Shift Differential Pay

[rogue]

I've only worked one overnight job before and got differential pay. My current job doesn't pay it. However, they're willing to consider it if we can come up with valid reasons besides it being a hard shift to find people to work and you have no true life.

So what are some reasons behind it, besides working a shift most people won't work?

Please help me give them a few good reasons to pay me more!

Thanks! :D

[Ninjakel]

It totally esses your sleep schedule up.

No life

harder to deal with with a family

[tommymac]

night differential whats that :(

The deal I have now is I work 36 hrs instead of 40 each week. Sometimes i weasel it down to 32 because I forgot what days I was supposed to start 2 hrs earlier ;)

tom

[Papa_Complex]

Daycare/babysitters. Hopefully they don't know how old your kids are ;)

[smileyman]

Additional food costs if there aren't good overnight eateries nearby? Transport or sitting costs for your kids during your sleep hours?
Alot of places pay a differential simply because it is hard to attract workers to the late/overnight shifts. Good luck with that one in this job market though.

[Apoc]

Its just a quality of life issue :shrug The body is meant to be asleep at night, Night shifts really mess with your body and biological clock. They should be paying premiums without reason, out of repect for their employees.

[Adeptus_Minor]

Its just a quality of life issue :shrug The body is meant to be asleep at night, Night shifts really mess with your body and biological clock. They should be paying premiums without reason, out of repect for their employees.

Exactly.
While there are a few people who can do it with few noticeable consequences, most of us suffer a varying degree of health detriment from consistent night work.

[Destitute]

The only reason an employer would pay more is because they need to. Does the night shift have high turnover? Poorer quality production? More scrap? Less throughput?

[Apoc]

If you need a good reason though, its to deal with medical costs associated with health problems that arise as a result of working night shifts. Insomnia, eating disorders, stomach problems...

[rogue]

Thanks. I've heard working overnights long term could have medical issues associated with it a long time ago, but completely forgot about that until it was brought up.

I'm off to do some research on long term medical issues working overnights. Thanks!

[Apoc]

ive been a shift worker for ever now, cant say i like it, but I make great money.

But, its hard as hell on the body and impossible to have a normal life switching shifts every few days. We do 3 days, 3 days off, 3 nights, 3 days off, 3 days, 3 days off, etc etc. Plus i work a ton of overtime. My clock is completely fucked.

[Sixxxxer]

What more reason do they need your first post is reason enough...Its a Shitty shift. And your willing to work it they SHOULD Pay you more without having to ask why you think you need it.

Sleep is FUCKED...and when you need to get shit done during the day its harder b/c your trying to rest and you have to stay up and overwork yourself...I do it all the time at work, My sleep schedule is JACKED.

[rogue]

In my field, the overnight shift isn't nearly as busy as any other shift. For the most part, we're dead shortly after midnight. We have nothing productive to do either.

We're required by UL to have 2 licensed operators in the system at all times. In order for us to have breaks and lunches, we need at least three people in the system during shift. However as busy as we are at night, two people can handle the signal flow effectively and still be bored (been there: done that when we're shorthanded).

If I look at it as from a productive side, our shift doesn't handle enough signals to compensate for extra pay. Nor is there much extra work we could do to compensate for a pay increase either. And trust me, I've tried finding stuff for my shift to do. There's not much we can do within the scope of our abilities with it being at nighttime. I can understand somewhat why they don't feel the need to give us shift pay from productivity angle.

I don't bitch much about the pay as there are other benefits. I don't pay for health insurance, which our insurance looks pretty good on paper. $20 copay, $10 or less on meds. I haven't used it yet though. When my mom was so sick last year and I missed alot of work due to that and her death, they gave me extra days on my check to make up some of my lost time aside from the standard one day I was given for a death in the family. They've been good to me in other ways too.

However, better pay would be most awesome. I'd want to stay on this shift instead of considering asking to be placed on another shift as I am now.

[Flexin]

In my field, the overnight shift isn't nearly as busy as any other shift. For the most part, we're dead shortly after midnight. We have nothing productive to do either.

We're required by UL to have 2 licensed operators in the system at all times. In order for us to have breaks and lunches, we need at least three people in the system during shift. However as busy as we are at night, two people can handle the signal flow effectively and still be bored (been there: done that when we're shorthanded).

If I look at it as from a productive side, our shift doesn't handle enough signals to compensate for extra pay. Nor is there much extra work we could do to compensate for a pay increase either. And trust me, I've tried finding stuff for my shift to do. There's not much we can do within the scope of our abilities with it being at nighttime. I can understand somewhat why they don't feel the need to give us shift pay from productivity angle.

I don't bitch much about the pay as there are other benefits. I don't pay for health insurance, which our insurance looks pretty good on paper. $20 copay, $10 or less on meds. I haven't used it yet though. When my mom was so sick last year and I missed alot of work due to that and her death, they gave me extra days on my check to make up some of my lost time aside from the standard one day I was given for a death in the family. They've been good to me in other ways too.

However, better pay would be most awesome. I'd want to stay on this shift instead of considering asking to be placed on another shift as I am now.

If your company is providing 24 hour monitoring then they need the night shift no matter how productive it is. Without you and your co workers they can't provide the service they are selling.

James