Talk:Shift work

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): BHittle.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 09:14, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Untitled
The term "shift worker" recently came up in a discussion on facebook that referenced a medical journal that used the term. The problem with the term "shift worker"--as it is defined by this Wikipedia article--is that the medical problems associated with "shift work" are not clarified as to whether they are in conflict with the worker himself, with the worker in relation to other workers or in relation to the perception/social constructs of that worker within the social construct. I'm having a difficult time explaining myself here, so perhaps I could give reference to the online medical journal Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141021134825.htm People who lovingly live a nocturnal lifestyle will take issue with some of Science Daily's claims... but possibly only because of how one defines "shift work". In effect: is "shift work" work that goes counter to accepted one's biological clock, goes counter to society's imposed expectation of the biological clock, or that bounces from one time to another (shifting relative to others on the 24-hr scheme)? - scQue814 — Preceding undated comment added 11:08, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

I would like to see first shift, second, third, etc. redirect here with an explanation of what these usually mean. First seems to be the usual daytime 8 hour, second the afternoon to night time 8 hour, third is the night to morning 8 hour.

Also, work shift seems to be the same exact article, with less content. I put merge templates on both pages for now. - Stoph 05:42, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

the graveyard shift part is dead wrong (heheheh) that is an urban legend and has no basis in reality saved by the bell refers to boxing (the bell signling the end of the round) -alexthegreater 23:20, 6 April 2006

Graveyard shift does not make the sand in the eyes, and clammy skin. I work 5:00 pm - 1:30am and I'm fine, and my coworkers work 12:00am - 8:30am and they are fine with it. Perhaps that's where the term came from though, as "normal" shifts are 8-4:30/9-5:30 whcih to me is way too early. ;) Fr0 03:47, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

The sentence about sand in the eyes and clammy skin is basically a quote (taken from the linked page). I have changed the text of the sentence slightly to make it verbaitim, and added quotation marks. I agree with Fr0... the 0800-1600 shift would be most likely to give me clammy skin and sand in the eyes! All this clammy skin stuff is slightly POV, but I think it is quite acceptable within a quote, the primary purpose of which is to indicate the origin of the phrase. TomH 20:29, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

"Swing shift" also means a rotating shift in a 24/7 organization such as a police department--third-second-first or first-second-third--filling in on days off for the three shifts.--Buckboard 14:01, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

The natures of day, swing and night shifts are explained in a reference used later in this article: 'Fundamentals of Shiftwork Scheduling' by Miller. This reference could be inserted here, also. Millergonomics (talk) 14:14, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Health Consequences
I find the Health Consequences section a bit unclear... here is an example to illustrate why:

ACME Widgets runs a factory with three different shifts; by definition it uses a shift work system. Its factory-floor workers work specific shifts, and can therefore be said to be doing "shift work". Albert is one of those workers; he is employed on the day shift and works 0800-1600. Bernie works for a rival company, who do not use a shift-work system; he generally works "business hours" of 0800-1700. Albert is doing "shift work" and Bernie is not -- but the only actual difference in their working hours is that Albert finishes work one hour earlier than Bernie. How on earth can this put Albert at greater risk of cluster headaches and heart disease?

I think the confusion stems from a subtle difference in meaning... The page defines shift work as an employment practice applicable to a workplace. But in this section "shift work" apparently refers to some effect of a shift work system on an individual worker. But what effect? Is it working night shifts that causes these health problems? Or working shifts that interfere with the worker's natural sleeping time? (these last two are not the same for everybody)... Maybe it is having to periodically change shifts...

TomH 21:17, 26 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I have to admit that this section makes me uneasy also, but for a different reason; as per WP:V, I think that the Citation for that perticular study by Knutsson falls short of the mark.
 * -The Lancet website does not keep records of issues from 1986
 * -There is no proof the study actually transpired.
 * Is anyone else able to independantly verify the citiation ? Exit2DOS2000   •T•C•  02:13, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
 * This article looks worth a look (If you go to the bottom of the page it seems to be available on a free registration). TerriersFan 02:51, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I am going to wait a while before doing anything. Hopefully someone can find a copy of the original Cite before I try fooling with re-Cite'ing to a different study Exit2DOS2000   •T•C•  03:05, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

