Have you noticed a better quality of life going from full time to part time?

[A Hit With The Ladies, BSN, RN]

I used to work in acute (inpatient) dialysis, and I remember when I was full time with my then-company, I felt that the hours were unmanageable. I worked 18+ hours a day(!) three days a week. All I did was work, sleep, do laundry, and work again. Rapidly burnt out. Then I went part-time, which meant two days a week, 12-13 hours a day. I noticed that I was so much happier, because I felt like I had a life again. Sure, I made less money, but work stopped feeling like a prison sentence.

I work in inpatient psych now, and have been full-time for almost a year. One of the things I hate the most about my current job is that it's on a rotation system, so you're really off work for 2-3 days and then back on for 2-3 days of work. So I never really feel that I'm mentally off work because I'm spending a solid chunk of my time off resting and recovering (I work night shift as well). I'm going part time in a couple of weeks (so it'll be just 4 shifts in a two-week period versus 7 shifts in a two-week period). Very much optimistic that I'll feel less grouchy and drained from work with this one too.

Anyway, my question is, if you've gone from full time to part time, have you also noticed any quality of life changes?

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

Yes. Prior to coming to dialysis, I worked in LTC. I was run like a dog some days, and it was an excellent facility, 5-8 hour days. After a few months, I went to 3-8 hour days. Yes, less money, but my sanity and physical health greatly improved

[RNperdiem, RN]

I have been per diem ever since my first child was born. I have gradually increased my hours over the years and have been fortunate to have a husband with a high paying job with good benefits.

If he should get laid off, I will go full-time.

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

I have briefly contemplated going part-time at my current facility and picking up a PRN gig elsewhere, just to give myself a break from my current employer. I gotta imagine most people's quality of life improved going from full to part-time.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Is this a trick question?

[Davey Do]

19 hours ago, A Hit With The Ladies said:

Anyway, my question is, if you've gone from full time to part time, have you also noticed any quality of life changes?

I'd like to approach this question from a sideways point of view, since I have not gone from full time to part time. What happened to me was that I went from fulltime eight hour shifts for 14 years, to full time 12 hour shifts for the last three years, working three in a row.

Perhaps the situation was difficult working three 12's due to my age, because when I was in my mid 30's, I worked three to four 12 hour shifts in in a row in med surge/ER, in addition to working PRN as a HH nurse.

Working eight hour shifts was like an ebb and flow, whereas working three 12's was more like a feast or famine. On my days off from 12 hour shifts, I never really felt totally recovered.

I believe I could have worked eight hour shifts until the cows came home, but 12 hour shifts definitely took their toll.

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

2005 is when my eyes opened. Prior to this, I thought I had to work full time because that’s just the way it was. When I left fulltime work and went agency/PRN, the crows stopped crowing, the buzzards stopped circling, and the birds started singing a new song.?

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Oh, yeah. When I went from working 4-5 12h shifts weekly to 2 PRN, it was a blissful heaven for a whole two and a half weeks.

Then full time Master's program started, and that was the end of the fun.

[A Hit With The Ladies, BSN, RN]

17 hours ago, Davey Do said:

I'd like to approach this question from a sideways point of view, since I have not gone from full time to part time. What happened to me was that I went from fulltime eight hour shifts for 14 years, to full time 12 hour shifts for the last three years, working three in a row.

Perhaps the situation was difficult working three 12's due to my age, because when I was in my mid 30's, I worked three to four 12 hour shifts in in a row in med surge/ER, in addition to working PRN as a HH nurse.

Working eight hour shifts was like an ebb and flow, whereas working three 12's was more like a feast or famine. On my days off from 12 hour shifts, I never really felt totally recovered.

I believe I could have worked eight hour shifts until the cows came home, but 12 hour shifts definitely took their toll.

Yikes! That's got to be a really difficult transition! I've always worked 12-hour shifts, also imagined that it was preferable to working eight hours a day five days a week (then I'd feel like I was always at work). But I can see how rough it'd be to go to 12 hours from 8.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

1 hour ago, A Hit With The Ladies said:

Yikes! That's got to be a really difficult transition! I've always worked 12-hour shifts, also imagined that it was preferable to working eight hours a day five days a week (then I'd feel like I was always at work). But I can see how rough it'd be to go to 12 hours from 8.

When I was much younger, I felt the same way. Nowadays, I can do a longer day occasionally, but not everyday

[llg, PhD, RN]

I am in my 60's and nearing retirement, which makes my situation different. But when I switched to part time a few years ago, it did make a positive difference. I could use the extra day off each week to get errands done, doctor's appointments, hair cuts, house cleaning, etc. and then didn't have to spend my weekends doing that type of thing.

I have missed the money, though. I wish I were making the money that I used to make.

[Sour Lemon]

I love working part time, per diem. Along with working less hours, I always know exactly what my schedule will be. Having a set schedule rids me of a huge amount of stress, and I never have to ask for time off- I just don't make myself available.