

Your responsibility as an employer is to gauge the abilities and physical and mental needs of each employee and use that knowledge to place them into an appropriate work shift. For example, one study, in the medical journal Ergonomics, found a correlation between age and tolerance for shift work. Each work shift has its own benefits and drawbacks, but those are felt most on an individual worker basis. Unsurprisingly there is no universal “healthiest shift” to work. For example, if you manage a restaurant and only give some employees the “good” shifts in the work schedule you may find other employees leaving for a “fairer” workplace. To create consistency among work teams.Helping get employees a chance to “recuperate” between shifts. Provide some parity between employees.For example: a hospital that never closes or a manufacturing company that is trying to meet consumer demands. Why do Employers Use Different Shift Schedules?Įmployers tend to use different shift schedules to: In cases like these, companies might choose to create split shifts, where employees also take a long break in the middle of their shifts. Take hospitality, where busy periods of lunch and dinner are often separated by long quiet spells. Sometimes the reality of jobs doesn’t match up well with conventional shift times. Night shifts, while often considered undesirable by some employees, are necessities in essential roles such as healthcare and policing. Working this shift often comes with a shift differential, offering employees a higher rate of pay. or midnight and lasts through the morning. The third shift goes by many alternative names: the night shift, the midnight shift, or the graveyard shift. In many industries, especially hospitality, this can often be the busiest shift of all. The timing of the shift can vary dramatically, and start times can be as early as 11 a.m. The second shift, also known as the swing shift, generally runs from afternoon to around midnight. Most office-based and manufacturing roles will require at least some employees to work first shift. These employees could work the standard 9 to 5, but first shifts can also start earlier or end a later. The hours for a first shift, sometimes known as the day shift, are usually pretty close to what you’d expect for the “traditional” working day, starting in the morning and ending in late afternoon.
#3RD SHIFT HOURS HOW TO#
With this understanding of the types of categories a worker could fill, you can next figure out how to best use them to meet the needs of your company. These are employees who will work only on an as-needed basis. On-Call Employees – Businesses that have a particular ebb-and-flow may choose to have an on-call pool of employees.These employees usually have a set start and stop date. In these cases, a company can bring in an employee on a temporary basis. Temporary Employees – Your company may have a special project or a full-time employee may need to be out for an extended period of time due to medical leave.Some examples include retail workers hired over the winter holidays or lifeguards working the summer months. Seasonal Employees – Seasonal employees are hired strictly to help meet the peak time needs of a company.Part-Time Employees – These employees work less than 40 hours per week while being paid at an hourly rate.A full-time employee is generally eligible for any benefits offered from the company. Full-Time Employees – These workers average 40 full-time hours per week at either an hourly rate or with a salary.Are There Different “Categories” of Workers?īefore you can understand the types of shifts, it helps to know the various categories of employees whose schedules you’ll be setting. Here’s a refresher on different types of work shifts, schedules and working hours. And when it comes to scheduling shift work, keeping everyone happy can be challenging even for seasoned experts. Seems like an obvious solution, right? It can be, but if you’re new to HR the terms used to describe common shifts can be confusing. The solution is known as shift work: employees working at different times throughout the day (and night). In many industries, shift coverage is required around the clock. 9-to-5 is shorthand for the workday ( Thanks, Dolly Parton!) but it’s not an entirely accurate description of when people are getting the job done.
