Working night shift jobs, 2nd shift jobs or 3rd shift jobs? Read on for some advantages and disadvantages!

For most of my working life (more or less 8 years), I’ve been assigned to working night shift. I enjoyed it at first because I have always been a night owl and I could never get to sleep before 12 midnight. But as the years passed I noticed I’ve become a bit more crabby everytime I wake up. My alarm clocks just don’t seem to work anymore thus the task of waking me up falls to my good, old dependable roommate of 2 years. God bless her kind soul!

In my opinion, apart from the graveyard incentive (around 10 – 15% additional depending on the hours worked) there aren’t a lot of benefits to working night shift. In this hub, I would like to outline some advantages and disadvantages of night shift work.

1. Less work. Depending on the industry you’re working in, there’s generally less work during the night so this means it’s less busy and less hectic than working during the day. An exception to this would be, for example, if your clients work in a different time zone, i.e. it’s daytime in their country and it’s nighttime in yours.

2. Extra pay. Higher pay due to night shift allowance / incentive. I suppose earning more dough is a benefit to most people. But if you have worked on night shift jobs for a long time, you start thinking if money is enough motivation to work at night.

3. Fewer meetings. Unless announced in advance, there are far fewer meetings! Again, this depends on the industry you’re working in but generally speaking it’s quieter at night and most of your bosses work during the day so you actually get to have some peace and quiet at night.

4. Convenience. Minimal to no traffic. Of course this depends on where you live and where you work! This is the part I love most about working at night. I don’t need to wake up early since there’s no traffic to avoid.

5. Various daytime activities. You get to go out during the day unlike most people who work at this time! You might need to think in advance of when you need to sleep to ensure you get enough energy to work at night.

6. Save some money. For those who prefer to stay in during the day and rest, this means you don’t really get to shell out and spend money on various daytime activities, like going to the mall or wherever. In short, you stay in and save money in the process.

1. Eerie silence. Since nighttime jobs are quieter than daytime jobs, you tend to be less busy therefore time seems to run slower and your shift longer. This can be a problem if you didn’t get enough sleep during the day.

2. Too much caffeine. While caffeine is a good anti-oxidant, having too much of it is not good for your health! If you start to experience the negative effects of caffeine, you may need to switch to decaffeinated coffee or start researching for things you can do to keep you busy that won’t affect your productivity at work. Say, for example, writing!

3. Junk food. For people who don’t drink coffee or tea, they often turn to food to keep themselves awake. No, I’m not talking about healthy food. Almost everyone I know eat junk food to keep their mouths busy. Of course, there is no single health benefit to doing this, rather the opposite! Don’t ask me why, but there’s something about junk food that keeps you coming back for more.

4. Sleep problems. I personally find it very difficult to sleep during the day. No matter how tired or sleepy I am I struggle to fall asleep during the day. Noise level during daytime can be really bothersome. Lucky if you live in a rural place with no neighbors but if you live in the city then good luck with your sleep!

5. Most of your friends are awake. Some will probably forget you sleep during the day so you will probably get calls from your friends. Unless you sleep like a log or you switch off your phone then chances are you are going to be awakened when your phone rings!

6. Social life? What’s that? When most of your friends and family have daytime jobs you will most likely miss out on some important social activities like having dinner or attending parties with them. While everyone else is having fun you’re stuck in your desk or cubbyhole working, which is really sad.

7. Health issues. There are several studies that show that working graveyard will have negative effects on your body. This is especially true if you don’t always get to sleep well. Eventually this will take a toll on your body. Trust me, I’m starting to feel this nowadays.

I know some people will probably disagree with some of the points I’ve outlined. Whether you agree or disagree with some of the advantages and disadvantages of working night shift jobs, 2^nd shift jobs or 3^rd shift jobs, feel free to use the comment form below to let me know of what you think!

Alternatively, you may wish to consider the following ways in which you can make money online. Once you get the hang of online writing and start earning enough from it then it just might replace your day or night job!