Working the Graveyard

By DENNIS NISHI

When everyone else is finishing their workdays, Abraham Gonzalez is just getting started with his. The 25-year-old dispatcher works at Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal, an export logistics company.

Dennis Nishi

The big draw is higher pay. Many companies pay more because of the difficulty in finding workers who are willing to stay on late shifts.

Mr. Gonzalez recently requested a later shift, 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., so he could go to school in the mornings to study computer programming. He's actually one of nearly 15 million Americans who have chosen to work evenings and weekends, according to a 2004 report (the most recent available) by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Working the night shift is a trend that has most likely increased during the recession, says Mark Jelfs, spokesman for Milwaukee staffing firm Manpower, which regularly surveys clients.

That's due, in part, to globalization and the need to work in different time zones and because many companies have opted to add more shifts over hiring more staff or buying new equipment. This has created some opportunities for workers who are willing to invert their waking lives to fit company needs.

The big draw is higher pay. Many companies pay more because of the difficulty in finding workers who are willing to stay on late shifts.

Working the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. graveyard shift also can be one way to avoid having your hours cut, says Matthew Schuyler, Hilton Worldwide's chief human-resources officer. Companies routinely "load balance" their staffing needs, cutting back or adding shifts as needed to meet business demand. "It happens all the time...even between hotels. When one property is not busy, you may work at another in the evenings," he says.

Working the night shift can have serious health risks, however, says James Maas, a sleep researcher at Cornell University. "The main problem lies with being able to get a consistent eight hours of sleep. Shift workers will often end up sacrificing some sleep so they can participate in the lives of friends and family." This can lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease and other health issues.

Keeping a regular routine is critical, say experts, who recommend waking up and going to sleep at the same time every day. You also should eat three regular meals at the same intervals that you would during the day. Ease into any big shift changes by moving forward, with the clock, instead of backward and stretch the process out over a week or more. If possible, work a day shift first, swing shift and then graveyard shift.

Because daylight is an alerting mechanism, getting to sleep after completing a shift can be difficult. Wear dark glasses on the commute home and minimize the use of laptop and desktop computers, televisions and any portable devices that have backlit screens. Recent studies have found that the light emitted by electronic devices can inhibit the production of melatonin, a hormone that signals the body to enter sleep mode.