Time Paradox of 12 hour shifts

[KalipsoRed21]

So here is what is bunching up my panties. I like being off multiple days and week but I also hate it. I moved to my husband's state 4 years ago and yet to have any friends in the tiny town we live in....most of the people I know are at least an hour drive away. I would LOVE to go to a martial arts class a few times a week, however since the classes meet 3 times a week in the evening and one weekend a month it really doesn't work out. Despite the huge amounts of time I have off, I can only make 1 MAYBE 2 classes a week and because of the stupid every other weekend issue I can only make every other weekend class. Why would I pay to go to a class I can only participate in 1/3 of the time. Not to mention it is very hard to learn martial arts if you are only going once a week. True I could practice with a classmate out of class, but guess what? They can only meet in the evenings or weekends as well.

Now it may not be so bad to do my hobbies on the week days I do have off, but there is also the factor of my husband. If I don't see my husband in the evenings and every other weekend when I'm off then I won't see him at all. Not to mention the fact that I haven't seen any extended family in MONTHS because the get togethers have been on my holiday to work or my weekend to work since March.

One may say, well 1 hour drive to the city isn't to bad. You may find activities that work with a nurses schedule better there. However, I drive 2 hours to work and have ZERO desire to drive an hour to get somewhere on my days off. So as you can see I have a time paradox. I have copious amounts of time off but spend most of it in my house, which is depressing because I want some friends. But because I live in a little town where the majority of people still work regular business hours I have found it incredibly difficult to find the time to get involved with local groups. GRRRRRRRR! It's kind of making me crazy.

[loriangel14, RN]

I love my 12s. I would never go back to 8s.

[MunoRN, RN]

I'm not sure how working 12 hour shifts really makes any of that worse. I agree that it would suck to have a 2 hour commute to work, but why would it be better to have to do that 5 times a week instead of 3? Would you really feel more like driving an hour to do things on your days off if you only had 2 days off a week and were driving long distances the other 5?

[AuDDoc]

you can't find anything to do on your days off? I work 4 10's and I have find plenty to do on my days off. I would love to work 3 12's if they would let me! If you're that unhappy with your schedule then change jobs? There isn't another hospital/clinic within less than a 2 hour drive from you?

[Aurora77]

I can relate to the OP. I worked 12 hour nights for several years and it seemed like I never had time to do things outside the house. When I worked several days in a row, I didn't do anything besides work and sleep because 3-4 hours of sleep doesn't work for me. I also had trouble switching back to a semi day time schedule and spent one, if not two days, recovering from my shifts.

I made the switch to 8 hour days Mon-fri and love it. I ever thought I'd give up those 4 days off but I feel so much more energetic and well rested. I actually have time to do things after work without cutting into my sleep time.

You may want to look into a schedule change, OP. It's not for everyone, big I've had a huge improvement in my quality of life.

[MunoRN, RN]

I think we sometimes make the mistake of comparing 8 and 12 hour shifts based on what length of shift it would be preferable to do while working days. Really, it doesn't matter which shift length day shifters prefer, the purpose of of 12 hour shifts is that it makes working nights far more tolerable for most workers, and there really is no shift length on days that is worse than any shift length on nights. So the reason why day shifters work 12 hour shifts is so the night shifters can as well.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

There are pros and cons to every schedule. If you were working 5 8s a week, you would be able to find negatives in that situation as well.

If you don't have the option of working 8s, then you might want to try to reflect upon how you can begin to see the positives in your life as opposed to focusing on the negatives.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Look for another job that's Mon-Fri then. I never thought I wanted a Mon-Fri, but now that I've had one for 3 + years, I can't imagine going back. Also, join meetup.

[champagnesupeRNova]

Yup, this is the ultimate paradox of a 12-hour shift/every other weekend schedule. I feel you. But I also would never go back to working 8-hour days/5 days a week - sucked the life out of me.

[TriciaJ, RN]

That is why I never voluntarily worked 12 hour shifts. Some people love them, and all that time off looks good on paper. But it didn't work for me. No work-life balance. My favourite was 10 hr shifts, when I had a long commute. Only had to do it 4 days a week; 10 hrs gave me more breathing room than 8, so I was actually less stressed after a 10 hr day.

But 12s? Not for me.