It really depends on the job. I’ve usually worked night shifts and the only time it was chill was when I was a security guard and got assigned to make sure teenagers stayed out of an abandoned farmhouse that was structurally unsafe.
Working night shifts at a factory or warehouse ain’t fuckin’ chill.
Hotels are usually super chill at night, too. Unless it’s a fuckoff big property in the middle of a big touristy city, you’re usually getting paid to be a warm body just to deal with issues that may arise, you are almost never expected to be busy/have serious duties or even look busy. It’s light paperwork, attending to the occasional guest with a modicum of asskissing, and occasionally dealing with complete raging dumpster fires at 3AM – but they’re rather rare at quieter properties in smaller cities. YMMV wildly, depending on the property, some places have been absolutely awful and some have been the easiest thing I’ve ever been paid money to do. During COVID I was once paid to run the nightly paperwork at a hotel that was closed down, with no guests in house, and no revenue. But I still had to tick the business date over and run reports for them because otherwise… I dunno, the building burns down, who the fuck knows, I got paid to babysit an empty building and print/email reports full of 0s from 11PM-7AM every night for several months. Was nice, would recommend (the job, not the pandemic)
OK short term but comes with increased risk of all cause mortality if you stick to it for long (especially after 5 years, it rises exponentially if more than 20 years).
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies night shift work as a Group 2A “probable carcinogen.” Suppressing melatonin (the sleep hormone) via artificial light at night disrupts natural cellular repair, increases oxidative stress, and alters DNA repair mechanisms, increasing the long-term risk of cancers (particularly breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers).
Best to keep it to less than 5 years to minimize risk. Employers should ve compensating substantially if it’s longer than that.
Had a night shift for 5 years. I will never be able to sleep normal again. A decade after leaving my brain still has issues keeping a regular schedule, I get random bouts of sleepiness in the middle of the day. And when stressed my brain refuses to sleep some nights.
me I’ve always been a night owl so night shift works fantastic for me, my only gripe is how much shit I’ve still got to do during normal business hours to function like a human being. Banks, doctors appointments, grocery shopping – fuck, once I was even called into a mandatory all-staff workplace meeting at noon despite working the overnight shift there and being between shifts the day of. Absolute madness, I want to yank whoever decided that out of their bed at 3AM and ask them to try functioning.
Have you considered night shift?
I mean, yes it’ll destroy your sleep schedule but it is very chill.
It really depends on the job. I’ve usually worked night shifts and the only time it was chill was when I was a security guard and got assigned to make sure teenagers stayed out of an abandoned farmhouse that was structurally unsafe.
Working night shifts at a factory or warehouse ain’t fuckin’ chill.
Hotels are usually super chill at night, too. Unless it’s a fuckoff big property in the middle of a big touristy city, you’re usually getting paid to be a warm body just to deal with issues that may arise, you are almost never expected to be busy/have serious duties or even look busy. It’s light paperwork, attending to the occasional guest with a modicum of asskissing, and occasionally dealing with complete raging dumpster fires at 3AM – but they’re rather rare at quieter properties in smaller cities. YMMV wildly, depending on the property, some places have been absolutely awful and some have been the easiest thing I’ve ever been paid money to do. During COVID I was once paid to run the nightly paperwork at a hotel that was closed down, with no guests in house, and no revenue. But I still had to tick the business date over and run reports for them because otherwise… I dunno, the building burns down, who the fuck knows, I got paid to babysit an empty building and print/email reports full of 0s from 11PM-7AM every night for several months. Was nice, would recommend (the job, not the pandemic)
OK short term but comes with increased risk of all cause mortality if you stick to it for long (especially after 5 years, it rises exponentially if more than 20 years).
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies night shift work as a Group 2A “probable carcinogen.” Suppressing melatonin (the sleep hormone) via artificial light at night disrupts natural cellular repair, increases oxidative stress, and alters DNA repair mechanisms, increasing the long-term risk of cancers (particularly breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers).
Best to keep it to less than 5 years to minimize risk. Employers should ve compensating substantially if it’s longer than that.
In this world, I consider this a plus.
Had a night shift for 5 years. I will never be able to sleep normal again. A decade after leaving my brain still has issues keeping a regular schedule, I get random bouts of sleepiness in the middle of the day. And when stressed my brain refuses to sleep some nights.
It was pretty chill while doing it, though.
me I’ve always been a night owl so night shift works fantastic for me, my only gripe is how much shit I’ve still got to do during normal business hours to function like a human being. Banks, doctors appointments, grocery shopping – fuck, once I was even called into a mandatory all-staff workplace meeting at noon despite working the overnight shift there and being between shifts the day of. Absolute madness, I want to yank whoever decided that out of their bed at 3AM and ask them to try functioning.
I miss night shifts so much. Also the differential was nice.