There are over 600 shiftwork research references in 'Shiftwork: An Annotated Bibliography' by Miller. Many of the references deal with the effects of shiftwork on health, including the posited role of melatonin suppression in elevated cancer incidence. Also, note that the nature of 'shiftwork' was defined clearly by the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment in1991: “[S]hift work refers to any nonstandard work schedule. It includes evening or night work; a rotating shift, in which hours change regularly (e.g., from day to evening to night); a split shift, in which a period of work is followed by a break and then a return to work; and extended duty hours, consisting of long periods of work (usually over 12 hours).” Millergonomics (talk) 14:15, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Hoot owl shift
If an editor wants this added then that's fine provided it is referenced, otherwise it will be removed. TerriersFan 17:13, 16 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Please provide evidence that the term "graveyard shift" is notable. The only place I've ever heard that term is in geek-dominated jobs like convenience store clerks and tech support and whiny minority dominated urban jobs like janitors.  In real mens' jobs like longshoremen, loggers, and coal miners, the term is "hoot owl shift".  Either provide some evidence that "graveyard shift" is even a legitimate term (with citations from pre-1965 sources) or it will be deleted. Puppy Mill 00:59, 17 June 2007 (UTC)


 * This is only anecdotal, formally, but it is true. In the 1950s (at least), at Boeing in Washington State, draftsmen, engineers and model builders worked days, swing shift or graveyard.  I know for certain that these are the terms the workers used.  Whether their employer also used them could perhaps be confirmed, or not...
 * I've never before heard of the "hoot owl shift". Hordaland 14:57, 1 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Why pre-1965? It may surprise you to learn that jobs involving prolonged exposure to a keyboard are nowadays also classified as "work" and some of these computer-input-operation-assistants are even paid for their time. Leushenko (talk) 14:34, 6 February 2008 (UTC)


 * "Graveyard Shift" refers to the practise of digging graves in the middle of the night as it took quite a while by hand, generally being dug whilst the family and/or friends sat with the body so as to make sure they were actually dead, and not merely unconscious/comatose, et cetera70.90.36.205 (talk) 21:45, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

I've studied shiftwork for more than 30 years. "Graveyard shift" is a very old, widely-used descriptor, but it is not a formal descriptor. The most often used formal descriptor is "night" shift, and it is used to describe any shift that requires work in the midnight to dawn period. "Hoot-owl" must be industry specific, because this is the first I've heard of it and I've examined shiftwork in many industries. Millergonomics (talk) 14:16, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Shift patterns
Hey guys, I've totally re-written the bit on different shift patterns.. as it seemed a bit lacking. I've put split shift, continental shift, 3 shift, 4 days on 4 off and all of the rest of the patterns I know are worked accross a few different countries. Enjoy :) 90.217.108.238 (talk) 11:15, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Really loving how the shift patterns have been put into tables! Nice work!! Dvmedis (talk) 18:20, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

All of these patterns and more have been described in detail in the reference used later in this article, "Fundamentals of Shiftwork Scheduling" by Miller. Millergonomics (talk) 14:17, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Yet another shift schedule
I simply do not have the time to add this to the article but there is another shift schedule, 7 days on 7 off. It also seems to me that there seems to me that there is increasing shift work offered in order to escape paying overtime rate to employees by using shift work and paying employees the regular hourly rate. -Nodekeeper (talk) 20:40, 9 December 2008 (UTC)


 * You bring up an interesting point with employers avoiding OT, I think working on shifts is more efficent and cost effective for both parties, less commute, less traffic on roads, less pollution and organizations running cost effective and efficent ops without (hopefully) over working shift staff. If we could verify (via cites) your point I think it should be included. —IncidentFlux [ TalkBack 21:49, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Seven on, seven off is a work compression method used quite a bit in remote ops, such as distant oilfields and oil platforms. The compression allows longer periods of continuous time off, a strong worker satisfaction factor. This compression has made its way into pipeline control room shiftwork plans in the U.S. as the "DuPont Plan." This plan is discussed in the Control Room Management web pages of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA): http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/crm/docs/Shift_Plans_with_Seven.pdf  Millergonomics (talk) 14:17, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

A general note about constant staffing level schedules
Schedules that maintain a fixed and constant staffing level throughout the calendar will have each portion of the day covered by the same number of shifts when the rotation is complete. Or put another way, if you build a calendar that completes a cycle, each column will contain the same number of workdays for each work group.

