3 Reasons You Might Want to Consider Quitting Night Shift

Reasons To Quit Night Shift

There are several benefits to working the night shift, but it also presents some significant drawbacks. Here are a few of those drawbacks to help you decide if working those late hours is right for you.

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In today’s world, many businesses often want (or need) to be open 24/7. While this is usually an excellent strategy for a growing organization, someone must work those late hours. 

Unfortunately, those night shifts can often be tied to serious problems. If any of the reasons we provide below sound severe enough to you, it might be time to look for another career opportunity or change up shifts.

Reasons Quit Night Shift

1. The Circadian Rhythm and Health Problems

Did you know your body has a natural clock built in - it's called your circadian rhythm. That's what tells you when it's time to sleep and keeps your internal systems moving at the proper rate - timing your entire life.

The night shift goes directly against your circadian rhythm. That is, if you're one of the majority of people who are active during the day and sleep at night. 

Suddenly shifting your sleep pattern to work nights throws your circadian rhythm for a loop. As such, many people who work the night shift experience significant health concerns. 

Heart attacks, blood pressure issues, and other cardiovascular problems can come at an increased risk for those who have been working the night shift for an extended period of time. 

2. Safety Concerns

Besides worrying about their health, some night shift workers often stress about falling victim to potential criminals. In retail and other security-related roles, night shift employees are either by themselves or with very few coworkers - making it easier for a crime to take place.

Another concern to consider is how well you work during those late hours. It could pose a risk if you operate heavy equipment late at night but aren’t a “night person,” for example. No job is worth getting hurt or accidentally hurting someone else over. 

3. Productivity Drops

Finally, if you notice that you don’t get a lot done working the night shift hours, maybe it’s time to call it quits. 

You're naturally used to doing things during the day, but when you don't get off until early in the morning, you overcompensate with sleep. This reduces your ability to be productive on those days off if you don’t allocate your daily time correctly.

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"Night shift workers sleep less hours, had higher weight, body mass index and abdominal circumference when compared to the day shift workers. Night shift workers had almost 3 times higher association with abdominal obesity independent of age and gender, than day shift workers."

— DMS Journal

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Wrapping Up | Working the Night Shift

Throughout many industries today, having employees work the night shift is a necessary part of the regular workday. Organizations operate through those late nights to generate as much volume as possible and meet the demands of their clients.

For many workers, the extra pay garnered by working the night shift isn’t worth the problems it causes. With that said, some people are wired differently. Night owls can typically pull off the night shift without too much worry. So, which are you?

We hope this helps, and best of luck in your career! 

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Title: 3 Reasons You Might want to Consider QuWantng Night Shift

Category: Career Development

Tags: reasons to quit night shift, reasons to work night shift, is night shift worth it, working at night, working graveyard, night shift depression, is working night shift bad for your health

Co-Author: Becky is a contributor for theJub. She’s a writing and talent acquisition specialist who loves to apply her skills through creative writing and editing.