Admitting Defeat

Good luck with the possible gig in Columbus. As far as the work goes I completely get it and have been in your shoes before. I moved away from all friends and family, working at least 60 hours a week and had 0 social life. By the end everything was wearing down on me and almost making me depressed. Try and work with your boss and see if you can get something worked out with your schedule. Even if its unlikely to happen,he is at least aware of your situation and may work with you some more.

In regards to the sore feet and lower back pain see if your company would be willing to invest in the rubber work station pads. Ive worked many jobs where I had to be at a work station all day standing on a concrete floor and those 1/2" thick rubber mats are a life saver. Another thing to check out for work boots are these:

https://www.muckbootcompany.com/Pages/default.aspx

I just bought a pair the other week because I was tired of taking muddy contaminated overboots off from over my regular work boots. I work on environmental remediation sites and this one is contaminated with coal tar, big time. They appear to be holding up very well to everyday use in a nasty environment, and are super comfortable. The ones I got have steel toes in them so they are out there if you need them. Cost me $89.

Here's a question - would you be happy working another shift with your current employer? If the answer is "No," then it's time to move on.

EvanB wrote: I don't think that would be bad at all. Columbus is fun, you should move here.

I'm trying. I'm trying.

...and it's looking promising. I just got another phone interview scheduled for tomorrow with another brewery.

Beer Baron wrote: During my internship at another brewery, I did better when I had to be in to work at 5am. I also had the benefit of being allowed to drink coffee while I worked.

They don't let you drink coffee at work?

Dear God, I take back everything I had said about the free beer. I would give up beer before I give up coffee [at work].

mtn wrote: They don't let you drink coffee at work? Dear God, I take back everything I had said about the free beer.

No food or beverage other than water on the production floor. There is a coffee machine in the break room, but that means having to stop working and walk across the building to sip some coffee or soda. I can't just sip coffee from a spill-proof travel mug while watching things run.

Seriously, step one is buy better boots.

Step two, for me, would be to make myself a comprehensive checklist of things you have to do during your shift, including clocking out, so that little piddly stuff doesn't get you in trouble. Remind anyone who has issue with a checklist that it makes a great training tool. Bonus if it can be left somewhere at work convenient enough for the boss to leave notes on it for the night's work.

If the boss wants or needs to leave instructions for the weekend, he needs to be accountable for those instructions. Pick a spot for a clip board or where post it notes can be stuck and if the message isn't there than it doesn't exist. Playing telephone has no place in modern business.

I'm working a 12 hr night shift right now and have been working them on rotating schedules since '98 and it's my experience that you need more sleep when on nights than on days. Also, if you are going to bed right away when you get home than your body is starting to get ready for bed while you are still at work. If possible, move your sleep back an hr, and make your lunch, do your laundry, catch up on grm for an hour when you get home. I find it makes being awake that last couple of hours a lot easier.

oldopelguy wrote: Seriously, step one is buy better boots. Also, if you are going to bed right away when you get home than your body is starting to get ready for bed while you are still at work. If possible, move your sleep back an hr, and make your lunch, do your laundry, catch up on grm for an hour when you get home. I find it makes being awake that last couple of hours a lot easier.

This is one thing I have been trying to figure out: balancing sleep with what little time/socialization I get with my fiancee. If I stay up later, I have less time to spend with her or to go out riding my motorcycle during my days off. Also less time to enjoy natural sunlight. Currently I get to sleep about an hour after I get home. That is just the time needed to unwind and shower.

When I'm not working, I slowly start going to be an extra hour or two earlier each night, until I'm in bed around 2am on Friday night. Then I can actually get up by noon and have Saturday brunch with her. Basically, my sleep schedule shifts by close to 6 hours between my last working day and my last day off.

I will definitely be looking for better boots though.

For another data point: turnover rate for folks in my position here is roughly 6-9months. That has been true for at least the past 3 people.

I have been here just over 9.

Beer Baron wrote: I have already made a very promising contact with a brewery in Columbus. They do not need someone quite yet, but say they will by the fall. He also said that they would be willing/able to hire "the right person" a bit earlier if they needed to start sooner. Do you think it would look bad if I approached them and said, "I want to try to move things ahead faster than I originally planned because I am just not able to function up to standard working graveyard shift, and I think my current employer would be better served getting someone in my position who does better with those hours"?

