Working Graveyard Now. Any tips?

[JughedJones]

I just got out of University and - almost instantly - got a job in my chosen field! Who said miracles don't happen?

Anyway, I'm working in a group home for at risk youth and it's four ten hour shifts from Sunday to Wednesday.... 10pm to 8am.

The pay's not great but I'm really excited to get the ball rolling, getting experience, and starting a career in social work.

So... the question is: Have any of you guys worked similar hours? If you have, what was your strategy for maintaining a half-way normal relationship with your GF/wife/friends/etc?

I used to be a truck driver, so I am no stranger to working all hours. However, that was alone with no one to worry about being normal around!

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Best of luck!

 

[JughedJones]

Best of luck!

Thanks, brother.

I'm beyond excited (and nervous) about it. It's a lot of responsibility for someone who's never really had any in a career before. I'm at the age now though that if I don't get a path I can be proud of soon, I never will.

I'm really worried about the possible toll on my relationship though. It's a lot to live with on her end.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Until recently, I worked the 7pm-7am shift at the hospital. My best advice is get sleep whenever you can. Working those hours goes against your natural Circadian rhythm so having a set sleep schedule might not work out, it didn't for me.
And silence your phone or you'll be getting woken up all day.

Congrats on the job and good luck.

 

[kmoose]

Lots and lots of cocaine............ j/k (or am I? )

One of the important things is to sacrifice just a little time, each day, for your significant other. Even if it is just 5 or 10 minutes; make some time for just her, away from your other duties or responsibilities. Most significant others are willing to put up with a lot, as long as they know that the other partner is not taking it for granted. Don't go overboard and fawn all over her, as that will come across as fake. But find something that the two of you can share, everyday. And let her know that you have carved that time out because you want her to know how important she is to you.

Good luck! Hopefully this "group home" is not MacLaren?

 

[JughedJones]

Until recently, I worked the 7pm-7am shift at the hospital. My best advice is get sleep whenever you can. Working those hours goes against your natural Circadian rhythm so having a set sleep schedule might not work out, it didn't for me.
And silence your phone or you'll be getting woken up all day.

Congrats on the job and good luck.

Thanks bud. I'm so tired I thought your avatar was David Bowie for a second!

 

[JughedJones]

Lots and lots of cocaine............ j/k (or am I? )

One of the important things is to sacrifice just a little time, each day, for your significant other. Even if it is just 5 or 10 minutes; make some time for just her, away from your other duties or responsibilities. Most significant others are willing to put up with a lot, as long as they know that the other partner is not taking it for granted. Don't go overboard and fawn all over her, as that will come across as fake. But find something that the two of you can share, everyday. And let her know that you have carved that time out because you want her to know how important she is to you.

Good luck! Hopefully this "group home" is not MacLaren?

Great advice.

(no no no... lol... I'm one hell of a whiskey drinker, but this is real. )

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Worked midnights quite a bit when I had a manufacturing job that did swing shifts. What sucked was I would have them on rotations, so it was almost impossible to find a groove with sleep, life, etc. Since this will be your set schedule, it will be easier to acclimate, but still won't be a walk in the park. My best advice would be to black out your bedroom window. I'm one of those people that finds it impossible to sleep when the sun is out, and before I got my room dark enough, there was a lot of tossing and turning.

PS: you will learn to HATE the sounds of lawn mowers, doorbells, ringing phones, and children's laughter.

 

[JughedJones]

Worked midnights quite a bit when I had a manufacturing job that did swing shifts. What sucked was I would have them on rotations, so it was almost impossible to find a groove with sleep, life, etc. Since this will be your set schedule, it will be easier to acclimate, but still won't be a walk in the park. My best advice would be to black out your bedroom window. I'm one of those people that finds it impossible to sleep when the sun is out, and before I got my room dark enough, there was a lot of tossing and turning.

PS: you will learn to HATE the sounds of lawn mowers, doorbells, ringing phones, and children's laughter.

I laughed, and laughed.


Thanks, man. I've considered blacking out the windows, but sunlight doesn't bother my sleep all to much. Pitch black actually hinders it more than anything, I'm a T.V. on while they sleep kind of guy.

My girlfriend has been a real sweetheart about this, she actually (without my asking) moved a TV into our room and stocked me up with a Christopher Guest selection of movies, Mutiny on the Bounty (with Marlon Brando of course,) and a collection of WWII documentaries to help me sleep. What a gal!

 

[BobD]

No useful advice to offer, but congratulations on the new job and thank you for helping at risk youth.

 

[Redbar]

Congrats Jughead, I would agree with the Steelhead, try to black out your bedroom window, try to keep that room a little bit cooler, silence your phone or move it out of your room. If you need a natural sleep aid try a 1mg dose of melatonin, (they also make a 3mg dose) that you can get from GNC. I have used it on occasion, works great for me with the biggest benefit being that I feel no grogginess at all, even if I wake up long before I planned to.