Agree. The individual shiftworker's work demand and that of the worker's crew is determined solely by the number of shiftworkers or crews assigned to a given task during a given period. Interestingly, the relationship between number of crews and work demand is not a straight line function. See the table and graph in "Fundamentals of Shiftwork Scheduling" by Miller under "People, Component 1, Number of Crews." Millergonomics (talk) 14:18, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Five and Two
It seems the Five and Two schedule is in error, and that the 'swing' shift should be labeled 'nights'. As I read the schedule there's a lack of coverage during the night shift on the first Monday & Tuesday, the second Friday, Saturday & Sunday and the last two days. However, I'm not familiar with this shift.--Krausentube (talk) 14:24, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Two days, two nights, four off - possible error
There seems to be a problem with the "two days, two nights, four off" section, specifically: '''2 + 2 + 4 = an 8-day week. ''' As you can see from the table, there is in fact an 8-day week represented -- Saturday is listed twice.

Am I missing something or does this section need to be modified? Yvh11a (Talk • Contribs) 02:33, 4 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Recession Math, that or it moves your work week forward, through the calender week.

Exit2DOS2000  •T•C•  07:45, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

This is a response to the above comments. I work this schedule at Fording River, Elkford BC (Teck, tsx: tck.b)and it does move your work week forward. There are 4 rotating shifts and each one moves a day ahead every week. Our pay periods are every other week so because of this schedule you get a 76 hour pay one period, then an 84, then a 96 back to 84 and 76 again. Also just wanted to mention that after the 2nd day shift your off for 24 hours before your nights start, we call that our "split". (leakythecat, september 30 2009)

alcohol
In the section "Shift work management practices" there was a sentence "After 18 hours of work, the typical person's reaction times are similar to people with 0.05 ppm of alcohol.[citation needed]". Besides that citation is indeed needed, 0.05 ppm of alcohol looks like a nonsense. 0.05 ppm = 0.00005 per mile. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.31.174.193 (talk) 17:26, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

It should read 0.05 BAC, i.e., blood alcohol content. Millergonomics (talk) 14:18, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Panama Shift?
Used quite a bit by U.S. Air Force Security Service. AKA the "every other weekend off" plan. Twelve-hour shiftlength. 28 days of alternating work days and days off, then 28 days of alternating work nights and days off. No more than three day shifts or night shifts in a row. Described fully in the "Fundamentals of Shiftwork Scheduling" reference. Millergonomics (talk) 14:19, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

formatting and nomenclature
would it be appropriate to adopt a common nomenclature for the article, each of the shifts seem to have common elements described variously as work groups, shifts, etc. Some of these can be confusing; is a "shift" a group of people who always work together "A Shift", is it a schedule that you work on "the night shift", a particular day of work "I picked up a shift", etc   words to consider defining, for the article:  shift, work group, platoon, rota, schedule, rotation, cycle, tour, trick, etc.--Krausentube (talk) 14:23, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

It would be nice to have a template for the various work calendars.

When making a calendar that describes the schedule for ONE work group, can we stick with the black and white calendars, and use the color calendars when making a calendar that has the scheduled work shifts for all work groups?

Should every calendar made cover the whole cycle, or should we have a different format for calendars that just cover the rota? I.e. if it takes 12 days for a given work group to complete their cycle, the calendar will probably need to be 12 weeks long. Perhaps there should be a slightly different format for calendars that complete the whole cycle (Dupont, 24/48) and those that just show the rota (Panama, california roll).--Krausentube (talk) 14:23, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

A structure is presented in "Fundamentals of Shiftwork Scheduling." This appears to be the only comprehensive book available concerning the structure of shiftwork plans, and it builds upon the structural arithmetic described by the German researchers Knauth et al. in the late 1970s. Millergonomics (talk) 14:19, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

alternative start times
in an effort to avoid either working through the circadian low (0300-0600), or to avoid ending a long shift over the circadian low (24 hour shifts ending in the morning), does anyone have information regarding alternative shift times? It seems that three-shift schedules that had the morning shift start at 0400 might be an improvement on others; similarly, 24 hour (with opportunistic sleep) shifts that started in the evening would avoid the potential of hitting 20 hours awake during the circadian low. If anyone has a citation, I'd be glad to read it and add the material. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Krausentube (talk • contribs) 10:00, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

