Anyone still work swing shift

[Dalton Wayne]

When I was younger my Aunt worked at a glass factory where they would work day shift one week afternoons the next and midnights nights the third week then turn around and do it all over again.
I could never see the advantage to that, what could have been the advantages to shift work like that.

My Aunt tried to get me a job there before I was married, but I wanted no part of a schedule like that,
She died at a young age mid fifties I think the swing shift had a lot to do with it......

[RJ1670]

I always called the 3-11 shift the swing shift. I thought it was just shift work or rotating shifts when you change shifts all the time.

[John43]

I worked in a glass plant in my hometown of Streator Illinois. It was the glass bottle Capitol of the world with 34 glass machines. I ran one for about seven years. It was a dangerous job, some machines made 330 bottles a minute and it was the size of a merry go round. You had to remove iron molds on the fly, the machines never stopped except for mechanical failure or a job change. We worked those odd shifts exactly like you mentioned. There were four shifts (a,b,c,d) and they gave you a schedule for the beginning of every year, we worked 15 Sunday's, then got five off. Wives that worked there in other areas worked the same schedule but backwards so they didn't have to hire a babysitter. This type of schedule was designed to hinder you from going to college and to have one shift idle out of the four shifts. Today they only have less than ten machines and have gone to a vertical machine that is more efficient. If you ever visit you can stop on one side of the plant and view the machine in operation without going into the plant. Bottles made vary from plasma to beer to Aunt Jemima to mason jar and come in green, brown and clear.

[LoadToadBoss]

I always called the 3-11 shift the swing shift. I thought it was just shift work or rotating shifts when you change shifts all the time.
This. Especially when I was in the Air Force, we called the 3-11 shift "swing shift."

[g30sfjeepguy]

I work in an aluminum recycling plant where we melt dross and scrap into ingots. We work a swing shift its a modified version of the " DuPont schedule".

[eracer]

I once worked hourly at a manufacturing plant.

Our schedule was 3 days on 3 days off, 12.25 hrs. per day.

That wasn't bad, but switching from a 5:45 AM start to a 5:45 PM start every 10 weeks pretty much sucked. At least you had 10 weeks to get adjusted.

I imagine switching day to night to afternoon to night would REALLY suck.

Honestly, before I got a salaried job at that plant (with a normal schedule) I felt some negative mental changes that I attribute to the schedule screwing with my circadian rhythms. I haven't had to deal with that for 18 years now, and my QOL is much better now.

[aircarver]

When we do aircraft tests that need to go 'around the clock;, we set up a 3- 8 hr or 2- 12 hour schedule based on the consensus of 'the inmates' ...:supergrin:

Generally we'd stay on a shift ~7 weeks, extendable by a couple of weeks if desired, but nobody could bid to be 'permanent nightshift'. (We have a few who liked that)

Pretty much, most are happy when we finish the need for 24 hour operations and go back to more normal hours.

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[MDLibertarian]

This. Especially when I was in the Air Force, we called the 3-11 shift "swing shift."

Or when it often became the extended shift due to having half of mids deployed (we usually didn't find out until our shift was almost over), so everyone from swings was held over to finish the work that sure as hell wouldn't get done by the primadonnas on days. :whistling:

[okie]

I never have and I hope I never do:nailbiting:

[Bushflyr]

Night work is brutal. Look at pretty much any FedEx or UPS pilot over 50 and they all look 15 years older.

[John's 26]

Here in Las Vegas, being a 24 hour town, shift work is the norm for a lot of folks. Although I don't have anything to do with the tourist industry (school district), I work swings, 2 - 10PM, and have for the last 6 1/2 years. I don't mind it. It has some advantages. I can sleep in, have a leisurely cup of java while I read the internet, enjoy an unhurried visit to the "water closet", take the doggies on their walk before the sidewalk becomes an inferno, take care of any errands during normal business hours, then off to work. Only downside (for me anyways) is I don't get to spend much time with the spousal unit during the week. But we make up for it on the weekends...

John

[Hauptmann6]

Generally we'd stay on a shift ~7 weeks, extendable by a couple of weeks if desired, but nobody could bid to be 'permanent nightshift'. (We have a few who liked that)
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That never made sense to me. If someone likes working nights when everyone else hates it. Why not make them, and someone else happy by letting them stay on nights all the time.

