Night shift is the fucking best if you have ADHD. You have no traffic at all on your commute to and from work, you just show up and do your job (no useless phone calls or emails to distract you), you eat lunch at like fuckin 1am so there’s no crowd, you get done with your work and just clock out (no stupid-ass meetings), and when you get home you just crash and sleep for as long as you want. Wake up at like noon, and you’ve got the whole afternoon to run errands or fuck off, and then casually go back to work that night.

Mixed bag in my opinion.

The good: No traffic, get to know yourself better since you have a lot of time for reflection, discover way more media (podcasts, books, games, movies) because you’re always doing the night owl thing, always have an excuse to get out of social events during the day time, easy to go to doctor appointments during the day before work, feels like you have a ton of free time, usually meet interesting people on the night shift (see bad part of this below), get to dress down, don’t have to see a high level boss usually, things feel more profound late at night - you’ll have a much deeper appreciation for all that media I described (try some music or an audiobook at night - better yet, try writing. I always feel things deeper at night), get to see the moon all the time which I absolutely love more than anything, etc.

The bad: sleep schedule will be like being a teenager again, there will be days where the sun is shining and you can hear lawnmowers which will make you sleep like garbage, you’ll probably eat like shit, seeing friends and family is hard, friends and family will not understand that you need to sleep during the day - trust me, you’ll meet the outcasts of society on night shift along with all those interesting people I mentioned and some of them will be weird or off-putting, you’ll feel super lonely at times but it’ll be kind of nice somehow (???), you’ll have too much time alone with your thoughts, you’ll be doing shit during the day but have work hanging over your head for hours whereas normal people work and have free time after work to look forward to, driving home tired in the early morning is like having a hangover somehow, etc.

Personally, I’m glad I’m not doing it these days. After COVID, stores aren’t open 24/7 anymore. Night shopping on days off was the best and not being able to get stuff at night now sucks.

Overnight wasn’t bad because I could sleep while the kiddo was at school. 2nd is pretty rough though if you have a family.

I grew up with a dad that regularly worked nights, and I worked nights for a few years when I first moved out. It will definitely mess with family plans, especially if you have young kids. Holidays and get togethers often mean getting less sleep so you can get up and travel or cook on a day shift schedule. Invest in a white noise machine or app if you aren’t a deep sleeper, and get a sleeping mask or blackout curtains.

Depending on what time you get off anything before early afternoon is now in the middle of the night for you. All your errands have to be run within the first hour or two after waking up, unless you want to try doing it at ass o’clock in the morning after working all night.

Despite the problems I honestly did enjoy working night shift, I’m a night owl anyway and night shifts are usually quieter. It also helps if you live in a large city with more 24 hour stores.

Are you already a night owl? If so, it’s fine. Just working, very few distractions, no meetings.

If you’re a Sun child, it’s going to be horrible. I can’t give specifics because I’m a night owl, but from what others have told me, it’s awful.

The night shift for me was the purest form of hell. My favorite shift was the 2-10, 3-11.

I did 4 years of nights. The real trick is being able to sleep during the day. So whatever ear plugs, face mask, blackout curtains you need, make sure they work for you. I generally would work up to it staying up until 2 AM, then 5 AM, then going to work. I believe that most people found that they had more time with their family because instead of being at work 8-12 hours during the day, they were only sleeping 6-7, and were home when their kids were getting up, going to school, coming home, etc.

Look up “night shift belly.” I did night audit at a hotel for a year and a half. By the end, I could only really stomach eating the kale salad from Whole Foods and not much else.

It also wrecked my social life and when I got sick, I got really sick, so I think my immune system was out of whack in general.

Like others have said, the commute is a dream. The shift itself is quiet with plenty of time to have deep conversations with any coworkers you may have, read, listen to podcasts, etc. It’s like living in a different world.

I say give it a try, but listen to your body and find something else soon if your health is affected.

If it’s straight nights it might not be too bad. I worked 2 days/2 nights/4 off for about 13 years and I would not go back now that I’m in a 9-5.

Unless you’re getting decent compensation for it, I would try and find something else. Humans just aren’t nocturnal.

I worked graveyard shifts at a gas station for a year or two. My general experience beyond what other people have said–good commute, fucking with your social life, taking its toll on your body, all that–is that working graveyard shifts is lonely. I cannot understate how lonely it got; there were stretches of multiple hours where there were no customers at all, and it was just me and the long list of nightly chores I had to do (mopping floors, prepping food for breakfast rush, restocking shelves, etc., etc.). Not having any human contact at all fucks with your head something fierce, especially when you mix in sleep deprivation and your body rebelling against the normal sleep rhythm into the mix.

My advise is that if you’re going to be working night shift all alone, get into podcasts. Having a radio that I could use to listen to NPR was the main thing that kept me sane, because I could at least have a human voice to listen to and keep my mind somewhat engaged.

Mostly dark. But also quiet.

I personally love working nights. I’m not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. In fact I am actively worse at things the earlier I wake up. Conversely my brain feels clearer and more active after 10pm.

That being said, my social life is almost entirely online. I rarely go out IRL. I sleep like a rock and only need about 6 hours anyway.

If you are someone who needs to talk to people, has trouble sleeping during the day, or requires a lot of sleep, the night shift is likely not for you.

Some people are built for it, some aren’t.

I worked nights for fifteen straight years and honestly, it isn’t all bad… Provided you get the sleep sorted. The amount of people who rolled up thinking they could survive on 4 hours of sleep a day was pretty disturbing.

Worked them for some years and they literally caused me to start having panic attacks. Hate them.

Your concerns are valid, you absolutely will see your family less. If you’re not okay with that, that’s okay! Also keep in mind that the world is not on a night shift. It’s significantly harder to sleep normal hours when everything is going on the regular day schedule. That might not matter where you are but where I live that means more noise, more sirens, more people coming and going and keeping me awake. I’m a naturally light sleeper so when I had to work nights I had to go an extra mile or two. Blackout curtains are essential, and you may want to shove a towel under the door if the sun angle is unfavorable and shines it there. I also needed a facemask and ear plugs until I discovered I preferred a nice white noise maker. I still sleep with a white noise machine to this day, love it.

There are good things to night shift too. Less bullshit all around generally. Depending on what you’re doing that can be good or bad. It can be mind numbingly boring if you don’t have a set amount of work to do.