I have a few questions for the fellow shift workers out there about stress...

[J-Roc]

I work a really nice schedule. 7 days, 7 off, 7 nights, then 7 off as a plant operator about an hour from home. I've been here almost two years now. Before this, I worked a modified 4/3 schedule plus LOTS of overtime. I did that for about a year and a half.

Lately (the last 5 or 6 months), I find myself actually getting sick BEFORE a night shift. It's like I get REALLY bad anxiety before the 7 nights start. Nights have never been my thing, and i've always felt this way, but now it seems waaay worse. I start the shift on Wednesdays. Usually, on Tuesday, I start to find myself fairly depressed, and actually feeling ill.

Is this a common thing? Does anyone else experience this? I almost feel "trapped" while working nights. I know it's a really good job and all, but it's killing me. Any ideas or thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Thanks guys

 

[XXL]

I worked alot of nights too, The emotional side was ok for me but the physical was another, Finally I figured out that I had to get off from work and stay awake until about 8-9 hours before I had to be back. It was tough for a while and you have to stay busy or you will fall asleep. I had to be up by 11 pm so I would hit the sack around 2-3. Blacked out all my bedroom windows and had a "noise maker", a fan or something in the room to block out noise and I slept like a baby. Getting enough sleep made it ok for me.I did not see much of the wife or kids though. Good luck and hang in there.

 

[M.M. 700]

I did the shift work for about 2 years as a pipeline operator. I did not know how shi^% I felt all the time untill I took a job with normal hours!!! Man life is better.

Especailly if you have kids, that makes the nights alot harder......

 

[J-Roc]

Thanks boys! It's wierd. I litterally feel myself almost getting sick like two days before my shift starts. Been like this for a while. I'm looking for a job with no nights currently. Anyone hiring?

 

[dangerfield]

Been working shift for almost 20 years, 7 nights a month and 7 days a month. Not all 7 days in a row, or 7 nights in arow, spilt up amongst 3 different tours. If you've only been doing it for a couple of years and your already dreading the nights, better get an education, and find a day job. Because you won't find anything straight days to make the money your making working shift. I don't care for the nights either, but been where I'm at so long that, I have a ton of vacation and I can take quite a few of those night shifts off.

 

[Sako7STW]

Working the graves right now. We call it the Midnight flu. I always get a bit of sore throat and phlem build up in my lungs. I too drive an hour each way so really it is a 14 hour day not 12. My best advice is get your sleep. When your on shift your on shift and thats it. I mean force yourself to stay in bed as long as you can, even if your not actually asleep. Next is to take vitamin's and eat healthy as pssible to give your body the fuel it needs for the grind. If your getting sick 2 days before hand it is either mental or your body is trying to tell you that it ist ready for what your going to do to it. I never eat at home when I am on shift. I eat when I get to work and then again about 2 A.M. and lay off the coffee. I have found if I eat later than that, I dont get the good deep sleep.

 

[J-Roc]

Sako, you nailed my routine. I get home, shower, watch half an hour of tv, and crash. I usually wake up for about an hour at noon, then back to sleep till about 4. I don't normaly eat much either. I find if I do, i'm screwed.

I do have an education. I'm a contractor, so the money is fairly close whether you work in the plant as I do, or out in the field (days). I think after much thought, i'm just going to start looking for other work out there. I am just really curious to see what others go through on nights.

 

[J-Roc]

Just curious what everybody does for work?

 

[RideGuy]

7/7 sounds like a tough shift!!!! I've been shiftwoking for 17 years now.... I'm lucky that we have a good schedule!!!

2 day's / 2 nights and then 4 off.....

Some thing's I've learned over the years are to avoid sun in the morning by putting on shades when you go home to sleep....

Eat before midnight and then drink alot of water through the night to prevent headaches....

Cat Nap whenever you can....

Shiftwork isn't for everyone!!! I can sleep all day long so I guess I'm lucky!!! I just hate how it takes my social life away!!!

I understand where you are coming from.... I get stuffed up at work and sneeze alot.... Not to mention the constant mood swings.....

