Move to nights or not?

[ChubbyKitty]

Hi, this could get a bit long so apologies in advance!

So. DP works in a store that offers time1/2 to work nights, and his manager has asked if he would go on the night shifts as other people can't for various reasons.

I work in a store which doesn't offer extra for unsociable hours, however if I choose to do the shifts where I close the store, I will get more hours which obviously equates to more money.

I will be finishing between 1-2am and then DP would finish at around 5/6am.

The pros are:

-our hours will match up better this way meaning more time together as a couple.
-our hours will match better with our sleeping pattern, neither of us deal well with getting up at 6/7am and are more than capable of staying up that long.
-we will both be earning more and may finally be able to set some aside for a rainy day/vets bills/dentist bills etc.

The cons:

-less opportunity to go out with friends.
-once these hours are decided and taken, they're pretty much permanent.
-a bit silly, but we won't be able to Hoover in the early hours of the morning out of politeness for the neighbours(not really a decider, we have mostly wood floors so I prefer to sweep anyway)

We've talked it through and really can see the benefits, however it's also a big change as its really once it's done, there's no going back.

So I thought I'd see what the MN jury had to say, is this really a good idea?

And just so I'm not dripfeeding, it won't really damage chances of promotion for either of us, there's little to no chance for DP because of the way his work is structured and my manager would quite like another manager to help with closes so it could only improve mine.

[MoaningMingeWhingesAgain]

I take it you haven't got children? Childcare may be an issue if/when you do, if they are a possibility.

Dh works perm nights and always has.

Pro's - more money. Cons - some evidence they are actually bad for your health. Body clock is utterly screwed on days off/holidays - they eat into your days off with a nap before starting the nights and a short sleep after finishing your nights.

Can be a bit isolating when you are hardly out in daylight hours but may suit you if you're antisocial. If you need to go for an appt they are in the middle of your 'night'. If you have economy 7 you will need to set the washing machine to be on when you are out

[ubik]

The couples who do nights at roughly the same times seem to get on ok. The difficulties come when you are like ships passing in the night and if you have children, childcare can be an issue.

An 5/6am is a good time to finish. N/S takes a bit of getting used to, but the extra cash is great!

[ChubbyKitty]

No children yet but I'm on very good terms with my managers and they've already said when the time comes I won't be doing those shifts. Which is nice. (They did mean it in a nice way, as in they wouldn't keep me away from Baby until 1am)

I had heard that about the health issues. Is it the lack of daylight or something? Would make sense, as we would be lacking a bit of vitamin D.

We are both a little antisocial. In the sense that we'd rather sit here playing WoW than go out getting drunk and dancing and being hungover the next day.

Luckily for me one of my best friends works at the same place and already does these shift, so I would have at least one friend available iyswim. Slightly worried about DP though as his closest friends won't do nights (one is in a particular department that doesn't have night shifts, the other is moving to uni soon).

One other thing I can see us struggling with (and this might sound ridiculous) is our dungeons and dragons games, as they normally start around 4pm. Well that would technically be 4 in the morning for us, even though its on our days off.

[ChubbyKitty]

I think we've pretty much made our minds up. We're going to go for it, but we're having to wait until August as July currently consists of my grandads funeral, DPs surprise birthday party, and my mums funeral. Oh and what would have been my mums birthday.

Safe to say neither of us feel like going on some kind of work adventure just yet, however I will chat to my manager tonight and DP is talking to his this week.

I know there was only two replies but I thought it would be nice to update you with the conclusion

Thank you for the advice