Posted by maxmillan on June 17, 2009 at 10:27:01:I'm very concerned about my health with swing shifts. The shifts are 7am to 4pm and 4pm to 11pm. Now my company has added a third shift 11pm to 6pm.
The shifts alternate for 11 weeks. one week with morning (7am to 4pm) and one week afternoon (4pm to 11pm.) Every twelfth week I do a graveyard shift for one week. Then it goes back to the eleven weeks of alternating morning and afternoon.
In my younger years I have done occassional graveyards but now I'm approaching menopausal years and I already feel the hormones going wild. My work is physical most of the time, especially the afternoon and graveyard shifts.
I have been doing fine so far with morning and afternoon swing shifts but I'm worried that adding a graveyard will make it more harmful and difficult. It is only every twelfth week that I will be doing graveyard. Should I have any concerns for my health? Is it more the long term graveyard work that causes health problems?