As someone at work this morning said. What era? Well, today marks the last time I, and the others who I work with most regularly, will be doing one of our double shift Sundays, as our new roster, compliant with the revised rostering principles handed down from company HQ, comes into force at the end of the month. There's been much talk from the upper echelons in the company about dealing with 'excessive fatigue', making it sound like there's some concern for the workforce, but, in reality, I suspect that it has more to do with fear of ambulance chasing lawyers should there be an incident which could be traced back to shift patterns. If it was really about 'fatigue', I wouldn't be finding myself working four extra Sundays in each thirty week roster cycle, as I will be from January. How can working all those extra weekends be seen as less fatiguing? It doesn't, I suppose, matter to those who have drawn up and implemented the policy, because they don't work weekends anyway. Cynical, moi?
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
I am SOOOOO thankful that I am no longer ON CALL, or expected to BE THERE or any of that crap. I work Monday through Friday, 8:00AM-4:30PM, and short of a nuclear meltdown in our data center, that's it. Thank God (I know you are an atheist, but only a higher power could come up with this work schedule).
ReplyDeleteI have worked rotating shifts, and they suck. Much research has shown that rotating workers are more fatigued, less alert, etc. than those on set shifts. The best you can hope for is seniority picks of which shift you want to work for 6-12 months, then a rotation. It's amazing to me that in so many safety critical jobs have workers in long, rotating shifts with some changes in hours being less than a reasonable amount of time for total rest. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing. Imagine getting a lie-in once in a while!
Peace <3
Jay
Hello Jay
DeleteI'm so used to working shifts - I've been at it for 35 years, all bar a couple of weeks, after all! - that I find 'office hours', on the very rare occasions I work them, difficult to cope with. What I do want, though, is to minimise the number of days I have to attend, which is exactly what this new roster fails to do. And this strange phrase you use - 'lie-in'? I'm not familiar with that one!!
Love & best wishes
Sammy B