I have written a white paper on this subject that is planned for posting soon by the U.S. Pipeline Administration. The white paper explores varying start times through the use of the SAFTE/FAST quantitative fatigue model. Millergonomics (talk) 14:20, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Organization - maybe list all the various kinds of schedules in a separate article?
As it is, our attempted list of every shift work pattern there is takes over the article. It might be best to create a separate article, move the list there, and draft an overview here and link to the separate page itself. Mxheil (talk) 20:09, 2 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Agreed. I'd suggest providing two or three examples of shift work schemes and moving the rest to a separate article as you suggest. This article should serve as a proper overview of the concept of shift work, including why it's practiced, how it's scheduled, how it affects workers' health, and how it's regarded as a social and labor issue. Darmokandjalad (talk) 15:50, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Done already in "Fundamentals of Shiftwork Scheduling." Apologies for mentioning this reference so often on this Talk page, but the first edition came out more than 20 years ago. Lots of people have looked at it and commented on it and it is now in its third edition. Most of the suggestions on this Talk page have been dealt with long ago and published in that reference. Millergonomics (talk) 14:20, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

This article is an argument not an information page, how bias!
This article cannot be called an information page. It is just a long, bias argument that shift work is unhealthy, and I can't help but notice the one shift that isn't generally considered unhealthy, the day shift, isn't detailed except in passing to support the other shift arguments that they are unhealthy.

We never actually learn about shift work beyond the first paragraph. Everything beyond the first paragraph changes the focus of this page from information to arguing the case that shift work is unhealthy. Perhaps some of the intro paragraph is also bias considering the rest of the article isn't information at all but just an argument over health.

Turning an information page into an argument is bias don't you agree? How can this article stand? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.87.132.67 (talk) 16:59, 18 September 2013 (UTC)


 * Nearly a decade later and this is still a massive issue. There's literally a Marx quote in the article. Dialmayo (talk) (Contribs) she/her 12:37, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

After studying shiftwork and its effects for 30 years, I support the idea of a negative bias. Human biology is so strongly compromised by the demand to work through the midnight to dawn hours that this demand should be limited to essential activities, only. These would be emergency services (especially fire and law enforcement) and infrastructure operations (water, electrical grid, gas & oil pipelines, etc.). Even there, care should be taken to minimize fatigue-induced risks of accidents and incidents. Non-esssential activities include pulling all-nighters due to usual demands at the office; operating red-eye flights for business travelers; pre-dawn, just in time deliveries by truck drivers at the end of their allotted driving hours of service; etc. Millergonomics (talk) 14:21, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Well, supporting a negative bias is fine, just not in an encyclopedia. 64.124.61.215 (talk) 18:45, 21 January 2015 (UTC)


 * I came to this page to find out what it means to "work third shift" or to "work second shift." Specifically, what are the typical hours for each shift? Unfortunately, despite several paragraphs (of labor activism), I am still uniformed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.28.242.132 (talk) 19:44, 11 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Sorry that you couldn't find the information you were looking for about "third shift" and "second shift". That information is currently available in the "Three shifts" section on the separate Shift plan page. Regarding the question of the "bias" of the page, I think the page has evolved over time and various pages have split off from it. The emphasis on health effects (and therefore labour issues) is probably not so much a "bias" as simply a side effect of having lots of new and interesting research being done in that area in the past 5-10 years. New content has been added based on new research becoming available. But taking a quick scan now, I have to agree with the complaints here that the page doesn't do a good job any longer of introducing the idea of shift work. A careful, informed reorganization of the content, along with a better linking to the various related sub-topic pages would improve the page for everyone. Philip Kiff 21:16, 11 October 2020 (UTC)


 * I just tagged the article for NPOV issues. RuneMan3 (talk) 22:39, 21 June 2015 (UTC)


