Pay increases & perks.

[stui magpie]

Yeah, I did similar at Telecom. Started as an asst Staff Clerk, staff clerk, Asst Personnel officer, Personnel manager, HR Advisor, HR Manager, Snr HR consultant, worked in Hawthorn, Port Melbourne and at least 6 different CBD offices. Never got around to doing Uni and never needed it. Another bloke I worked with started as an apprentice refrigeration mechanic and just kept going to night school. Last thing I knew he had an Engineering degree and an MBA and was a project manager.

But, Davids mate sounds like he's been doing the same job in the same place for 30+ years, hence my comments.

You would have also known blokes who worked on the assembly line at Holden who had been doing the same thing for decades. 3 weeks to learn how to do it, then spend 30 years repeating it. A manager I worked for described that as not being 30 years experience but 3 weeks experience repeated for 30 years.

[Skids]

Anyone done night shift work?

I tried once about 7 years ago to help out on a shut down. On the 3rd night I was severely fatigued due to not being able to sleep more than an hour or 2 on the preceeding nights.

I've been a manual worker for over 40 years that has seen me as a morning person. I very rarely am still in bed after 5am, work day or not. In fact, for the past 10 years, my usual wake time has been around 3am to either; run, swim, hit the gym or walk the dog.

For reasons that make no sense at all, our leadership team made the decision our department would move to a 14 day, day night roster. 7 days, followed by 7 nights. I voiced my objection to this change and was assured it was only going to be a temporary thing for the plumbers and chippies due to covid segregation protocols.

I struggled big time, getting roughly 15 hours sleep over a 6 day period..I suffered a severe breakdown on the morning after night 6, only getting 1 hour sleep, even though I was totally exhausted. I was taken to the nurse and diagnosed with severe sleep deprivation and flown out immediately to see my doctor.

He prescribed me valium and instructed me to take 2 when I got home and, if I woke up after only a few hours, to take 2 more. I took 2 at 6pm this evening and passed out within half an hour. At 9.30pm I awoke. I took 2 more as instructed about an hour ago... they've had no effect at all, hence I'm contributing to this thread.

The nurse did say it could take 3 to 4 days for me to recover and get back to a normal sleep pattern.

I feel extremely anxious and am.very concerned about how this is effecting me.

[stui magpie]

Sorry, is this day night roster now or 7 years ago? Are you working it now and it's messing with you?

I did shift work back when I was 19 for about 4 months

5 days early shift starting 6am, 2 days off
5 days middle shift starting between 10am and 1pm, 2 days off
5 days late shift starting 10pm, 3 days off. Repeat.

I coped with it pretty well but it definitely messes you around. The hardest was going from nights to days. Lucky it was a job that didn't require a lot of brain power as I was a walking zombie a lot of the time.

[watt price tully]

It’s been over 20 years since I did non shift work when I was in management. In the last two years I’ve got an exemption for night shift. I don’t have any issue sleeping during the day but felt tired and out of sorts as well as more grumpy to be around.

Now I work either a 0800, 09:30, occasional 1200 or a 1400 hr start time. Full time with one full WE on one full WE of and part thereof for the other 2 WE’s in a 4 week period. A GP letter exempts me from night shift.

I’ll be getting the $3K from the state government if I’m not sacked by September.

Today I’ll be working OT with Police rather than my usual job because they are soooooo short staffed. I’ve been asked to work back in the Emergency Dep’t but I’m not likely to do it except for a random OT shift. 19 years in one ED admittedly in a number of roles was more than enough. Today is day 7 in a row with my choice for the OT today.

Did my third spin class this morning before work at 1400

When I hear the d*ckheads say people are being mechanically restrained too much in ED’s again I’ll invite them to get bashed by the next drunk, drug (ice or synthetic marijuana) affected person then tell me about restraint….I digress…

[Woods Of Ypres]

night shift is no good, tried it, my body hated it.
it goes against the way we are designed (circadian rhythm)
i do worry for people who do this long-term
your body is more likely to attack itself i believe.

[eddiesmith]

Done a few random night shifts here and there, but **** doing it regularly. Was very, very good money though!!!

The swing shift is my favourite, I am not a morning person at all...

[stui magpie]

Money is good. I was earning $400 per week in 1984 doing shiftwork, living at home with no bills and I resigned to take up a job with Telecom that paid $360 per fortnight and I had to pay rent on a flat, utilities and food.

One of the smartest things I ever did.

[partypie]

Hi Skids

Hope you’re feeling a bit better now. I deal with poor sleep by concentrating on my breathing and that seems to reduce the anxiety. Also limit coffee intake. Today I started a new job that I only found out about last night when I was already exhausted from my other work. I actually had a great day and it was worth it.

Hope you get your old roster back

[Skids]

night shift is no good, tried it, my body hated it.
it goes against the way we are designed (circadian rhythm)
i do worry for people who do this long-term
your body is more likely to attack itself i believe.

