What is a swing shift: Swing shift definition
The official swing shift definition is the work shift between day and night shifts. There is also a secondary definition of swing shift which refers to a group of factory workers on call seven days a week that work as necessary. This allows the regularly scheduled workers to have one or more days off per week without halting production.
Typical swing shift hours
When a swing shift occurs between the day shift and night shift, the hours are commonly 4pm-12am. This relieves day shift workers in time to commute home for dinner, while allowing night shift workers to get some rest before starting their workday at midnight.
Businesses that center around customer service also commonly use swing shifts to supplement their peak hours. For example, if a restaurant is open from 7am-11pm, the manager might schedule three employees to work the day shift (7am-3pm) and another three to work the evening shift (3pm-11pm).
If that restaurant experiences a high volume of customers during lunch and dinner times, the manager might add a swing shift from 1pm-8pm, where one or two additional workers come in to help cover tables.
How is a swing shift different from a rotating shift?
While a swing shift often refers to a specific shift in between day and night shifts, a rotating shift schedule is something completely different. In a swing shift schedule, there are employees with regularly scheduled day and night shifts, and swing shift workers cover additional hours or assist during the busiest times of the day.
Rotating shifts are those where nobody has a set day shift or night shift; rather, all employees frequently cycle through the various scheduled shifts. Rotating shift schedules are common in a number of industries, such as:
- Health care (nurses)
- Retail (sales associates)
- Emergency services (police, paramedics)
In a rotating shift schedule, all employees have equal opportunity. For example, all sales associates have a chance to work the floor during peak hours, or all police officers have the chance to work the day shift, which may be less stressful than the night shift in some cities.
In a swing shift scenario, the employees working these off-peak hours are unable to experience working the typical day or night shift. In this sense, working a swing shift provides more stability in your schedule than a rotating shift system.
The benefits of working the swing shift
There are 3 million Americans working night shifts and 4 million Americans working the evening or swing shift at their workplaces. So what motivates a million more employees to take on the swing shift rather than the night shift? There are plenty of benefits of accepting a job with these hours.
Higher pay and incentives
There’s no guarantee of higher pay for swing shift employees, but many companies offer competitive wages and bonuses as part of a swing shift program to entice employees into working these off-peak hours. These pay differentials are designed to compensate staff for working outside of normal workweek hours. A 2010 survey found that workers on the third shift of the day are consistently paid more than those working the second shift.
Less traffic on your commute
Working an evening shift means you get to skip the chaos of a morning commute and traditional rush hour traffic. While the average American spends the equivalent of 2.5 work weeks of traffic annually, you can avoid this time-consuming inconvenience when you work off-peak shifts.
Though workers commuting to their evening shift around 3pm might find themselves at the beginning of evening rush hour, they can expect an easy commute home. Rush hour typically ends for the night by 7pm.
No early mornings
If you’re not a morning person, a swing shift might be perfect for your body’s internal clock. You can avoid early mornings when your shift doesn’t start until 4pm. Enjoy a leisurely morning and take the day to run errands or complete personal projects before reporting to work for the evening.
More sleep than a night shift
Employees working the swing or evening shift are more likely to get better sleep than those working a night shift. This is because the body operates in a circadian rhythm, or 24-hour cycle. The natural body clock is set by sun exposure, which is why the human body is naturally sleepy at night when the sun goes down. Night shift workers may struggle to get sufficient rest during the daytime for this reason.
When working a swing shift, employees are still off in enough time to go to sleep between midnight and 3am, allowing them to fall asleep when it’s dark and wake to natural sunlight in the late morning.
The disadvantages of a swing shift
Though there are plenty of benefits to working the swing shift, there are a few disadvantages for the employee to consider as well.
Less time with family or friends
If the employee is someone who does most of their socializing over dinner in the evening, a swing shift can negatively impact their social life. Working the evening shift means they’ll have to do most of their visiting with loved ones during the day, which can be challenging if they’re working regular daytime shifts.
No free time after their shift
To make a swing shift worthwhile, most people need to go to bed as soon as they get home from work and get up in the morning to start their day. This means most of your employee’s free time is during the day before their shift, rather than when they finish work, which is the opposite of most people’s working daytime hours.
More challenging to get time off
Since swing shift hours aren’t as popular among most working adults, it can be challenging to get time off if they can’t find someone to cover your shift.
Adjust their sleeping and eating habits
Working the swing shift gives employees the flexibility to do whatever they want to during the day, but it also means they need to adjust their meal times and sleep schedule accordingly. Though it’s not for everyone, these adjustments may improve sleep habits for people who are naturally night owls and enjoy going to bed late and sleeping in.
