Many people today have jobs that involve shift work. Do the advantages of these jobs outweigh the disadvantages?

Many people today have jobs that involve shift work.

Do the advantages of these jobs outweigh the disadvantages?

There are many people who have jobs that require them to work outside conventional office hours. However, although shift work offers employees a number of advantages, I believe that the negative impacts it has on people’s health and relationships are far greater.

On the one hand, it cannot be denied that shift work is financially rewarding. Employers understand that people don’t want to work anti-social hours, so they usually pay more for evening, weekend and night shifts. Another plus point is being able to combine work with study. Shift workers can attend class during the day and earn money to pay for their education at night. Finally, there is the benefit of travelling to and from work during off-peak hours, when there is less traffic on the road and, therefore, less congestion.

However, despite these positives, I believe that there are far more damaging negatives associated with working shifts. First, shift work can make it difficult to maintain personal relationships. Not only do shift workers spend less time with their families in the evenings, they are also likely to be tired and irritable when they do see them, which can lead to arguments and even divorce. I feel that maintaining healthy family connections is much more important than avoiding traffic. However, the most significant argument against working nights is the impact that it can have on a person’s health. Depression can become a problem as sleeping during the day goes against our natural body clock and can leave people feeling permanently jet lagged. Even worse, workplace accidents are much more likely to occur during the small hours of the morning than during the day and, in my opinion, no amount of extra pay is worth risking your life for.

To sum up, while shift workers can earn high salaries and gain an education, they are also more likely to suffer from serious health conditions or have a workplace accident. Therefore, in my opinion, the upsides of working shifts do not outweigh the downsides.