Work schedule change: advice sought

[Vince, Pt. II]

We've got some pretty bright people on here, and I'm faced with a somewhat important choice, so I thought I'd open it up for the board to point out anything I may be missing.

I'm about to end my 'training' for the job I took 7-ish months ago, which means they're going to put me on a shift. I'm a gas serviceman for the local utility company, so we have 24 hour coverage to ensure we're ready to find, repair or otherwise make gas leaks safe. This is a union job, so everything is done by seniority. Since I'm one of two guys who are the newest (we were hired on the same date), I have the 2nd to last choice when it comes to which shift I get (I somehow have seniority over the other guy). Thankfully, the graveyard shifts are spoken for by people who want them (helps with childcare, etc), so those are most likely not an option. The choice is sort of a big deal, because there isn't exactly a ton of movement here. I'm likely stuck with this shift for several years. Essentially I'm going to have my choice of two available shifts. There's no way of knowing exactly which two shifts those are, but these are the most likely options:

	Shift 1		Shift 2
Mon	Off		2 PM - 10 PM
Tue	8 AM - 4:30 PM	2 PM - 10 PM
Wed	8 AM - 4:30 PM	2 PM - 10 PM
Thu	8 AM - 4:30 PM	2 PM - 10 PM
Fri	2 PM - 10 PM	Off
Sat	2 PM - 10 PM	Off
Sun	Off		2 PM - 10 PM

Shift 1 is gives me day shifts during the week but evening shifts Friday and Saturday. I get Sunday-Monday off. Shift 2 is all evening shifts, but I get Friday-Saturday off. There is a pay bump for working 2-10 shifts and there's also a pay bump for working Sunday shifts, so I make more money with shift 2 (it's not an inconsiderable number, but it's also not enough for me to make that a serious consideration. Essentially it'd just be a nice perk).

Obviously this is personal preference and lifestyle stuff, so here's what I do outside of work:

Slow Pitch Softball: Tuesday evenings. Can't play if I take shift 2.
Band: I'm in a band, we rehearse Friday evenings and play shows various times (typically on weekends). The band won't stop, we'll just move rehearsal to a different night, most likely Thursday nights. I will be able to take time off to play shows (we don't play more than 5 times a year or so).
Game Night with friends: Thursday evenings. Probably screwed either way, since the band takes precedence and the other shift has me working Thursday evenings.
Golf: I'm in a Men's club, we play tournaments on Saturdays and Sundays. Home tournaments are Sunday, away tournaments are on Saturday - and there are many more home tournaments than away tournaments. I probably will not be able to play in tournaments whichever day I work; 2 PM is just a little too early to make it to work on time playing a tournament that morning.
Single: I'm single, and active on the dating scene. Neither of these shifts is particularly good on that front, as with shift 2 my Friday nights will be eaten by the band, leaving me Saturday night as my only free evening at all. Shift 1 is bad because I get no weekend night, but at the same time I do get four free evenings during the week.

Shift 1 Pros:
-Can still play softball
-Can still play home golf tournaments
-I get 4 free evenings

Shift 1 Cons:
-No weekend evenings
-Less pay
-No away golf tournaments*
-Band has to re-schedule around me

Shift 2 Pros:
-More pay
-Can play golf literally every single day if I want to (I love golf, this is not an inconsiderable perk)
-Saturday nights are open
-Can play away golf tournaments
-Band doesn't have to re-schedule for me

Shift 2 Cons:
-Saturday night is my ONLY open evening all week
-No Softball
-No home golf tournaments*

*I could burn vacation days to play in these tournaments, but I'm not sure that's something I want to do, especially since I may need them to play in shows with my band.

So, am I missing anything? Any benefits that I'm not taking into consideration here?

[Lathum]

With shift 2, being on the West Coast, you will miss a lot of live sports if that matters to you.

So I worked in restaurants all through my 20s, so mostly nights and I never minded. Now that I am older with a "real" job, I work 7-4 M-F. While not exactly the same, closer to #1.

I greatly prefer having my nights free. Even if you are dating you can do dinners during the week, etc...and if this is truly long term having weeknights off like most other people is better IMO. The Friday/ Saturday thing stinks, but getting off at 10 isn't terrible as a lot of places dont get crowded until then.

I would hate woring 2-10 every day, I feel like I would just bum around waiting to fo to work.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Yeah, I was a bartender/server for 7 years before I got into this. I was super excited to go to a M-F days schedule. I'm not thrilled about going back to evenings, but this is a career with insane benefits. I won't be stuck with the shift forever, but like I mentioned things don't exactly move quickly around here.

As for live sports...due to the nature of our work, a lot of the evening work is sitting around waiting for something to happen. I will conceivably be in my living room with my phone and laptop available waiting for an emergency response call. So missing live sports isn't THAT big a deal. I find I consume most of my sports via the radio these days anyway, so I can keep it going while working.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

So, am I missing anything? Any benefits that I'm not taking into consideration here?

I think you've got it pretty well covered.

The only thing I can think of is to question how much a creature of habit you are and, if so, whether doing Shift 2, where every shift is the same, as opposed to Shift 1, where it varies, would be a concern (hint: it would for me, but I'm a little OCD).

[stevew]

Shift 1 is significantly the lesser of 2 evils. Shift 2 you wake up every day waiting to go to work and it lingers like a cloud

[tarcone]

Shift 2 looks like a dream come true. Friday and Saturday off. Sleep late. Or play golf every morning for the rest of your life. Get off work at a reasonable time. Can stay up and play around and still get up the next day and do something.
I always thought a swing shift was the way to go.