[glockdoc21]

12-14 12 hour shifts a month, 6 nights (7p-7a) and 6-8 days (7a-7p). I do blocks of 3-4 days in a row, exercise and eat right the other days, and I only feel bad 2-3 days per month now (thanks to modern medicine..and benadryl :cool: )

[W Turner]

I work in a chemical plant and we're on the Dupont schedule so my schedule is crazy compared to most people's. We work a 4 week rotation including 7 days in a row off. Here's what it looks like...

F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T
N N N N O O O D D D O N N N O O O D D D D O O O O O O O

N-Night shift 1815-0645
D-Day shift 0615-1845
O-Off

It looks like a killer but the 7 day break helps to reset and you always have a long turnaround when you flop from nights to days, which is much harder than going from days to nights. You're also off two weekends a month.

The key(s) for me are to go to bed ASAP in the mornings when I'm working nights and on the 2 mornings I work off of a stretch of night shifts I'll sleep about 3 hours to get through one complete sleep cycle, get up, go to the gym, and try to have a normal day. Been doing it for 4 years and I'm pretty well adjusted to it now.

W

[aircarver]

That never made sense to me. If someone likes working nights when everyone else hates it. Why not make them, and someone else happy by letting them stay on nights all the time.

The night shifts are easier than the day shift because they are just babysitting equipment running. All the maintenance and heavy lifting happens on days when there is a full crew. So some people want to be the permanent night guy instead of taking their turn in the barrel of the day shift. No one that I knew of hated the night shift, it just presented different pluses and minuses.

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[Clutch Cargo]

I worked a few swing shifts at Six Flags Over Texas in 1971.

[Trapped_in_Kali]

I had a friend who work for Reynolds Aluminum 12 hours, 3 on/3 off. I deal with a lot of factorys (Industrial machinery Electrical Repair) who run 2 or 3 shifts.

[vikingsoftpaw]

I believe that is called a rotating shirt. Swing shifts were a split shift.

There are a number of companies locally, in Northeast Ohio that force rotating shifts. The reason being you keep you workforce captive. You can not ever go back to college or trade school and better yourself while working a rotating shifts with rotating days off. Those companies force 10-12 shifts to keep the take-home pay up and get you addicted to the short term cash.

[G23Gen4.40]

While in the Air Force my work schedule was a 3 days on, then 3 days off. We rotated 6:30 am - 6:30 pm to 6:30 pm - 6:30 am. My first job when I got out was pretty much the same, but shifts were 12 to 12.

[briarpatch]

Most power plants I have been around work the same as John43 described. My son is an operator at a power plant in Florida and works that shift. I have seen men work it for over 30 years with no effects.

[sonoma]

I worked the rotating shift for 10 years.One month days, one month 3-11 and the graveyard shift.We called the swing shift 3 days and 2, 3-11 shifts.Hated the graveyard shift, never could sleep in the day more than 4 hours.Loved the 3-11 shift.The previous posters are right the company does it so you cant go back to college.I asked for a permanent 3-11 shift so i could finish college and was refused.I already had more education than anyone in the company and they were threatened by that.

[Scott3670]

I've been working the 3-11:30pm shift for the last six years at my office (US DOJ) and it's a really good shift. And I have no plans to change my schedule.

[Brandon G]

We work the dupont schedule here, 4 nights, off 3, 3 days, off 1, 3 nights, off 3, 4 days, off seven. Its a pretty sweet schedule once you get used to it

[hvyhawler]

I work 7 afternoons, 2 off. 7 days,1 off.7 nights,4 off.

[elsolo]

I don't mind working second or third shift, but do not rotate the schedule so your body never gets used to it's new hours.

[elsolo]

The night shifts are easier than the day shift because they are just babysitting equipment running. All the maintenance and heavy lifting happens on days when there is a full crew. So some people want to be the permanent night guy instead of taking their turn in the barrel of the day shift. No one that I knew of hated the night shift, it just presented different pluses and minuses.

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When it is you describe, the permanent night shift mechanics are often the lazy "just make it run till the end of the shift" guys that sleep on the clock. Those guys need the night shift, and figured it out a long time ago.

Second shift often gets the bulk of heavy labor resulting from unplanned breakage.