Anybody LIKE working holidays?

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Time and a half. No management. Patients/families almost grateful you're there.

Am I the only one that LIKES working holidays? ?

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

I like working the holidays. My DH works them, too, so we celebrate when we're both off. We feel like we get TWO holidays that way, because there's invariably a potluck at work!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

When I was a floor nurse I didn't mind working Christmas night or evening, and since I don't drink, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day were no big deal for me. Labor Day and Memorial Day were also good ones to work because you still got your time-and-a-half and there were no faxes/phone calls to deal with and patients' families were usually out of town, so it was nice and peaceful for the most part. The only holidays I wanted off badly were Christmas morning and Thanksgiving Day, and I always got them because I was willing to work the other ones.

Now that I'm back in management, I don't work weekends or holidays, which is nice. :yeah: I do miss that overtime, though!

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Specializes in CICU.

I am not going to say I LIKE it, but I generally don't mind - especially Christmas and Easter. Those days are special to me, and it kind of feels good to spend those holidays with the patients that are stuck in the hospital too. Plus, the rest of my immediate family does not observe these days as Christian holidays, and I do.

On the other hand, I am OK with being at home and watching It's A Wonderful Life, or The Ten Commandments - depending on the holiday!

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Specializes in OB.

The only holiday I like to have off is Christmas to spend with family. Thanksgiving, New Year's, Memorial Day, everything else, I never cared about working at all. As others have said, the extra money is great, and I also enjoy the staff potlucks we have to make the work day more special. Even if I do have to work Christmas, you just make another day to celebrate it! Who needs to be held up by the calendar.

Now, daylight savings time night shift? I worked that when I was a brand new nurse, and not only was I sleep deprived and miserable from adjusting to working nights for the first time, but it was also just the shift from HELL. The extra hour of overtime did not quite make it worthwhile! Never will I ever work that again.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Sign me up every year! Xmas is not important to me at all. Plus, we receive triple time for Xmas day, double time for boxing day, and new year's day. Woo hoo! I'll take the money over my extended family any day.

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Triple and double time? Sooooo jealous!

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Specializes in Neuro ICU/Trauma/Emergency.

I prefer working the holidays. That way whenever I need a random PTO day, without actually having to use my time, I am able to do so. I have a large family, but we are all distant( not in the sense of true distance aside from taking the train to Long Island). But, it gives me an excuse to avoid having to sit through yet another holiday argument....Favorite time of the year for bonuses are "a-coming"

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I don't love working holidays, but I don't necessarily mind, either. I've only ever gotten time and a half, which is better than straight time, to be sure. I'd always rather be with my family, but I tell myself that at least I get to go home to them after my shift... My patients aren't so fortunate.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
wooh said:
Time and a half. No management. Patients/families almost grateful you're there.

Am I the only that LIKES working holidays? ?

*** Exactly! Except we actually get double time for holidays.

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Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

Night shift doesn't get paid for the entire night as holiday pay anyway. For instance, if I work Christmas night, I believe only 7-11 PM counts as holiday pay, so hardly worth it. From midnight on, it's the 26th, so no holiday pay.

The only thing I like about working holidays or any night is the appreciation for my health, and that I can go home at the end of the shift, and that person in my ICU bed may never make it home.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
tokidoki7 said:
It depends on the holiday

This.

I wouldn't mind working New Year's Eve/Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day weekend...but I would HATE to work either Christmas or Thanksgiving. Those two holidays are days I would prefer to spend time with family...screw a nice paycheck.

Oh and does Halloween count? I love Halloween. ?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
ambgirl2nurse said:

I LOVE working the Holidays. I always have. My family would just work around it, celebrating on the next set of days off.

Now as a nurse, it is the first time in a decade that I will actually be able to enjoy a holiday here and there on the actual day, as we have a lottery-type scheduling for the Holidays. Where I work, it is required that you only work two winter and two summer holidays.

This might sound silly, but what constitutes as winter and summer holidays? I mean, do they not count spring and autumn?

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