What shift do you work and do you like it?

[CorpSec]

I am a dyed in the wool nidnight shift guy. Thankfully, I work for a big employer that has management personnel on all 3 shifts. So, I was able to move up and not have to leave my preferred shift.

I did work afternoons for a brief time and it is tough on the personal life. You are gone when the majority of people are coming home from work and by the time you get off work, nobody wants to do anything since they are heading to sleep for their next day. That means you go out with the people you work with and the kinds of places you go to at 11 or midnight are mainly bars or casinos in these parts. By the time you get home and wind down it can be 2-3 in the morning. That way you wake up and before you know it you are heading back to work.

I just don't like days. My body doesn't adapt very well. The work tends to be a lot more along the lines of customer service as opposed to physical security.

I am also a rarity in that I don't mind weekends either. It is nice having days off during the week. When you go out, places aren't nearly as crowded and you can actually find someone to help you at a store.

[HotelSecurity]

I work an 8 hour shift & am on call until 5a,m. I tried working days but when you get woken up at 2a.m. & have to try & go back to sleep to get up at 5 it doesn't work, So I work 15h to 23h then stay up to 3, 4 or 5 & sleep until noon. I agree though, if I had it to do over I'd do the over nights. The 15h to 23h is really bad for family life BUT I've been doing it for most of my 30+ working years.

[ValleyOne]

I prefer overnights as well... One of my favorite shifts was working 3 12's 18 to 06. Plus I had 4 (count 'em F O U R) days off!!!

The upswing to that was the city cops work a wierd rotating 12 hour shift so they would work 2 then off 2 then work 3 and then be off for 3, I would work fri thru sun. So the PD's shifts allowed them all to have everyother weekend off, which was fine by me as it I only had to see a 'team' of cops that didn't get along with security every other weekend. The county guys that I had the pleasure to work with were all great guys as well the state police.

[davis002]

I don't get the convenience of a set schedule. Almost everyday is different. One day i'll work in the morning, then the next an overnight, then the next an afternoon.

[N. A. Corbier]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/04/30

I perfer to be asleep before the burning orb rises. As someone once said, "In our business, its great after dark. Its only you and the bad guys."

When I worked 6P to 6A, this was especially true at midnight. All problems, all distractions, went to bed. Then it was just us and the drug dealers, and the game of "Can I get onto the property to meet my supplier in an apartment without security seeing me?"

9 times out of 10, no, they could not, and the supplier was evicted. No matter what kind of security you work, its usually quieter at night. Static corporate posts usually only have one or two late night people working, if at all.

[CorpSec]

I am lucky in that I have between 3 and 5 officers working overnights. That lets everyone rotate posts regularly and keep fresh. It is also an added bonus that the guys all get along and are even friendly outside of work.

Working overnights alone can get to be a long pull. Having someone to shoot the breeze with makes the time go by a lot faster.

Working alone wasn't bad during college since there weren't many interruptions to my studying. I also don't know how I did it without internet access. For me, web surfing during the down times keeps my mind "working".

[N. A. Corbier]

Lot of places I worked, having things like books, magazines, TVs, computers, etc was a distraction. You were expected to stay awake by your own means (i.e. bring lots of coffee) and continuously patrol the property, as that's what the client contracted service for.

Not sitting at a specific place, constant patrol. You were to only sit down to write your log entries once per hour.

Sounds great on paper, doesn't it?

[Mall Director]

My luxury.. 24/7.. Typically its days and evenings. I end up with 14-16 hour days.. Get called in late at night any day of the week..

What ever goes wrong, I am the first to get it! LOL! I do get to make my schedule though, but its pointless since I am there all the time anyways! No OT for me!

[CorpSec]

Continous patrolling is a recipe for high turnover. You wouldn't keep good people for long when you are wearing out there shoe leather while the other companies or sites have a nice mix of static and patrol posts. People need to work smarter, not necessarily harder.

I actually am a proponent of fewer, longer, more thorough patrols. I have seen it where the patrols are stacked up like cord wood and officers race through them and never really find anything of substance.

I think the getting what we are paying for mentality is more prevalent in contract security. I worked accounts in my contract days where we were doing all sorts of value added tasks such as alphabetizing the Wall Street Journals that were delivered for all the execs. This was slightly better than delivering the tins of cookies to each desk during Christmas.

[N. A. Corbier]

There was no "you will do a guard tour once per hour." There was, "Keep your butt out of the office, and keep on patrol." Patrol meaning "providing detection and apprehension services" for the 12 hours. No detex clocks or anything, just "keep moving."

[james2go30]

So true

Continous patrolling is a recipe for high turnover. You wouldn't keep good people for long when you are wearing out there shoe leather while the other companies or sites have a nice mix of static and patrol posts. People need to work smarter, not necessarily harder.

I actually am a proponent of fewer, longer, more thorough patrols. I have seen it where the patrols are stacked up like cord wood and officers race through them and never really find anything of substance.

I think the getting what we are paying for mentality is more prevalent in contract security. I worked accounts in my contract days where we were doing all sorts of value added tasks such as alphabetizing the Wall Street Journals that were delivered for all the execs. This was slightly better than delivering the tins of cookies to each desk during Christmas.

Yea my patrols tend to be long as I have various areas I like observe for any problems. I agree if you run through a patrol you are not really doing anything of vale because you are bound to miss things, some of the stuff you miss could or could not be a major incident happening or brewing. We get 10-15 mins between patrols and 30 min break so I have no prob taking long patrols...where a lot of the other officers are finished damn near right after they started one.

[james2go30]

3rd shift

I like 3rd shift the best...but 1st ain't too bad either.

[CorpSec]

There was no "you will do a guard tour once per hour." There was, "Keep your butt out of the office, and keep on patrol." Patrol meaning "providing detection and apprehension services" for the 12 hours. No detex clocks or anything, just "keep moving."

I would have worked an account like that just long enough to get a transfer to another one or to find another company to work for.

I have worked places where you walked for 30, sat for 30, on 8 hour shifts. That isn't bad, but constant patrolling would burn officers out in record time.

[Bill Warnock]

I would have worked an account like that just long enough to get a transfer to another one or to find another company to work for.

I have worked places where you walked for 30, sat for 30, on 8 hour shifts. That isn't bad, but constant patrolling would burn officers out in record time.

CorpSec, being on constant patrol like Nathan suggests sharpens your skills aids you in the constant game of "cat and mouse" and makes you a better security or law enforcement professional. If we mark time like I've seen others do, makes you develop a lack luster personality and not helpful to the profession you choose.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[CorpSec]

CorpSec, being on constant patrol like Nathan suggests sharpens your skills aids you in the constant game of "cat and mouse" and makes you a better security or law enforcement professional. If we mark time like I've seen others do, makes you develop a lack luster personality and not helpful to the profession you choose.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

I disagree. Humans have been shown to be able to be on high alert for only so long before fatigue sets in and people get sloppy.

If not being on constant patrol makes you develop a lackluster personality and not helpful to the profession you chose than every police officer I have ever rode along with(probably 50+ with my internship) and every security officer I have ever worked with (at least a 100 in 15 years) has not been helpful to their chosen profession. I know that not to be a fact.