 

[GowerND11]

Worked midnights quite a bit when I had a manufacturing job that did swing shifts. What sucked was I would have them on rotations, so it was almost impossible to find a groove with sleep, life, etc. Since this will be your set schedule, it will be easier to acclimate, but still won't be a walk in the park. My best advice would be to black out your bedroom window. I'm one of those people that finds it impossible to sleep when the sun is out, and before I got my room dark enough, there was a lot of tossing and turning.

PS: you will learn to HATE the sounds of lawn mowers, doorbells, ringing phones, and children's laughter.

My dad has worked swing shift for 30 years, and he would certainly agree with everything you said. I agree myself, since I worked with him for two summers in college. I was amazed how much I hated children running up and down our street.

 

[NDohio]

No useful advice to offer, but congratulations on the new job and thank you for helping at risk youth.

Ditto

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

It's horrible.
I was a walking zombie for almost four years working the night shift.
There were days when I just couldn't sleep even though I was exhausted.
It was as close to insomnia as I've ever gotten to.
Very typical to get maybe ten to twelve hours of sleep a week.
The worst part was once I was woken, be it washroom break or just my kids making noise, I couldn't fall back asleep.
Clearly a mental block, but horrible none the less.
My social life disappeared since I was too tired to do much on off days.

My advice for being able to sleep:

1. Get a very loud fan to run in your room. It drowns out all other noises.
2. Sleep in the basement (if you have one). It's usually dark and cool and hopefully your family will leave you be.
3. If no basement, get very thick blinds/curtains to make a vampire-like environment in your room.
4. Invest in a window ac unit. This allows the rest of the house to be open enjoying the fresh summer air, but you're still sleeping in a dark cool environment.
5. Immediately start looking for another job.

 

[ulukinatme]

Man, some of you are pussies! I did night shift for 3 years probably, just got off it about a year ago. I miss it at times! It can be a hard to adjust to it at first, but as long as you try to stay on that schedule you'll be okay. Hopefully you're strictly on the night shift and you don't have to do rotations like Steelhead, those can be a bitch cause they'll throw off your sleeping pattern. It's easier just to get on the schedule and stick to it.

I personally found it easier to sleep in the afternoon/evening, wake up for work, and then stay up for a bit to wind down and go to sleep. Everyone is different though, just make sure you stick to a routine. If you have to go to bed after work, then wake up to see the significant other before you work, do that if that's what you need to do to make it work with her.

Get some nice blackout curtains for your bedroom, it does help a lot, they're not kidding. I got Navy curtains instead, those were good enough for me ha. The fan advice is good too, as well as turning off your phone if you're not expecting any important calls.

Don't forget that there are a number of bonuses to working nights. For one, you never have a problem making appointments during office hours. Shopping is a breeze, you rarely will deal with long lines. Commutes shouldn't be bad either since traffic should be light at 10pm, and by 8am most people will already be in the office. I miss those commutes...

All in all, I enjoyed my time on night shift. It's a little weird sometimes, but on the flip side I found I could really enjoy my days off because you had all night to catch up on any shows, surf, or play games without the normal day to day interruptions like phone calls, door bells, whatever. Night shift isn't for everyone though, and if you're looking to move up I wouldn't let yourself get stuck there for more than a few years. Companies are always looking to find some guy they can stick on night shift and keep him there as long as possible since many people prefer not to do it. Put your time in, and if a better shift isn't available, scout around to see if you can use your experience elsewhere.

 

[ulukinatme]

Honestly, I probably would still be on night shift at my old company if they gave out frequent raises. They started getting stingy once the economy went to shit. I didn't care much at the time since no one else in the company was getting raises and I had no kids or just one kid at the time. Once the second one came I decided it was time to look for some place that didn't have a tight pocket book.

Night shift really is cool though, don't let doom-sayers bring you down. Typically you don't have a supervisor standing over your shoulder on night shift. If you're like me, you can multi-task and enjoy your work a little more. I was able to watch movies, surf IE, and even play games all while doing my job. The first year I even found an unsecured wireless network across the street, I used to run MMO raids from the office off my personal laptop There's a lot you can get away with on night shift that you normally wouldn't be able to do during the day, you just have to be creative and keep yourself entertained if there's not enough work. Just don't be stupid about it.

 

[ginman]

Congratulations on the new position. Ok social worker, your goal here is to maintain a relationship with your sig other so this is what you need to do:

Talk with her about this change in positions. Let her know that you value her and are worried about how this job will impact your relationship together. Ask her what she needs from you to make this work. Plan a regular time to check in and continue to find time together to do the things you enjoy doing as a couple. Didn't they teach you anything in school?

I think we can close this thread down now!- just kidding, but seriously, she is going to give you the best answers, not us idiots!

