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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not understand the point of "rotating shifts"

68 replies

ForagingForFaerieGold · 19/12/2017 13:50

My DD has just started a new job. The shifts are 6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10pm. Rotating.

So one week she does the early shift and the next the late. I don't understand the reasoning behind this.

She (and the other staff of course) just get used to one cycle and then it's changed the following week. Why?

Why not have the staff stay on the same shifts each week?

Is there some benefit to this pattern that I am just not seeing? It seems ridiculous and pointless to me. Not to mention inefficient.

Does anyone know why? And would you consent to enlighten me if you do?
Maybe I'm just missing something obvious.

OP posts:
Original poster
ForagingForFaerieGold · 19/12/2017 14:32

set shifts lets people have other commitments other than work, family, study, a 2nd job. Rotating shifts basically gives full demand on your time so you can't make other regular commitments, while not actually paying you for all that time. They only work for a particular type of worker
Totally agree with this.

And looking at some of the replies in here DD's shifts suddenly seem eminently reasonable by comparison.

OP posts:
CanadianJohn · 19/12/2017 14:33

I used to work for a large factory (5000 employees) which operated 24 hours a day. The day shift (7 - 3) and afternoon shift (3 - 11) rotated every two weeks, but the night shift (11 - 7) stayed on nights. The employees voted it that way.

The nice thing was, that if you liked afternoons, for example, you could always find someone to switch with, so you had the same shift all the time.

Personally, I liked working nights. The 10% shift premium didn't hurt. However, the weekends were not good, as I would be trying to stay awake during the day.

Original poster
ForagingForFaerieGold · 19/12/2017 14:35

They rotate so that nobody gets extra for anti social hours

Hah! I should have worked that one out.

OP posts:
Cheerybigbottom · 19/12/2017 14:35

A week of the same shift is luxury for some shift workers, I’ve had early, late, early, late,night, night, off (but got home at 8 so hows that a day off) early, early, off, etc.

I could rant for hours about shift work Grin

Don’t even get me started on double shifts or late/nights GrinEnvy

HappyLabrador · 19/12/2017 14:38

Are you really that thick?

There seem to be a lot of incredibly rude arseholes on MN.

scrabbler3 · 19/12/2017 14:46

I like routine so I'd rather work the same shift every week. That said, I also like my social life and my school-aged kids, so finishing at 10pm all the time would be undesirable!

I agree with pp who said that it's hard for single working parents re. childcare.

I don't like this long hours culture. Certain services need to be available late or 24/7 (999, utilities engineers, child protection SS, care work etc). However, I don't see why call centres need staff until all hours, for example. No one is soooo busy that they can't call Barclays, EE or HMRC between 8-6 even if they'd like to think they are.

DeadButDelicious · 19/12/2017 14:48

My husband works shifts, 2 days (6am-6pm) and 2 nights (6pm-6am) then has 4 days off. His place of work is open 24 hours. Currently he's fitting in a bit of seasonal work on a couple of his days off for a bit of extra cash. It's not ideal but it means he gets to see the baby in the mornings when he gets in and at nights when he gets back and then a couple of days with her before he starts again. It's a lot better than when he was at his old job and it was constant 3-11pm shifts 6 days a week.

Ashamedandblamed · 19/12/2017 14:48

@scrabbler3

Because then customers are waiting on hold for longer???

Because If my card is stolen I don't want to wait till 8am to report it??

Sorry not everyone is an entitled as you think we just have common sense.

HermioneAndTheSniffle · 19/12/2017 14:49

Are you really that thick?

Can I send back a
Are you really that thick not to realise the impact it has on a family? How hard it is to organise childcare for example. How hard it is on the body to sometime work so late and then still get up early (because you will if you have a partner and children)?
Or that, for a lot of people, it has more drawback than advantages?

OP fwiw, I think it is a habit that comes from people who are working nigh shifts. This avoids people always being on night shift with all the issues coming with it (health, relationship etc...) which means people are then staying the job for longer.
I still dint understand why you would do that with two shifts. Ime, it makes things harder, not easier.

Original poster
ForagingForFaerieGold · 19/12/2017 14:51

Are you really that thick?

