tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post8206281683215496173..comments2023-10-22T05:08:51.281-06:00Comments on Confessions of a Rotten Correspondent: swing shiftthe rotten correspondenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02704525054720181936noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-5884915238424198102009-02-18T20:32:00.000-06:002009-02-18T20:32:00.000-06:00While I have never had a job in nursing, I did use...While I have never had a job in nursing, I did used to be one of the managers at Perkins running both the dinner and grave shifts. It really messed with my sleep schedule because during the week I would get off of work at midnight and get to bed about 2am and then because I was so tired, I would wake up around 2 the next day to be at work by 3pm. Sundays were the worse because I worked 9pm Saturday until 7am Sunday and then came back to work 5pm - 11pm. Luckily I have a nice office job now working 8-5. It's nice waking up with the sun as opposed to going to bed when it is coming up. I got a lot crap for being a "vampire" while working there. It didn't help that I have red hair and most myths believe that vampires are redheads.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-87960646049601817482009-02-17T03:46:00.000-06:002009-02-17T03:46:00.000-06:00In the newspaper world, there are all kinds of shi...In the newspaper world, there are all kinds of shifts too. When I started out, there were still afternoon papers, which required getting to work about 4-5 a.m. I would come home and nap briefly, go out drinking with my colleagues and be tucked up in bed by 9 p.m. When I worked the all-night shift (it was supposed to be 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., but I found myself coming in between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.), I would sleep in the day or try to. The world is not made for night shift workers. I hated it, my health suffered, and I lasted 10 months. It didn't help that on the weekends, the shift moved to 4 p.m.-midnight. The best shift was 4p.m.-midnight. We could always make the bar just before closing too. I would sleep 1-9 a.m. and have the whole day to play. Fantastic.wakeupandsmellthecoffeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04602735058278146250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-53802531696728933562009-02-16T21:13:00.000-06:002009-02-16T21:13:00.000-06:00Back in the day when there were 8 hr shifts and I ...Back in the day when there were 8 hr shifts and I did not have children I would work 7am-3:30pm then come back for a 11pm-7am shift. Worked for me cause I could get about 4-5 hrs of sleep and I'd get the same patients back. With 12hr shifts it's harder to switch back and forth. The only thing I have found that works is Melatonin. And feeling like zombie who also just happens to be an idiot when I switch back to days. I find it incredibly difficult.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15238905633085051322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-76222532476561429342009-02-16T10:59:00.000-06:002009-02-16T10:59:00.000-06:00I used to work 7p to 7a and never adjusted, I coul...I used to work 7p to 7a and never adjusted, I could never sleep past noon. I just remember walking around like a zombie. <BR/><BR/>I quit that shift as soon as a 12 hour day shift opened. One afternoon the nurse manager in the ICU I was working in called for a 12 hour night shift, overtime. I said no and she begged for 10 minutes. Long story short, I caved, worked the shift, then fell asleep driving home, totalled my car and had to have my hand pinned back together.<BR/><BR/>She never asked me to work nights again!Devonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563150483422859462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-29280915176193958832009-02-16T10:29:00.000-06:002009-02-16T10:29:00.000-06:00I work afternoons M-F, 4PM to 12AM. I like it, bu...I work afternoons M-F, 4PM to 12AM. I like it, but my kids are grown. It would be an awful shift if they weren't. My home is also my office and some days, I field calls the entire shift without having to leave the house. When I worked 7PM to 7AM, I was not a well rested person. I'd go to bed at 8AM, sleep until 2PM and work my way through life in a zombie-like state. Midnights was hard-don't be swayed by the shift diff. You can make up for that by pulling the occasional extra shift.Rudeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17889298704039071473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-58969764148644451912009-02-16T09:23:00.000-06:002009-02-16T09:23:00.000-06:00I used to work rotating shifts at a hospital (I wa...I used to work rotating shifts at a hospital (I was an LPN). On the morning of my last night I would collapse into bed and snooze until 2 or 3 in the afternoon,never later. I would then stagger out of bed, make coffee and sit on my bum like a lump until "normal" bedtime and then go to bed and toss and turn. By my second day off I was back to sleeping at night. I felt like a zombie on my stretches of nights. There are some good points--you mentioned shift differential, there was a slightly slower pace, no bosses to be bossy, and small bits of downtime (I read Tarot cards for my coworkers on night shifts, potluck pigouts. When I had kids, nights were horrid. I had to wake up AND be nice to them??? I much prefer the day shift, 12 hours if at all possible. But, I gave up my license to raise babies and don't see myself returning to that life for a very long time, if at all. I was a good nurse, but I burned out after 9 years.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02829064350820161435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-19555127710971096242009-02-16T07:03:00.000-06:002009-02-16T07:03:00.000-06:00i used to work nights on the copy desk at the pape...i used to work nights on the copy desk at the paper--4 p.m. to 1 a.m. i loved it--i got up around 10 and had most of the day to myself before going to work. i'd go cross country skiing, or run all my errands at a time of day when nobody else was in the stores.<BR/><BR/>i liked driving home at 1 a.m., nobody else on the roads..<BR/><BR/>i don't think i could do that shift now, though. i've been a daysider for too long. the shift would be hard.<BR/><BR/>friends like PMiller, though, have been nightsiders all their lives, and when we switched her to days a couple of years ago she couldn't cope. so now she's back on nights.lauriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18055442432266567561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-74556336362955418542009-02-16T01:53:00.000-06:002009-02-16T01:53:00.000-06:00It would be murder to work a night shift. I think ...It would be murder to work a night shift. I think it is very unhealthy to a person's body and lifestyle but we must all be very grateful to the ones who do this awkward shift. Otherwise we would all of us be in a mess if everyone thought like me.Maggie Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06183886005936250976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7407016858777887859.post-29300460306580538722009-02-16T00:16:00.000-06:002009-02-16T00:16:00.000-06:00I loved swing shift. It is perfect for the night o...I loved swing shift. It is perfect for the night owl. I used to work 3-11. Then I would stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning and sleep in until 10 or 11. I would choose that schedule now, except it doesn't work with kids or teaching.ped crossinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06360740233306533239noreply@blogger.com