn't work in IT before).

ITMonkey

I worked 12 hours shifts (4 days one week, 3 days the next). Found the transition between the days I worked and days I didn't work not to be a problem.

I also had morning classes to go to three times a week. I found it frustrating that I didn't remember class lectures or things I read -- no matter how hard I studied. I forgot things soon after I learned them, which worked against me. The brain "fog" went away within a week of me moving to the daytime shift.

JockVSJock

I'm not one to work overnight.

However when I have worked overnight, it has been very tough on my body. I have a hard time concentrating on things when I was awake and hard time sleeping during the day, even with blackout curtains. Nevertheless, you know your body best.

Also, in my last corporate job, the night shift folks often got overlooked when it came to promotion because it was well known the bulk of the real work was done during the day.

Master Of Puppets

My best friend works graveyard and it's doable but it sucks a little. We can hardly workout together during the week which has been a tradition for years. Not to mention that if you're in school, you skip a lot of classes because you're not going to want to go and do calculus while being half asleep, for example. Your social life suffers greatly too. Also, it's not the healthiest thing ever. IMO, it's something that you shouldn't do long term.

MiikeB

I have found that during the week its nice, maybe slightly better than a normal shift for me personally, especially something like 11-7 though if you wake up too early to do dinner at 6-7pm with the fiance then then last hour or two of the shift will drag.

The real downside is your days off, and that is the main reason I wouldn't go back unless the pay bump was great. Your days off you will either be miserable because you try to change your sleep schedule again or you won't be able to hang out with anyone since they will be asleep. Also things like cutting the grass, going hiking, eating out start becoming way more difficult to plan. Maybe you love a steak from Outback or pasta at Carabbas, well the only time you would get a chance to go is what is essentially going to be breakfast.

Also that beer at dinner will have to become a screwdriver at breakfast otherwise you are drinking first thing when you start your day and might have a problem

NetworkVeteran

You raise some interesting points.

Maybe you love a steak from Outback or pasta at Carabbas, well the only time you would get a chance to go is what is essentially going to be breakfast.

Some nutritionists argue we'd be better off eating larger, protein-rich meals early in the day before we get active.. and smaller meals before we rest. (This is from the perspective of being ideally fueled as opposed to calories in / calories out). What my friends do is eat dinner at a normal dinner time, eat lunch at a normal lunch time, and eat breakfast at a normal breakfast time. This also makes you in-sync with "normal schedule" people and simplifies hanging out with them. It does require a shift in your eating patterns!

Also that beer at dinner will have to become a screwdriver at breakfast otherwise you are drinking first thing when you start your day and might have a problem

They typically don't drink on workdays, beyond at social gatherings, and usually then less than a glass of wine then. They occasionally drink more on their off days. However, since they swap their schedule on those days, they've been up many hours by evening. I guess it's mimosas and screwdrivers if you need an after-work drink! Everyone has their unique rituals.

the_Grinch

I loved it! I worked from 8 pm to 6 am, Monday thru Friday. I agree with others it is definitely not for everyone. For me though, I wound up getting a lot more done. I was able to come home and go to bed within an hour. Be back up at 3 PM and exercise before heading into work. Biggest issue for me was that any work on the house is always done during the day. We had a flood in the basement and needed mud removed, so of course the guy came during the day and they jammed the dog in my room as he whined for three hours straight. Tips for working at night:

1. Get a routine - Always follow it. 21 days to form a new habit so if you plan on studying you better do it daily. Way too easy to get distracted at night.

2. Have a voice - Everyone forgets about the night guy. As one poster stated, the idea is always "there is nothing to do at night". That comes solely from the laziness of the night guy. The person I replaced was lazy, he'd pass on calls without even trying. He'd claim to be busy and not do needed nighttime work. When I took over, I was my own advocate. I'd cc the Dir of Ops, Dir of the NOC, and any stakeholders on each thing I completed at night. I'd shoot a handoff report to various higher ups within the company so they'd know at night things did get done.

3. Prepare for the loneliness - This aspect I enjoyed the most, but it's not for everyone. More recently my social interactions haven't gone as well as I would like and that makes me long with the times I was by myself working the NOC.

4. Know your environment and be prepared for anything - I knew our customers very well and that helped greatly. Also, you have to be the JOAT because most of the time you have no resource other then Google to help you out.

5. Read emails - This is the biggest one! I would spend an hour everyday reading all the emails and tickets that came in during the day. This saved me so many headaches it wasn't even funny. You'd know exactly what you were walking into and let's face it people aren't great at updating tickets. There were a number of times I'd get an alert, think about calling it out and then remember I saw an email saying that it would happen and to ignore it.

Good luck!

tpatt100

I was a mess when I had to do it. Going to bed soon after you get off of work is the reverse of what you would normally do on first shift. You will find yourself more tired because it is like getting up several hours early before going to work in the morning. On first shift you get up before work get ready and go. If you go to bed after work you end up being awake longer which messed me up and made me more tired.

datgirl

I like the quiet and lack of distractions of the graveyard shift. End-users aren't popping in with time sapping questions or water cooler chit-chat, and I am able to focus more effectively and to get more done. Which isn't to bash the end-user, for they are the reason that we exist, rather it's the breaks in concentration that negatively impact my performance.

Plantwiz

Nights are great for all the reasons stated. There are a few bumps, as already stated.

The one area not mentioned has to do with when you get 'older'. The folks in the nursing homes who have the most difficulty sleeping are those who worked third shift at some point in their younger days. Now, I suspect this is not the case of those who only work it for a year or less, but those who worked it for the other benefits mentioned do struggle some later on. Not all, but the third shifters are easily picked out of the group.

For me, this is not the deal breaker, but there are health issues that third shift people struggle with...and there are suggestions on how to combat some of them. Frankly, one could say that day shift people snack too much...so just be aware of the pros and cons and give it a go to see if it works for you or not.

I too recommend sleeping shortly after returning home in the morning, so you can arise by 3pm if needed and still handle business plus you have the early evening with family and friends before leaving for work.

Sinema

I work 6p to 6a for years and the toughest thing is resetting your time in your body. You always want to get stuff done during the day and also find yourself asleep because your body spent years getting used to being awake during the day and asleep when it is dark.

neo9006

Agree I worked overnight a few years at a different job I had worked at for 10 years, probably the most miserable time I had while I worked there, everything was a blur, I was working 2 jobs at 75 hours plus a week, for me personally it was not worth the hassle.