Working the Night Shift: Life as a 3rd Shifter

Early to bed, early to rise, thats how the old saying goes. The mass of the world lives by this saying, up everyday to work, eight hours in, home for dinner. But what if you were on the flip side of the world? Sleep all day, up all night, and completely rearranging your way of life? Yes, you're probably saying "I already lived like that in college dude", but an all nighter before class or an all night kegger are not quite the same thing. I'm talking about being a real life vampire, actually living at night. Welcome to being on 3rd shift - the graveyard shift. It may not seem like the most incredible thing in the world, but believe me, working the off shift takes a complete changing of your lifestyle, not just how you work. I aim to let anyone thinking about moving to an offshift know you will need some dedication and you must be prepared to give up a lot of things, but the experience and ability to say you worked an off shift is irreplaceable.

To begin with things, let me tell you about the most obvious factor - sleep. Oh boy is this a fun one to get used to, mainly because you NEVER GET USED TO IT! Try as you may, one of the inescapable factors of being human is that we are wired to sleep at night. Humans by nature are not nocturnal and being a 3rd shifter means you are ignoring this. What's really great about trying to sleep during everyone elses' working hours is that they do not care if you are trying to sleep! Unless you pull the phone cord out of the wall and turn your cell off, someone somewhere decides its a great idea to give you a call (I wont even begin on telemarketers, thats just too easy). Even the people who know you are trying to sleep will call, saying "oh yeah i always forget you work at night" or "I wasnt sure if youd be sleeping yet". As well as getting used to phone calls, there comes the factor of the sun. Yes Dracula, you will probably learn to hate the sunlight for awhile, which would lead you to do what most of us do - get really dark curtains. This is a good idea because it will simulate night time and make sleeping easier, but the only problem you may run in to is waking up in the darkness and not knowing what time it is. One of the first times I slept after my room was blacked out, I woke up at around 5pm in the afternoon - and thought it was 5 in the morning! It's great running around in circles, trying to figure out how your going to explain being late, then suddenly realizing "oh, I'm not late, just half asleep and an idiot". Above all, you will seriously begin to feel like a vampire, especially in the winter during the months when it is dark out earlier.

Winter is probably the best time to be on third because most of your sleep will come in the dark to semi-dark stages of the day. All in all, you get used to sleeping with light and it just becomes the task of keeping yourself on a regular schedule. Its not fun, but with a little effort, it reall doesnt have to be that bad. Next factor to the graveyard - work itself. Working on the off shift can actually give you a great opportunity to work in a more relaxed and less stressful environment. Generally, the big wigs of the company are not around so you don't have the pressure of the higher up's breathing down your neck. Thats not to say that you'll be free to do whatever you want - I am the supervisor of a manufacturing crew on third shift and if I didnt crack down once in awhile, all control would be lost. The difference is that you have freedom - whether you are a grunt or the boss, working when everyone else is not gives you the chance to try things differently without worrying if you'll be second guessed or told to do it differently by twelve different people. As well as the work environment being different, here is a change you probably didnt consider - lunch time. Thats right, eating habits definitly change on 3rd, since usually you would be asleep and not wanting to eat, you may find it hard to keep on weight. I know a lot of dieters are suddenly running to their boss saying "put me on third, please!", but it's not exactly as great as it sounds. I find myself not wanting to eat at night when I have a lunch break, then getting home, being hungry, and still not wanting to eat. Morning is dinner time for you, and who real wants a pot roast or something along those lines for food at 9 in the morning? Yes, you can always just make breakfast, but seriously, your body is basically saying "what the hell, stop doing everything backwards".

The last thing I will tell you about third shift is probably the one part you dont want to hear about, because above all the little nuiances, it is the one thing that has affected me the most, and I guarantee it will be the same for you. Your personal life will take a hit being on the off shift, because when all your friends and family are working, your trying to get sleep, and many times when they get home off work, you may still be asleep. When your at work, they're all in lala land, and when you get out of work to end your "day", they are just starting theirs. It was always fun going out after work for a couple drinks, a movie, dinner, etc. wasnt it? Wave goodbye to most of that because you will be getting ready for or already there when your friends are all out. You can go to McDonalds and get coffee with the old guys and listen to them talk about the good ol' days, but I prefer to just go home and sleep. Graveyard can take its toll on your love life too, as your significant other will undoubtedly want to see you and go out and do things. I have been known, on occasion, to miss dates, calls, and the like because I'm still asleep (they usually were never happy about that). Even if your married, it can be trying because you want to be the family person, but sleep and lifestyle make it difficult to spend the kind of quality time you'd like to with your family. All in all, if you are young, single, have no real attachments, and you want job experience that employers will definitly favor, try out third shift for awhile. I myself will be starting my third year on the off shift this year and although I would relish the opportunity to return to the land of the living, in this day and age a job is a job. You do what you have to do to make ends meet. Speaking of which, it's about 8 pm here in Michigan and I have another hour and a half of freedom before work. Low and behold, what am I going to do? Go back to bed!