Working shifts

Former Member

Like a lot of people I work shifts, sometimes 6-3, sometimes 10/11-7.30. I also don't know which days of the week I'll have off so I don't really know what I'm doing later than 2 weeks in advance.

I know a lot of others do this too so I'm wondering how it fits into dating. All my relationships have always been long distance so I've never had a case of just meeting up for an evening drink, it's had to be weekend stays which I practically never get both days off, one if I'm lucky.

So what do I do? I think it's partly putting me off dating some people because I think we'll never get to see each other or have quality time

Former Member

The supermarket I used to work at changed to a shitty rota system like that where I never knew what my shifts would be more than 2 weeks in advance so it was impossible to plan anything without booking time off or doing it on a day I knew I wouldn't be working. I often got the crappy evening shifts too so I'd often be working 2-10pm with a 40 min drive either side. I personally didn't bother with dating at the time because I just wasn't interested but that was more to me being fed up with the whole dating thing and less so than my unsociable working hours, but it did come into it. Do you have any days that you know you won't be working? When I had to put down my availability I made sure I had saturdays and wednesdays off.

Former Member

I thought this was going to be 'I have so many sexual partners, should i sort them into shifts ?' kinda thing

Former Member

Heh I wish

That's parts of the unstableness of it all is that I can't get into a routine. Today for example I finished at 7.30 and am starting at 6 tomorrow so up at 5, less than 9 hours before I've even gotten home. And because of that sometimes I can't be bothered to be sociable, sometimes I have so much time and nothing planned.

I might ask for at least one regular day off, or since I'm doing my assistant manager training I can ask if me and the other managers can have a whole weekend off each every 3 weeks so we cover each other, at least then I guess I could make plans.
Otherwise it's happened before where I physically can't see somebody because our free time never matches, its ridiculous

Former Member

It's difficult. Once you're actually seeing someone it settles down a bit because then you learn to fit around each other.

Sounds like a plan worth asking about with you and the other managers though.

**helen**

Scary Monster wrote: »

It's difficult. Once you're actually seeing someone it settles down a bit because then you learn to fit around each other.

This - I think the key is good communication and being able to find a balance between work, seeing friends and dates

It sounds like you've been seeing a guy recently (other thread) how has that been working out with the shifts thing?

Former Member

Oh well he lives about 2 hours away and he only came down because he happened to have a weeks holiday. Otherwise he works monday to friday and i never get the weekend off, one day if im lucky