 * Note that we do have the article Shift work sleep disorder. Now, there are negative health (and social) effects also for people whose problems may not qualify as disorders.  Still, I think that these two articles should be seen in connection with each other, for a better balance.  'Shift work' should primarily tell of the history of, the need for, and maybe some of the technicalities of shift work, with a shorter section on negative health effects.  Shift plan and perhaps Schedule (workplace) might be looked at in this connection?  --Hordaland (talk) 04:57, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Absent details
This article should discuss:
 * (1) advances in lighting technology (e.g., those currently under research in Japan)
 * (2) research into extraterrestrial shift work
 * (3) if possible, any known research into shift work performed by individuals with night-oriented circadian rhythms.  —   C M B J   12:52, 17 February 2014 (UTC)


 * Interesting comment, CMBJ. I wonder if I am understanding your point #3 correctly.  I have a circadian rhythm disorder, DSPD.  It affects many more functions than sleep phase.  I have always worked days, often sleeping 3-4 a.m. to 8 a.m. and again about 5-10 p.m.  I should be sleeping 3-4 a.m. to noon or one.  Since I learned what this is, that it's not just me, I've called myself a shift worker.  It has been detrimental to physical and mental health.  Is this what you mean by "individuals with night-oriented circadian rhythms"?  --Hordaland (talk) 22:47, 17 February 2014 (UTC)

I think he means the effects of chronotype (lark-owl, morningness-eveningness). There are one or two good papers on chronotype as a possible selection factor in hiring shftworkers. Lighting technology is a two-edged sword, and should be discussed. On the one hand, using light at night to suppress melatonin secretion seems to have a bit of an alerting effect on workers. On the other hand, there is now good evidence that the suppression of nocturnal melatonin secretion is linked to an elevated incidence of cancer. Millergonomics (talk) 14:21, 4 October 2014 (UTC)contribs) 14:12, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Workshy propaganda
There is nothing wrong with shift work. All work is good for your health. Anyway, most jobs include shift work, not only 20%. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.146.72.61 (talk) 07:50, 26 September 2015 (UTC)

Continental shift schedule
Does anyone know what this refers to? Saw no entry. 184.145.18.50 (talk) 11:35, 13 February 2016 (UTC)


 * I can't help with a reference, but I work what they call a "continental shift" here. It's a 28 day cycle of 12 hour shifts, where you work four nights, then three days, then three nights, then four days, then a week off. So the four week cycle works as:


 * Fri - Mon nights (7pm - 7am) (4)
 * Tue - Thu off
 * Fri - Sun days (7am - 7pm) (3)
 * Mon off (a short "weekend" before starting nights on Tuesday)
 * Tue - Thu nights (3)
 * Fri - Sun off (a civilian weekend, as I call it)
 * Mon - Thu days (4)
 * a week off (including another civilian weekend) before starting the cycle again Fri - Mon nights
 * The operation is covered 24/7, and you work 14 x 12 (168) hours in a 28-day month, which averages out to 42 hours per week.
 * Hope that helps. Willondon (talk) 21:20, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Shift work. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080411185859/http://www.iarc.fr/ENG/Press_Releases/pr180a.html to http://www.iarc.fr/ENG/Press_Releases/pr180a.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 02:47, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

History section
I came looking to verify a claim that before WWII U.S. industry had unused capacity because factories weren't functioning more than twenty hours a day (two ten-hour shifts) and was astonished to find nothing useful; indeed the material here is dismally minimal. The section should cover lengths of shifts historically, when three shifts a day was started and when it became the norm, legislation concerning work shifts, the influence of unions, and a lot more! Dismalscholar (talk) 00:05, 23 June 2022 (UTC)


 * The majority of this article was written by one person who is more familiar with the current state of shift work rather than its history; such is the case for a large number of health and safety articles (in that they are written mostly by a single person). Would that there were more safety professionals with an interest in communication through Wikipedia. Maybe we can find someone interested from WikiProject Organized Labour? Recon  rabbit  20:43, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

Preview image for this article
Why is the preview image of this article a picture of vomit? By this I mean the image when you hover over this article's link in another article. 2607:FB60:1011:2006:D41D:44C1:6459:C928 (talk) 06:22, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

"2nd shift" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2nd_shift&redirect=no 2nd shift] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 05:28, 9 November 2023 (UTC)