Thanks for the responses guys! What you have said there W O Y is resonant with me right now.

The impact on me mentally was something I have never experienced before and I am still recovering.

After I wrote that post, tablets 3 and 4 began to take effect. I fell asleep around 3am and slept a solid 4.5 hrs and woke up feeling alive. Took the dog for a walk then me n Kel drove down to Scarboorouh (10km) to get a Peter's By The Sea burger.... a long time FIFO return home ritual we have. It was a howling fresh breeze, with a big swell... I felt happy to be there.

I've had a quiet day, watching horse races, dropped Kelly and Jess into town about 2pm, they saw 'Fake George' as they like to call him and stayed at the Duxton. I came home, watched some of the 1990 Grand Final before getting really tired around 6 ish. I took 2 valiums and me and the dog had the bed to ourselves. I must have passed out about 7.
I woke at around 2am and took 2 more valiums, they had no effect and at 3am I got up... feeling pretty good, this is my normal pre work swim time so I got up and went for an hour walk with the dog.

It's 6am and I'm feeling pretty flat again... it's cold, sitting on the computer, dog one side, gas heater the other.

When talking to my *Dad , he got pretty fired up about sleep deprivation. Part of his SAS training involved a 48hr mission, no sleep. He was 21, fit as Tim Tszyu and began hallucinating after the 45th hour... he just passed this section of his course.

*Dad - geez, my old man is a fur*N weapon! He's 76 this year, just had his prostate removed 4 weeks ago, had the catheter he'd been stuck with for 6 months removed just last week and I tell you what, he was happy to get rid of the bag, not real happy about the incontinence attire, but he's getting better at that too. I don't know how his body has endured the alcohol that has been a very big part of his life. He hasn't had much for a few months now though and I had converted him to drinking some light beers in between his pints of Swan.

[Skids]

Well a couple more nights have passed. I slept really well on Sunday night. Had 2 a the valiums and got a solid 7 or so hours sleep in. Still haven't been for a swim, hopefully today.
I struggled to sleep last night, took a valium around 9, was still wide awake watching tv at midnight, took another tablet and tried to sleep, tv off. Tossed and turned until 4am or thereabouts, woke at 6am... wow 2 hrs sleep. I don't feel too bad considering.
It's a cold bleak morning here (14 degrees and cloudy with a forecast of 22 and rain), off with the dog now, before it rains.

I thought the nurse and my doctor were being a bit dramatic when advising that it would take days to get back to my usual sleep pattern... they were spot on!

[think positive]

is it good to take that much valium?

[watt price tully]

Well a couple more nights have passed. I slept really well on Sunday night. Had 2 a the valiums and got a solid 7 or so hours sleep in. Still haven't been for a swim, hopefully today.
I struggled to sleep last night, took a valium around 9, was still wide awake watching tv at midnight, took another tablet and tried to sleep, tv off. Tossed and turned until 4am or thereabouts, woke at 6am... wow 2 hrs sleep. I don't feel too bad considering.
It's a cold bleak morning here (14 degrees and cloudy with a forecast of 22 and rain), off with the dog now, before it rains.

I thought the nurse and my doctor were being a bit dramatic when advising that it would take days to get back to my usual sleep pattern... they were spot on!

Just watch out for the diazepam (Valium) highly addictive in the long run. Benzodiazepine addiction is bad news. Good short term bad long term. Don’t ever take alprazolam (Xanax) much worse than Valium 1 mg of alprazolam = 20 mg of diazepam and is awfully addictive

If you are prescibed diazepam (Valium) use only as directed/prescribed and make sure it’s from a GP who knows what they are doing.

Again effective short term & ought not to be used long term.

[watt price tully]

is it good to take that much valium?

See above but generally no

[Skids]

is it good to take that much valium?

See above but generally no

Yeah cheers WPT.... again, it's midnight here and I'm wide awake after crashing when I took 2 a 8pm (10mg total). I won't have anymore this morning, I'll get up and watch fox footy, maybe doze on the couch cuddling the dog.

I'm lucky, I've had the same GP for over 30 years, he knows me well.
I did use valium.once before, about 10 years ago when I had some bad bac pains/pasms.

I'm quite lucky, I don't have that addictive nature..we had a discussion when he prescribed them.

I'm feeling much better now and almost back in to a normal.sleep pattern.... for me

[Skids]

2am I'm enjoying a coffee and vegemite on toast. Pen loves being inside on her bed near the heater, we'' probably head off for a walk soon... I do love this time of the morning.
I had a top quality swim workout yesterday, 200m warm up 1500m solid followed by a 200m cool down. I've got some spring back in my step so I'm grateful for that.

Meeting with HR, my manager and superintendent is organised for when I get back to work... when I get back. I have an extended R n R to accommodate my 55th birthday, 2 night stay at Crown. 6th of July is my return to work date.