I think the seasons have alot to do with how we are feeling.... especially this time of year.... I leave when it's dark.... I get home when it's dark... I wake up when it's dark....... I find myself sleeping way too much lately!!!

P.S. I'm a 3rd Class Power Engineer... I run Recovery Boilers, Evaporators, Lime Kilns, Turbo Generator's, Feedwater Plant's, Effluent Plant's, Compressor's, and Power Boilers......

 

[dangerfield]

7/7 sounds like a tough shift!!!! I've been shiftwoking for 17 years now.... I'm lucky that we have a good schedule!!!

2 day's / 2 nights and then 4 off.....

Some thing's I've learned over the years are to avoid sun in the morning by putting on shades when you go home to sleep....

Eat before midnight and then drink alot of water through the night to prevent headaches....

Cat Nap whenever you can....

Shiftwork isn't for everyone!!! I can sleep all day long so I guess I'm lucky!!! I just hate how it takes my social life away!!!

I understand where you are coming from.... I get stuffed up at work and sneeze alot.... Not to mention the constant mood swings.....

I think the seasons have alot to do with how we are feeling.... especially this time of year.... I leave when it's dark.... I get home when it's dark... I wake up when it's dark....... I find myself sleeping way too much lately!!!

P.S. I'm a 3rd Class Power Engineer... I run Recovery Boilers, Evaporators, Lime Kilns, Turbo Generator's, Feedwater Plant's, Effluent Plant's, Compressor's, and Power Boilers......

That 2days 2nights blows. We did that when we first started up our pulp mill for about 2 years. Depending on what shift your on, you are working week-ends, or part of week-ends most of the summer. We now do 4 nights( which I'm on now, and this is the last one. 4 days off, then 3 days 24 hrs off and 3 nights. 4 off, then 4 day shifts, then 6 off, and start over again. Always get 2 week-ends off a month. Been doing this schedule for the last 17 years.

J-Roc, I know guys that work where you work, (seal lake area) anyone with a truck, or 4th class can work out there, thats not an education, thats a ticket to work shift work

 

[RideGuy]

That 2days 2nights blows. We did that when we first started up our pulp mill for about 2 years. Depending on what shift your on, you are working week-ends, or part of week-ends most of the summer. We now do 4 nights( which I'm on now, and this is the last one. 4 days off, then 3 days 24 hrs off and 3 nights. 4 off, then 4 day shifts, then 6 off, and start over again. Always get 2 week-ends off a month. Been doing this schedule for the last 17 years.

J-Roc, I know guys that work where you work, (seal lake area) anyone with a truck, or 4th class can work out there, thats not an education, thats a ticket to work shift work

Well I'm glad you like your schedule!!!! Working 4 nights must be real fun... followed by 3day's and 24hrs off and three nights......4 off then 4 day's... then 6 off..... That sounds alot harder than 2 day shifts, break till nights which feels like a day off... The only two night shifts.... It's a simple bio rythem for me.... I would fight your schedule tooth and nail because I worked a 3 day's/3 off/3 nights and that Sucked even worse.....

Each to their own I guess.... Shift work blow's no matter how you slice it... But it seems that you have survived 17 years the same as I have and we are both seem to like our shift schedule....

 

[dangerfield]

Well I'm glad you like your schedule!!!! Working 4 nights must be real fun... followed by 3day's and 24hrs off and three nights......4 off then 4 day's... then 6 off..... That sounds alot harder than 2 day shifts, break till nights which feels like a day off... The only two night shifts.... It's a simple bio rythem for me.... I would fight your schedule tooth and nail because I worked a 3 day's/3 off/3 nights and that Sucked even worse.....

Each to their own I guess.... Shift work blow's no matter how you slice it... But it seems that you have survived 17 years the same as I have and we are both seem to like our shift schedule....

Ya your right, to each there own, and yes shift work sucks no matter how you slice it. The other thing I disliked about the 2/2 is your always coming off nights, and that first day off is a total write -off.
Another plus to schedule I work is if I take one of those 4 day tours off, I get 2 weeks off. I can do that 9 times a year.

 

[bobognargnar]

worked 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off living in camp for many years with lots of OT and extra shifts, worked at home 9on 5off for a while, and now working 35/35 rotation away from home again. nice when you can be home everyday, but it's also nice to have a good amount of time off as well. having kids would change everything tho, but till then, i'll go where the money is...

