Life Advice: DO NOT TAKE THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT

7/26/2024

I'm not very old, and certainly not wise, so I'm a bit trepidatious to hand out life lessons. However, this is one I'm fairly confident about: Do not work overnights. Just don't. I understand, however, that sometimes we've just got to do certain things to get by. That's how I found myself working overnights, alone, in a gas station for one year. I had lost a few opportunities after the pandemic, and needed to pick up something quick. When I look back on that circumstance, I would still advise past me to not do it and keep looking for something else.

Looking back, that year was one of my most stressful, ever. I was more irritable, inaccessible, and unhappy than I realized until I got a "normal" job again. Working retail and front-facing customer service is already one of the hardest things of all, and if you don't believe that, you haven't done it! I'll elaborate on my specific job and lifestyle, but I'll also try to paint this in broad strokes.

Someone might be reading this, thinking "Hey, it works for me! I was/am just fine!". If that's the case, that's good for you. I mean that. I wish sarcasm didn't ruin that phrase, because it's pretty useful. Anyway, I am still going to tell everyone I know not to do it. I will additionally concede that working with others has to lessen the load. But again, I was all alone. So, here's why you shouldn't do it.

Eventually, Even Your "Up Late" Friends Will Go To Bed

My shift began at 10PM and ended at 6AM. Even at a gas station, it will slow down eventually, and I would have some time to screw around on my phone. One of the things that tougher and tougher to swallow is how divorced from my usual accompaniment I would be as the night dragged on. Even friends who were notorious night owls wouldn't make it the whole night. Twitter slowed down to a crawl. My posts and cries for help would rarely be seen. Hearing "Good night" or "Gotta go" when you've got four hours can sting, hard.

It definitely contributed to the sense that I could be in danger at any time. Not that most of my online friends could help me, nor could my local ones quickly if I were in some horrible situation. This is of course, not the fault of the friends and allies. I would really prefer no one force themselves awake for that long for my comfort. The ideal solution, of course, is to have a fucking coworker, but apparently it's perfectly legal not to. If some social interaction puts you at ease, you might have to find something else to take the edge off.

Adjusting Is Harder Than You Think

Even with all the stress in my body after a shift, it's not like I was tired, even as the clock turned to 7, 8AM. If anything, the relief and release of tension would keep me awake. My feet would hurt like hell though, which was a definite incentive to lie down and relax. When am I supposed to sleep, exactly?

Trying to sleep in the daytime is not easy. Try it. Try sleeping only when the sun is up. Sure, you can invest in stuff like blackout curtains and try to immerse yourself in total darkness for a genuine sleeping experience, but it's unnatural and takes a ton of training. And, of course, the situation will be inverted from your night-time isolation. Your friends will be awake, running errands, perhaps gaming without you, and you'll be a groggy mess at 3pm, when your day starts.

Whatever creative idea you might have for getting used to it, it's gonna be tough. Your body isn't gonna like eating on a weird schedule (I seem to have a particular sensitivity to this, for whatever reason), you're going to have to rearrange any friend time and activities. And what about your days off? Are you gonna stick to night life, or try to get back to some normalcy? You might be able to feel this one out on a day to day basis, but get ready for headaches, fatigue, and general unpleasantness. For me, this never stopped being awkward and difficult, even after a year. Seeing friends was hard. Finding time for errands and housekeeping when I so regularly felt ill took a mental toll.

One of the first weekends after I made the switch to doing five nights a week, I was sick all weekend. I don't believe I caught a cold or anything, I just couldn't feel better no matter how many short naps I took and water I drank. I wasted an entire Saturday just trying to feel better at all. And I had company over! It was sad. If you want to avoid ever feeling like that, stay on the day shift.

3AM Really Is A Different Dimension, And You Are Its Guardian

This one has a humorous bend to it, but I present it as a warning. Being frank, shit is just different at 3AM. This is the hour where you will meet the strangest people, unusual, possibly supernatural occurrences will happen. This is most often when I would have to do things like call ambulances for an old guy having a heart attack because he downed a Mountain Dew too fast. This is when people would pass out in the parking lot. This is when people are on their last legs with no phone charger, no money, and nothing to drink. I always gave people free water and ice, sometimes in our own cups that you're supposed to pay for, because who gives a shit?

If you're working overnights, you're much more likely to be someone's only hope at that hour. This kind of thing can go beyond simple kind favors like phone calls and water, and sadly you'll have to sniff out what you're willing to do for someone and what keeps you feeling safe. If you're not working with the public (maybe you're in a warehouse, or some business that closes its doors overnight), the situation is sort of reversed. You or any coworkers aren't terribly likely to have any extra help or hands if something goes awry. For better, and more often, worse, overnight is time to lock in, because the pressure is on.

Please do not work overnights. I am begging you. If you've got do what you've got to do, I wish you the best of luck and I implore you to take care of yourself. Your health is never worth it for some job. If it's working for you, stay strong.

That's all for now. Good luck bearing the curse of employment!

- James