As for money? It gets less important as other things in life.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Shift 2 looks like a dream come true. Friday and Saturday off. Sleep late. Or play golf every morning for the rest of your life. Get off work at a reasonable time. Can stay up and play around and still get up the next day and do something.
I always thought a swing shift was the way to go.

As for money? It gets less important as other things in life.

+1

When I was younger, I worked a similar schedule (though didnt have Fri & Sat off usually)and it was fine. I could meet friends up after I left work if I wanted to and I like that you could do some things in the morning if you choose to get up early. On the other hand, having Sun & Mon off is nice during football season.

I like the more consistent work schedule personally. I also think the schedule itself will make you more of a night owl, so you'll likely be up anywhere from 2-5am and sleep until noon or so on a typical day. Like anything, you just get your body on the schedule and you adapt fine. And shift 2 allows you at least 1 night to date on the weekends.

[Buccaneer]

That's strange about the shifts. I work for utilities that includes gas and all of our crews work stand-by for evenings and nights. The only ones that don't are those are the plants. Good luck with your new career, whichever shift you decide.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Shift 2 looks like a dream come true. Friday and Saturday off. Sleep late. Or play golf every morning for the rest of your life. Get off work at a reasonable time. Can stay up and play around and still get up the next day and do something.
I always thought a swing shift was the way to go.

As for money? It gets less important as other things in life.

+2

It sounds like golf is your biggest sport playing love rather than softball (plus, were you the one who won the tournament? Can't recall precisely), and the convenience for your band would be great for your friends too, IMO.

I'm also thinking that away tournaments would make for a better stress reliever than home tournaments, because you're presumably getting to see some new places/meet some new people, rather than being tied solely to your home course - but that just may be me, loving traveling as I do.

And you still have the morning during the week to get things done that can only be done during the week.

[Vince, Pt. II]

That was indeed me with the tournament win

As for the stand-by for evenings and nights, I'm a solo serviceman. The crews do indeed have stand-by, but not us. I'm not sure how the graveyard shift works, but as far as I know we're on call 24 hours a day.

Edit:

As for being younger - I'm 33. Not exactly a spring chicken anymore, though I'm not complaining about that. Most of my friends are done with their evenings by 11 at the latest these days, so while I COULD conceivably see my friends after work when I'm pulling the 2-10 shift, that's going to be a rare occurrence.

[bhlloy]

I can't imagine never having a Friday or Saturday evening off for the next x years. Even if you are pretty active during the week surely 99% of big events are on those evenings? Schedule 2 is a no brainer to me.

[JonInMiddleGA]

#2, hands down.

I hate to be crude but on the whole dating thing ... "sleepovers" are harder to pull off on weekdays IIRC. I'd ensure weekend free.

[flere-imsaho]

Yeah, I know you weren't asking for people's votes, Vince, instead asking if you had covered all the bases in your thoughts, but my vote would easily be #2. Consistency is a big thing, as is having Friday and Saturday nights free. Also, seeing as I'm married with kids, that schedule would be much easier for child care assuming a wife that works a "regular" 9-5 job (more like 7:30 - 5:30 these days, AMIRITE? ugh)

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah I think I'd also have to vote #2 just for the consistency in it. #1 seems like the worst of both worlds - you get shafted on those 2 weekend nights by working later and yet work more "regular" hours the rest of the week.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Votes for which shift everyone prefers and why are totally welcome. It's good to hear peoples' reasoning behind why. As a former bartender and server for nearly a decade, and a substitute teacher who worked at a different school every day, I'm pretty sure inconsistency won't be that big a deal to me...then again, I've been on a static schedule for 7 years now, so who knows how I will adjust back if I take shift 1.

[Vince, Pt. II]

As an additional wrinkle, it's not like we all meet up and have a draft for these shifts either - I have to submit a list of my shifts in order of preference, and I can list up to 5.

From what I can tell, they go down the list in seniority order and look at everyone's #1 choice. If the shift is open, they get it. Then they go back to the top of the seniority list for everyone who hasn't gotten a shift yet, and look at their #2 choice. Etc, down until everyone has a shift. You aren't guaranteed to get a listed shift of yours, so you can and will be assigned a shift if none of your preferences are available.

So conceivably, I could snipe a "better" shift if I put it as my #1 and no one else realizes it's coming open. Those chances are slim, though, and I don't know if I want to try something like that.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So the results are in, and it appears I do just simply pick a shift. Unfortunately, the Sunday-Thursday shift is not one of my choices. Shift 1 remains the same option, but Shift 2 is now Monday through Friday (hooray weekends), 4 PM to Midnight (boooooooooo). Everything else stays the same.

Also, I have until the end of the day to decide, and I start said shift next week.

[Butter]

Shift 2 it is!

[kingfc22]

Shift #2

[DaddyTorgo]

Shift 2 for sure.

[Julio Riddols]

I'm a shift 2 guy on this. As much as I hate 2nd shift, a 2nd shift job on call is highly preferable to a 2nd shift job stuck somewhere.

[korme]

Shift 1. You get off at 10pm on Friday, can still go out and sleep in late for your Saturday shift. Work til 10pm, again can go out and have all Sunday to recover.

[korme]

I wouldn't like the 4pm to midnight shift. You're on a different schedule than the rest of the world, it sucks.

[korme]

(works 4pm to midnight regularly)

[DaddyTorgo]

I used to work 2-10 regularly. It's different, but if you make use of that time earlier in the day it's pretty damn nice.