There seem to be a lot of incredibly rude arseholes on MN

Haha. There's always one.

I don't think I can be too thick as I have managed to follow all the many comprehensive and helpful responses to my query and have gained an adequate understanding of the nature of shift work that I admit, I had not given much thought to previously.
I have also had it put in perspective for me too. As I said, DD's shifts seem pretty reasonable compared to some.
Thank you for your help

OP posts:
Mia1415 · 19/12/2017 14:55

The main reason will be that that hardly anyone wants to work permanent lates!

SleepingInYourFlowerbed · 19/12/2017 14:56

Lates are the most irritating, annoying shifts possible when you have a family. So employers don't put people on that shift permanently as they'd struggle to recruit

SukiTheDog · 19/12/2017 14:56

I worked shifts in the NHS for 25 years. You do get used to it, as the years roll by! Rotation is a good way of covering any 24 hr service. Imagine if you did permanent earlies (you be in bed at 9pm every night) and doing the late shift would mean not much of a social/Home life if you have children or other commitments.

SukiTheDog · 19/12/2017 14:57

My worst hours were permanent nights. I had no choice with a young son. I was always exhausted and after 6 yrs I had to out of that routine. It was a killer.

cherrycola2004 · 19/12/2017 14:58

I used to like shift work (as long as didn't include nights) best of both worlds....

I used to do 7 (7-3pm) 7 (2-10pm) and 7 (10pm -7am) shifts .. was knackered though

lynmilne65 · 19/12/2017 15:11

Fortunately I retired b4 12 hr shifts started. Am too old 😃

HappyLabrador · 19/12/2017 15:12

There was no need for the totally rude response to you Foraging

You’re not thick for asking a perfectly reasonable question.

Why bother posting on someone’s thread if it’s only to be a twat?

Alexandrite · 19/12/2017 15:16

Agreed Happy

QueenLaBeefah · 19/12/2017 15:19

It's extremely difficult to recruit for permanent late shifts.

itsbetterthanabox · 19/12/2017 15:23

There often is people that would be happy to be on a set shift pattern. I think it’s worth asking people especially if it’s only a small team.

MrsTerryPratchett · 19/12/2017 15:23

My old job didn't have rotating shifts and, although it suited me in terms of body clock, it was so annoying because of staff.

The day shift were arseholes who thought the night shift were lazy because we should do all the 'shit work' because it was 'quiet' at night. The late shift used to leave crappy jobs for us to do that they were supposed to do because they could. They never wanted to swap oddly.

It breeds resentment and a lack of empathy.

sinceyouask · 19/12/2017 15:29

I've done those shifts before. Most of the factories where I grew up operate on the 6-2/ 2-10 rotating shift patter, with the rest running the dreaded 6-6 two days of days, two days of nights, four days off shift.

Rotating means everyone gets a fair share of nights and days and avoids paying people for unsocial hours, afaik.

Madcatter · 19/12/2017 15:37

No one is soooo busy that they can't call Barclays, EE or HMRC between 8-6 even if they'd like to think they are.

Err, I can think of quite a few employers that will object to their staff spending 45 minutes on hold to Virgin Media when they're meant to be working. Hmm Having services available outside of office hours is the only way a lot of people get things done.

Glumglowworm · 19/12/2017 16:40

When I worked in a shop there were some people who always did earlies and some (including me) who always did lates. Nothing in our contracts that said that’s what we would always get, but it gave us pretty much guaranteed shifts and made life easier for the manager doing the rota as they could put us in first and then fit in everyone else.

I found it easier doing all the same shift even though I worked more hours than the previous year when I had variable shifts. But I was freshly graduated uni and saving money to move out of home, so not too bothered about a social life.

I wouldn’t want to be committed to all early mornings or all late nights anymore (I do an office job now anyway so it’s irrelevant).

Lostwithinthehills · 19/12/2017 16:51

and I feel personally that I would find the changing hours awkward and tiring

I think most people who work shifts, particularly those who have to work nights too, feel tired all the time. Next time you feel a police officer or nurse isn’t very jolly have a think about the shifts they are working and how jolly you would feel if working the same shifts.