I don't want to go back to nights!

[Lady_Foxfire]

When I applied to my current place of employment, I signed up for third shift, because I figured there would be less competition for it, and I was willing to take any job that would give me a paycheck. I got the job, and worked nights for 7 or 8 months, and finally got fed up with it and asked to be moved to day shift about a month ago. There were a lot of reasons for this; I didn't like not having a manager available to help deal with SCs, I didn't like sleeping during the day, I was tired all the time, and I hated having to plan out my naps if I wanted to do something during the day.

My manager agreed to let me switch to second shift, and I'm so much happier now. I actually get to sleep when my body tells it me it's time to sleep, I'm not constantly tired anymore, and I actually have someone to talk to when I'm at work.

Here's the problem: One of the third shifters is leaving, and she only gave the manager about a week's notice. She's moving to the other side of the state for pete's sake, that's not something you do on a whim, but apparently it didn't occur to her to give us a heads up. My manager requisitioned a replacement night shifter as soon as he found out, but it's hard to find night shifters, especially on such short notice, so he asked me to work two nights a week until we find someone. I agreed, but I'm really unhappy about it. I don't know why I'm so bummed, considering I did it for 8 months, but I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully we'll find someone soon.

[ADeMartino]

sucks that your cw left your boss in the lurch like that, sucks that you have to be the one to patch it up. I know all too well what odd shifts (and constantly-changing shifts) can do to your sleep cycle - though personally I like late shifts. From how you describe it, it sounds like it will probably only be temporary, though, so there's some good news there. Hope it all works out for you.

[bainsidhe]

You know the dynamic of your workplace best, any chance this isn't so "temporary"? I'd keep a bee in your boss's ear about moving back to only 2nd shift. So long as they have coverage, it won't be a top priority for them to find a solid replacement. Plus it sounds like you're burned out working 3rd shift, so anything more than a couple weeks and I'd make it clear your body can't handle the mixed hours and you have to go back to your regular hours. Don't feel bad about it and don't let them take advantage.

[Lady_Foxfire]

You know the dynamic of your workplace best, any chance this isn't so "temporary"?

I'm not worried about that. My boss is really good about giving us the hours we want, and since hiring is done at the district level, it's not any extra work for him to get a replacement. He's already called the hiring office, so it's just a matter of waiting for them to send us someone.

I did get some good news today though! We're doing another round of open interviews next week, and those always attract a lot of applicants. Also, a woman came in today and asked my manager if we were hiring for third shift, because her son needed a job and was a night owl. Boss told her about our predicament and about the open interviews, and she said she'd have him apply.

Going by what I know of the hiring process, it will probably take a week and a half to two weeks after the OIs to actually start training the new guy, and depending on how quick of a learner he is, 2-5 days of day shift training (how to work the registers and do basic chores) before they start training him on nights. So at worst I'm looking at a month of this, which isn't really that long in the grand scheme of things.

[bhskittykatt]

As long as it's only temporary, that's good news.

And hey....you've been with the company 8 or 9 months by now it sounds like based on your post, right? Meaning you might have an annual review coming up? Stepping in and helping with coverage in this short-notice situation will probably look pretty good come review time. You only have to stick it out short-term, and I bet your boss appreciates it.

[Kristev]

May this temporary position be only temporary.

[Lady_Foxfire]

So, it turns out that the reason CW had to move to Detroit on a week's notice is because she's pregnant. I don't know the details, but I suppose that explains a lot.

The loss of my usual sleep pattern is about as annoying as I thought it would be, but the shifts themselves have been pretty easy. Several regulars were happy to see me again, and didn't seem too broken up that CW was gone. Apparently she wasn't very friendly.

I did find one hidden benefit of being on nights: We're not allowed to request major holidays off, and I was worried that I would be scheduled and have to miss my Mom's family's Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is a huge deal for her side of the family; It's the one time of year when the entire family gets together in one place at the same time, and missing it would have really, really sucked. So I asked my boss to schedule me for a night shift on Thursday, so I would have the afternoon free. He didn't have a problem with it, so now I get to have turkey and holiday pay!

[cashierbex]

I remember working 2 night shifts a weeks for a month ontop of my regular shifts. Messed up my sleep pattern bad. Finally got back to normal 3 months later.

[Lady_Foxfire]

Well, it took 2 1/2 months, but we finally have a new night shifter. My little sister works for the same company at a different location, and one of her coworkers was complaining about being moved from nights to day shift because their store had too many night shifters. My sister suggested she transfer to my store, which as it turns out is a shorter commute for her anyways. From what my assistant manager said this morning, it's official that she's transferring, but she didn't know how long it would take. I'll ask my manager when I see him on Wednesday, but it probably won't take more than a week. Thank God.