 

[Irish#1]

Ear Plugs

 

[Henges24]

I just took a manufacturing position that will require shift changes every 4 months. It's a significant pay increase but after reading these horror stories I am really not looking forward to it now.

 

[phork]

I used to come home from work, see the wife off to her job, get the kids fed and on the bus and I slept all day from like 8AM to 2 or 3PM. Best sleep I ever had.

 

[Quinntastic]

I love graveyard shift. I work as a laboratory scientist on graveyard shift. The secrets for me have been:

During the winter, sleep with a humidifier on for noise (and added humidity!)

During the summer, sleep with a fan on for noise (and added comfort!)

I invested in a really good eye mask and I swear by it. I can send you the link if you want one, but it sounds like you don't have an issue with light (I do).

But the perks of graveyard shift are really nice. Firstly, you get paid more. Secondly, at least in the laboratory setting, all of the supervisors and upper management are gone so you are not always afraid of them breathing down your neck. There's more autonomy. I also work four 10 hour shifts and get three days off every week, and every six weeks it is scheduled so I get six days off in a row without needing to take a single day of PTO.

My SO works as a nurse on graveyard shift so we keep the same hours. Grocery shopping is a breeze and I never have to fight with morning rush hour traffic. During the summer, every nice day can be a beach day if I don't mind losing out on a few hours of sleep. If you don't already love coffee, I would learn to love it, at least long enough to get your brain used to staying up all night. It takes around 3-6 months to fully adjust.

 

[irishff1014]

I work rotating 12's but it's a consistent schedule. Not sure I would like 4 months of one shift. The good thing though the later you work the less admin you have to deal with.

 

[JJRob]

I work 4 days on 4 days off. 12 hour shifts that rotate from days to nights every other week. A lot of the guys swear by Provigil or Nuvigil to help keep them awake while on shift and the drive home. No real spike or drop like from caffeine. It just keeps you alert/awake. Prescribed for shift workers sleep disorder.

 

[greyhammer90]

I just took a manufacturing position that will require shift changes every 4 months. It's a significant pay increase but after reading these horror stories I am really not looking forward to it now.

It really depends on how much you like isolation in the day to day. I'm not joking about that. If you're the kind of person who likes to come home from work, be alone, and just watch tv before going to bed, then you'll probably like it. It's just like anything else though, there are positives and negatives. I worked a factory job in college for a while that was night shift, and it was definitely interesting. You see a time of night consistently that most people dont. You drive home when there's basically no traffic and everything is really quiet. Then you get home and your family/roommates are asleep. You either stay awake to hang out with them as they wake up, or go to bed and they see you as you wake up.

I don't know if I could do it forever. But looking back on it it was certainly an interesting experience and not one I would take back.

 

[ulukinatme]

I really did love graveyard shift. If I didn't have kids and if my old company wasn't so stingy, I'd still be doing it. I got away with murder at times...lets just say when things were slow I would piggy back off a nearby unsecured WIFI and I'd run MMORPG raids during my shift Nothing like getting paid to play video games.

 

[nsisk157]

My wife is a nurse practitioner (regular nurse prior).. Black out blinds and curtains do wonders as well. Noise canceling methods like previously mentioned are great additions as well.

If an option, sleep on an upper floor. Big difference for her.

 

[Henges24]

Update: I'm about a month and 10 days into it and I honestly don't mind it. I'm pretty tired on the weekends though which kinda sucks. The only thing I hate about it is that 3rd shift starts up Sunday night so my weekend gets cut a little short.

3 +/- more months and I will be moving to a different shift.

 

[ThePiombino]

Update: I'm about a month and 10 days into it and I honestly don't mind it. I'm pretty tired on the weekends though which kinda sucks. The only thing I hate about it is that 3rd shift starts up Sunday night so my weekend gets cut a little short.

3 +/- more months and I will be moving to a different shift.

~2 years into working the graveyard and I'm completely functional now. Only thing that sucks is that I'm on a two-week rotation regarding days off, so it's kind of hard to ever actually do anything since I only get a "weekend off" every two weeks. I would imagine that if I worked Su-Th nights, it would be quite awesome, especially since we get paid a night and Sunday differential.

 

[ulukinatme]

Update: I'm about a month and 10 days into it and I honestly don't mind it. I'm pretty tired on the weekends though which kinda sucks. The only thing I hate about it is that 3rd shift starts up Sunday night so my weekend gets cut a little short.

3 +/- more months and I will be moving to a different shift.

It does get easier the longer you're on it. Some say after 3 months or so your body adapts to it more. I miss it sometimes, the bullshit that goes on in an office environment during day shift...ugh.

 

[ThePiombino]

It does get easier the longer you're on it. Some say after 3 months or so your body adapts to it more. I miss it sometimes, the bullshit that goes on in an office environment during day shift...ugh.

This