Night shift jobs, like most things in life, come with the good and the bad.
While a lot of websites focus on the potential health risks of working the night shift, there is a lot of nuance which must be considered when deciding whether a night shift job is best for you. In this article, I’ve listed out some of the top pros and cons of working the night shift:
Night Shift Advantages
Night shift differentials = more pay
One of the best perks of working a night shift job is the pay differential. Pay differential or shift differential is a fancy phrase for receiving extra money for working an “irregular” shift. I work a salaried desk job and my pay differential for working a 3X12 salary is 15%. Your pay differential will depend on your specific job, but when receiving a job offer for a night shift job, remember to negotiate!
No traffic, shorter commute times
Working a night shift means you can avoid the normal rush hour traffic. The average American spends on average 26.1 minutes commuting one way to work, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That adds up 52.2 minutes per day. Assuming you have a normal number of work days, 261 per year, you’ll be spending 13,624.2 minutes every year commuting. This is roughly equal to 9.5 days spent commuting every year. Imagine just how much time you can save in a year just by not waiting in traffic.
Peace and quiet
When you’re working at 3 AM, there are no distractions. There’s a lot less chatter, meaning you can focus on your work. Speaking from personal experience, this peace and quiet is invaluable. When it’s the early, early morning, I get the most work done and feel “locked-in.” You’ll also have the time to build new skills.
Less stress (sometimes)
This, of course, depends on the job you do, but more often than not, working the night shift means less clients and less meetings. Less meetings usually means less stress!
Building your reputation at work
By working the night shift, you can show your coworkers that you’re a team player. One thing I’ve noticed from working the night shift is that my coworkers tend to recognize the fact that I work the odd hours, and they’re incredibly accommodating because of that. Night shift workers are doing critical jobs, and thankfully, that important work is sometimes recognized.
Night Shift Disadvantages
Sleep schedule and circadian rhythm changes
Probably the biggest disadvantage to working a night shift job is how your entire sleep schedule will need to be transformed. If you’re working a 7 PM to 7 AM shift like I am, you’ll have to start going to bed around 9 AM and waking up around 5 PM just to get 8 hours of sleep. This means you’ll be asleep for the entire normal work day or an average desk job worker.
It can be difficult to sleep during the day particularly due to the sunlight and also noises outside. These sleep schedule changes roll into our next night shift disadvantage:
Missing out on social events
When you’re sleeping during the day, your social life may suffer.
How can you prevent this? You have to be proactive about prioritizing spending time with friends. One big pro of working a night shift job is that often the schedule is something like 3X12, meaning you work three days in a row, then have 4 days off. Because of this schedule, you can take the other 4 days to spend time with friends, possibly over brunch, or later in the evening.
Fewer opportunities to network at work
Due to night shift workers usually interacting with fewer coworkers, there are fewer opportunities to build relationships and to network. This can be a problem if your goal is to get to know all of your coworkers. Night shift workers will have to make extra sacrifices to be seen and known around the office. Team meetings are also often in the middle of the afternoon.
What do you think? What are some of your pros and cons of night shifts? Feel free to share in the comment section below!
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