Shift Work

I work shifts, and thinking back, I have sort of always worked shifts, and I kind of like it. I like the fact I have days off during the week and that I start late and finish early.


I currently work proper shifts, ie, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, public holidays and all. I worked similar shifts when I took a year out from uni and worked for Mars (yeap, making Mars bars). The when I left uni I started working in hospitality and this is sort of shift work. OK, unless you are the night staff, you don't officially work nights, though I did plenty of shifts finishing at 3 or 4am, having started at 3pm the previous day. And there was one or two memorable occasions when I handed over to the breakfast staff coming on duty at 6am! Generally it was early or late starts with late finishes..........and not to mention the very long hours! When I was made redundant for the second time I worked for eleven months as the night manager of a local hotel. Did not enjoy the constant nights, but it paid the bills.


Hubby also works shifts. Like me, in hospitality he worked long and antisocial hours. Now as a bus driver he still works shifts, though he does not work nights, the latest he finishes is around midnight, though he does have some very early starts.....like 3am. He also has the added advantage that the number of hours and days he can work a are all governed by law.......okay, he has to have every fourteenth day off by law, meaning that he can work thirteen days straight, but we both worked many more days without a day off in hospitality. There are also rules like he has to have 11 hours between duties, which can be reduced to 8 hours three times a week, but how many time in hospitality did he finish at 3am and then have to be back at work at 7am?!


When we both worked in hospitality we very rarely saw each other, and on the occasions that we actually had days off together the pressure to do something 'as a couple' was huge. Now I work on average a 36 hour week and hubby a 39.5 hour week, we see a lot more of each other and all the pressure is gone. We are much happier and can actually enjoy life!