The one thing that really gets me about shift switches isn't the lack of sleep, it's the nausea.
I don't know if other people struggle with this, but my body is very quick to tell me how much it hates me when I suddenly change routine. It has an angry Italian washerwoman feel about it.
It's a sure sign I'm not cut out for shift work and after 15 years of riding this rollercoaster, I can assure you that I can't wait to get off.
Last year, tired of the low pay, terrible hours and lack of career development at my last job, I literally threw myself off. Hurling myself into the unknown darkness of freelancing.
I survived my fall from full time employment and while there were tough times as you'd expect, my personal health is as good as it's been my entire adult life. I feel like the sea monkey that lived to see its grandchildren.
Now returning to shift work, I thank my lucky stars and pat my tummy that it's only for 3 months.
One of the surreal aspects of 12 hour shifts is that you see the same people come and go at the start and end of every shift. It's like a perpetual groundhog day and you certainly begin to feel the wheel around you. Days feel half as long and shifts feel like they need their own designated name as opposed to day of the week.
Today I am on Tedenuesday and it's half past chipmunk coming up to sick time.
I don't know if other people struggle with this, but my body is very quick to tell me how much it hates me when I suddenly change routine. It has an angry Italian washerwoman feel about it.
It's a sure sign I'm not cut out for shift work and after 15 years of riding this rollercoaster, I can assure you that I can't wait to get off.
Last year, tired of the low pay, terrible hours and lack of career development at my last job, I literally threw myself off. Hurling myself into the unknown darkness of freelancing.
I survived my fall from full time employment and while there were tough times as you'd expect, my personal health is as good as it's been my entire adult life. I feel like the sea monkey that lived to see its grandchildren.
Now returning to shift work, I thank my lucky stars and pat my tummy that it's only for 3 months.
One of the surreal aspects of 12 hour shifts is that you see the same people come and go at the start and end of every shift. It's like a perpetual groundhog day and you certainly begin to feel the wheel around you. Days feel half as long and shifts feel like they need their own designated name as opposed to day of the week.
Today I am on Tedenuesday and it's half past chipmunk coming up to sick time.
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