Day, Swing, Night - Different Time Zones

If your work day starts at eight in the morning and ends at five in the evening, what time do you get up and when do you usually go to bed at night?

I would guess six, maybe seven, for getting up and around ten or eleven for calling it a night.

While most of us (farmers excluded because they work ALL the time) live with something probably close to the above daily routine, there are many whose days have to be defined somewhat differently. 

Those who work swing shift or night shift need for their wake/sleep times to be in accord with the requirements of their jobs. 

These are frequently the people we depend on to be awake and alert during the times that the general population is not, to be there for us and our loved ones, keeping watch over and taking care of us. Their work is vitally important; we need for them to be able to do their jobs well.

I'm going to ask you to think about this for a minute.

Most of our society runs on a nine to five type of clock. That's pretty much the norm. Monday through Friday, nine to five.

The exceptions are often expected to conform to that clock and still be at the top of their game during their own work hours.

Let's do the clock thing here.

You get up at 0600 to be at work by 0800. Swing shift people would, by the same token, get up at 1300 to be at work by 1500. Night people would get up at 2100 to be at work by 2300.

You go to bed about six hours after you get off work at 1700, around 2300. Six hours after swing shift gets off work at 2300 is 0500. Six hours after nights get off work at 0700 is 1300. 

What for you is 1000 is for a swing shift person the equivalent of what would be your 0300. For someone who works nights it would be your 2000, smack in the middle of your evening of family or personal time.

I can't imagine that you would appreciate being waked up at three in the morning, nor that you would appreciate having your family/personal time interrupted, yet swing/night people deal with this sort of thing all the time. 

It's expected that they'll tolerate it, and indeed they do.

Should they have to?

Would you tolerate it, even one time?

Maybe, but it wouldn't be appreciated. At three in the morning you're likely to suggest they call you back at ten, during your regular day's hours. That equates to you telling them they should get themselves up at their three in the morning, or interrupt their own personal/family time at eight in the evening if they want to talk to you.

*laughing*

Just in case you were wondering why email and texts might be a preferred method of communication for swing/night workers, part of the answer is right in front of you in black and white.

Calling a person, or setting up a meeting with them, for three in the morning or eight o'clock at night is ... well ... rude would be an understatement. 

A swing shift person would have to get up at the equivalent of two in the morning to get to a meeting at what is their 0300, and would likely not be either happy or any more cogent than you would be at 0300 in your morning. To add insult to injury ... 'Well, you don't have to be at work for another five hours; go home and go back to bed.'

So what's the solution?

I don't know that there is one that would work very well. 

Even going with a 1400 meeting is expecting swing workers to get up an hour early, like you getting up an hour early for a meeting at 0700. That would be a pretty good solution if you wanted to meet with a night shift person because they're getting off shift at 0700 so would be a great time for them. 

What the heck.

Here’s a table that shows the equivalent ‘times’ that go with the daily routines of people who work different shifts. Pick a time. Look for that time in one of the other columns. Check your own column to see what time it is for that person as opposed to yourself. (e.g. Day’s 1100 is 0400 for Swing, 2000 for Night) Red indicates prep/personal time, green is work time, black is sleep time.

DAY                        SWING                 NIGHT

0600                       1300                       2100

0700                       1400                       2200

0800                       1500                       2300

0900                       1600                       0000

1000                       1700                       0100

1100                       1800                       0200

1200                       1900                       0300

1300                       2000                       0400

1400                       2100                       0500

1500                       2200                       0600

1600                       2300                       0700

1700                       0000                       0800

1800                       0100                       0900

1900                       0200                       1000

2000                       0300                       1100

2100                       0400                       1200

2200                       0500                       1300

2300                       0600                       1400

0000                       0700                       1500

0100                       0800                       1600

0200                       0900                       1700

0300                       1000                       1800

0400                       1100                       1900

0500                       1200                       2000

It’s kind of like different time zones. If you want to talk to a swing person, do it during their work hours, not their sleep time or their personal/family time. You don’t want to be waked up at four in the morning. Neither does anyone else.