Work schedules based on 12-hour shifts are gaining popularity because for the same number of hours worked each year, there are more days off. Twelve-hour work schedules can be used in 24/7 businesses as well as in operations running fewer than 7 days a week. They have been successful and well received by employees in some businesses, but have failed in others. As with all business decisions, there are several pros and cons that should be considered.

Pros:

• More days off, which will allow employees, time to moonlight or spend more time with their families. Employees generally show a greater level of satisfaction with the extra full day off.
• Less frequent commute, this helps the environment, and lets employees save money on gas.
• With twelve hour shifts, there will be noticeable increase in productivity due to less shift changes.
• Generally, call centers, police departments, emergency services, and security personnel prefer 12 hour work shifts.

Cons:

• Productivity may be negatively affected by fatigue due to long hours. Studies have shown that nurses on twelve hour shifts are more prone to make errors as a result of fatigue
• It may be more difficult to locate employees to replace certain shifts. In a typical work week, employees from the prior shift are generally asked to stay and work longer. Seeing as now employees work 12 hour shifts, it is not advised to ask employees to work extra time.
• Older employees may find it more difficult to adapt to longer work hours and tend to prefer the traditional work week.

Whether or not a twelve hour work week is what your company needs, Snap Schedule Employee Scheduling Software provides a myriad of pre designed schedule plans created to suit all of your business scheduling needs. Refer to Snap Schedule Predesigned Plans for more information.