 

[Q-BALL]

J-ROC, you're not alone, anyone who has ever pulled shift work for any length of time,no matter the occupation,has had some of the feelings you have been experiencing. It's conducive to the continual twisting around of the internal time clock of the body. I've been retired for 5 yrs. but spent 36 yrs. in the power generation field,all of it on shift work.personally,i always preferred nites over days,worked some god awful shift schedules. never understood how some managers came up with their schedules and wondered why sick leave usage was so high. my experience has shown that if a shift workers week is a shorter one (longer work day) with more days off and leave that person on that schedule at least a month without running him back and forth between days&nites he/she will be a happier and more productive worker.As you can see by this post i still don't sleep much at nite,that's just my nature and not a result of shift work.At close to sixty i still don't require much more than 4 hrs. of sleep a day. google shift work and stress,good info. that maybe of help to you---OH! and glad to see all the other shift workers AWAKE and posting!!

 

[dangerfield]

worked 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off living in camp for many years with lots of OT and extra shifts, worked at home 9on 5off for a while, and now working 35/35 rotation away from home again. nice when you can be home everyday, but it's also nice to have a good amount of time off as well. having kids would change everything tho, but till then, i'll go where the money is...

35/35!!! That's insane man. Are they all days? or nights. My son is working
17/4, all days though.

 

[kenairmk]

I work a really nice schedule. 7 days, 7 off, 7 nights, then 7 off as a plant operator about an hour from home. I've been here almost two years now. Before this, I worked a modified 4/3 schedule plus LOTS of overtime. I did that for about a year and a half.

Lately (the last 5 or 6 months), I find myself actually getting sick BEFORE a night shift. It's like I get REALLY bad anxiety before the 7 nights start. Nights have never been my thing, and i've always felt this way, but now it seems waaay worse. I start the shift on Wednesdays. Usually, on Tuesday, I start to find myself fairly depressed, and actually feeling ill.

Is this a common thing? Does anyone else experience this? I almost feel "trapped" while working nights. I know it's a really good job and all, but it's killing me. Any ideas or thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Thanks guys

Some just are not cut out for nights. My wife has trouble with this as well, not so much the nights, but the switching back and forth. I work the same schedule you do, have for 18 yrs now. One thing different for me is I work offshore on an oil production rig, you want to talk about trapped or alone! For what they pay us these days, the schedule is pretty insignificant. Now if we just had some respect.

 

[Sako7STW]

I work for a Natural gas processing plant. We work a 5 on 5 off schedule with a 4 on and 4 off that is mixed in. Its ok. We get 2 weekends off a month. I have fought them about the schedules. I have wanted to go to a month of days, then month of nights. Less switching has got to be better for your body. I developed a schedule that works like 7 nights, then 9 days off, then 4 days on, 3 off, 3 days on, 4 off, then back to the 7 nights. They said no because they didnt want to pay the OT on the 7 day stretch. Cheap basterds! Would be so nice to only have to work nights one time a month then have 9 days off. It would be like a vacataion every month.

Working shifts isnt for everyone. Thats for sure. We had one guy quit because the nights made him so sick it would dang near hospitalize him every time.

 

[bobognargnar]

When on shift, on-call 24hrs, with scheduled 12hr days, did the same on 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, and I am doing it on this 35/35. Can make the shift seem long if there is lots of problems. As far as the stress etc, I find that the day before is the worst, and next is in the middle of rotation, but just have to keep givin'r and next thing you know you're on the downhill slide.. halfway thru right now actually, snowest helps makes things all better...this stink is killin me, will have been gone from the western world for 3 months, just keep thinkin of snow...

 

[montanasledder]

I worked the rotating 12 hour shifts in a gold mine for three years, Hated it. Felt horrible. Best day ever when i got layed off.
Been away for ten years and would never go back

 

[J-Roc]

Thanks guys! I find physically getting into nights isn't too bad, but trying to adjust to days after is BRUTAL. They say shift work takes ten yeaars off your life. I'm starting to really believe that....