A staffing arrangement in which some employees work during the day and others in the evening or at night. Shift work is a common method of scheduling used in many industries to maximize productivity over a 24-hr day and in health care, where patients needs may arise at any time of the day or night. A great number of persons work regularly at night, either on a permanent or rotating schedule. In most of these workers, adaptation to the altered work schedule is imperfect; sleep disturbances and other medical and psychosocial problems have often been found in shift workers. Among other problems, many night-time or rotating shift workers often have family obligations during the day, which compromise their ability to obtain adequate rest before or after work.
A type of work schedule that involves large periods of work outside the normal daylight hours.