whats more family friendly...12 hr shifts or mon-fri 9-5?

BerryHappy · May 20, 2009

I am divorced mom of twin 12yo's. I tried 3-12 hour shifts per week for about 6 months. I was home more often, but I was EXHAUSTED the first day after 2 in a row. After 3 in a row, I was a horrible mother. I came home, sat on the couch and vegged out for at least 36 hours. I now work 5-8 hour shifts per week and am a much more pleasant person. I have a very dependable babysitter who arrives promptly at 6:30 am which gets me to work on-time every day at 7am. W/O her, this wouldn't work. Also, the little bump in pay from going from a 36 hour work week to a 40 hour work week is really nice. Most school events are between 3 and 5 so I miss out on them if I work a 7a-7:30p shift. More days off work for some people, but I think with younger children 8 hour shifts work better.

Good luck!

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · May 21, 2009

i think it depends on the person and situation. i absolutley hate 8-5 jobs m-f. i hate them with a passion and partly went into nursing to get away from them... they, for me, are not family friendly. i had no time to take my young ones to doctor appointments, run errands (lunch is 30 minutes so there is no time to run errands except to shove food into your face on your way to the post office and back), make personal phone calls (i had a boss that would listen to me on the phone, get sick (sick leave...? i have kids who took up my sick days), or take a pre-req course (mandatory meetings get in the way)... i also could not make more money because i was salaried and raises did not happen for me unless there was a general pay raise for everyone so i needed to work a second job but did not have time to do so working 8-5... i could go on... btw, my husband was miliatry at the time so i had no back up similar to a single mom,... i also had no family living near me so i was it for me and my kids...

now as a nurse who works 12s i have the option to work 3s in a row or 2s or scatter them around... i make doctor appointments for myself and my kids on my requested days off that do not take up vacation or sick leave days... i can run errands the other days of the week, i can pick up more hours if i need the money, i can get a second job and have worked a second job while being a nurse, i spend way more time with my kids now that i am not just picking them up and dropping them off.... (recall i have days off during the week), i can make personal phone calls from work if i have an emergency or not... i do not get breaks much but i did not with an 8-5 office job either (in my experience i never received 2 15 minute breaks working for any company before nursing... bosses in most jobs don't take breaks and frown on their subordinates doing so ...). thus, i have experienced the opposite then the above poster.... 8-5s made my life worse.

do not get me wrong, i get tired after 3 12s but i am young and healthy so i work out which helps my energy levels ... plus, i was more angry and frustrated as a non-nurse working 8-5s then i have ever been as a nurse working 12s. i snapped at my kids due to the lack of control i had over my strict redundant inflexible work schedule and the increasing responsibilities i had as a mother. now, i am a much more pleasant person... i have control.

for example, today i spent my day off shopping for things my kids need for school and things we need around the house. when i worked 8-5s i could only do these things on the weekends which made me even angrier because i never ever had time for me and i was surrounded by people whose only days off are the weekends... so the stores were always crowded and things i was looking for were out of stock. during the weekdays the stores are not packed... the lines are not long... and i have time to come home to rest while the kiddos are in school.

tamlp · May 21, 2009

Thanks for such great posts. It is really nice to hear opinions from people who have tried both. Does anyone out there work at a hospital that provides daycare for your kids? I heard of one in Nashville and I wondered if this was common. Any imput on this would be great. Thanks for posting

NeoNurseTX, RN · May 22, 2009

I've done 8 hour shifts M-F and it was HORRIBLE. I just can't deal with a high stress job that many days in a row. I do 12's on nights now and love it.

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · May 22, 2009

Does anyone out there work at a hospital that provides daycare for your kids? I heard of one in Nashville and I wondered if this was common. Any imput on this would be great.

I BELIEVE (but am not certain) that King's Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, KY provides low cost daycare onsite for kids.

marilynmom, LPN, NP · May 23, 2009

It depends on the JOB itself and the stress level. Not all Nursing Jobs are the same. There are laid back nursing jobs (which is what I have) and HIGH STRESS nursing jobs (what I did have).

I worked 3 12's in a level 1 ICU and it was hell. I never felt like I had 4 days a week off because they never scheduled us very well at all, I was tired and stressed out all the time--even on my days off. There was no way in hell I would work that job 5 days a week. The three days a week I did work I did NOT see or spend ANY time with my kids on those days, I really hated and resented that.

I now work nights (I love nights so this works well for me) 11p-7am five days a week and I LOVE it. It's a very laid back job though. I wake up about 2pm and have all day to do stuff with my kids/family/dr's appt's/etc. I have time *every day* with my kids unlike when I did 12's. On my days off I easy flip back to days.

Most of the clinics jobs that my friends have are the best though....8-4p mon-thurs and on fri they only work 8-1 and have all weekends, holidays, etc off. Heaven :)

So like I said, it ALL depends on the job.

Editorial Team / Moderator · May 24, 2009

Most of the clinics jobs that my friends have are the best though....8-4p mon-thurs and on fri they only work 8-1 and have all weekends, holidays, etc off. Heaven :)
So like I said, it ALL depends on the job.

See, now my perfect schedule would be Friday-Saturday-Sunday every week. My husband is a tattoo artist, and works every weekend. so our "weekend" is Tuesday and Wednesday. I love having weekdays off -- we never have to worry about places being crowded, etc. :)

flightnurse2b, LPN · May 24, 2009

i prefer my 12 hour shifts. i did my 3 days last week in a row, and now have 4 off in a row to enjoy the rainy holiday weekend....i have the option to pick up more shifts if i want to, but i get all my hours in 3 days and it gives me a nice break from work, if i had to be there 5 days a week i would lose it!!!