Do NOT do that. That opens up a can of worms with a potential employer about your current situation that could be perceived negatively about you. You don't want to be explaining all that and affecting how you may be perceived. Besides that, why you want to move things faster is not important for them to know and it really isn't any of their business. If you feel the need to give a reason make it a positive thing, like you (or your fiancee) are really anxious to move to Columbus or you are excited about a couple of opportunities and you REALLY like these guys and you'd hate to miss it because something else came along while you were waiting for them.

Basil Exposition wrote: Do NOT do that. That opens up a can of worms with a potential employer about your current situation that could be perceived negatively about you. You don't want to be explaining all that and affecting how you may be perceived. Besides that, why you want to move things faster is not important for them to know and it really isn't any of their business. If you feel the need to give a reason make it a positive thing, like you (or your fiancee) are really anxious to move to Columbus or you are excited about a couple of opportunities and you REALLY like these guys and you'd hate to miss it because something else came along while you were waiting for them.

Thanks. I like that. I do really like these guys. The phone interview lasted an hour and a half and was a really comfortable conversation the whole time. I would love to start there sooner, rather than later. If I am going to move to Ohio from CA, I'd also like to be able to get that all taken care of and be settled in before winter. Not sure how bad it gets there, but I know it is not as mild as here.

Edit: I suspect it probably would not reflect too badly on me to admit that I am really not enjoying graveyard shift, and it is getting more difficult for me, not less.

The boots. Sometimes the simplest things can make the hugest difference. Start there. Get a good pair of inserts. That will (mostly) take care of your back.
Keep in touch with your columbus contact. Make small tweaks. If you are working the graveyard, you need to live it. Physiologically speaking, it's very difficult for your body to move between "normal" hours and graveyard, but even more difficult if you're mentally resistant.

small town, hippies....sounds perfect to me. Big cities suck.

I do think that specific instructions for this batch or that one ought to be written out, but that's not to big of a detail to change

Your feet are the foundation for your whole body. You need new boots immediately.

Your soul is like your car's chassis. Leave it in a corrosive environment for too long and it rots away. Time to move on from that job. You deserve far better.

Beer Baron wrote: Thanks. I like that. I do really like these guys. The phone interview lasted an hour and a half and was a really comfortable conversation the whole time. I would love to start there sooner, rather than later. If I am going to move to Ohio from CA, I'd also like to be able to get that all taken care of and be settled in before winter. Not sure how bad it gets there, but I know it is not as mild as here. Edit: I suspect it probably would not reflect too badly on me to admit that I am really not enjoying graveyard shift, and it is getting more difficult for me, not less.

I wouldn't mention the graveyard shift or difficulties. Just be positive about the new opportunity, and leave it at that.

Also, coming from a former Columbus resident, if I was a hiring manager, and a new hire wanted to come in sooner to avoid moving/settling in during winter, that's all they'd have to say. Particularly someone from a non-winter area. So I'd emphasize that :) .

I wouldn't function well on third shift without a steady intake of caffeine.

When I was on thirds I had to change my eating habits and take direct control of my sleep. During my 10-12 hour shift I would eat a very small portion of food (handful of almonds, some lunch meat, a lean burger patty, etc...) every 2 hours along with a large bottle of diet soda.

Once I was home I didn't eat anything and drank only water. I'd pop 3-9mg of melatonin depending on my level of alertness, then hopefully get 5 hours of sleep. Sometimes I'd feel almost hungover that night and would alternate between taking ibuprofen or tylenol just to go to sleep, instead of melatonin. It helped a lot that I could exercise and drink coffee or soda while doing my job. I'm not wired for third shift, I'm a morning person by nature. While on that shift if I ate anything more than a handful of food my body began to shut down and I would get very drowsy. Needless to say I lost a lot of weight!

For me sleeping during the day was not even comparable to sleeping at night. On my day(s) off when I could actually get close to 8 hours of sleep I didn't feel any more rested than on the bad days when I got only 3 or so.

Third shift sucks, it make me a perma-grump and makes me feel like Elvis with all of the substance and body abuse.

I definitely feel for you.

I just looked up the monthly average temperatures for your city on weather.com.

Are your sure you want to move to Ohio?

Most people spend a majority of their time either sleeping or working. Combined, they make up most of the hours of our day.

You don't seem to be enjoying a large percentage of your life. Move on.

After reading through this whole thing again, if it were me I would be doing three things: First, embrace the third shift. Tell your fiance that your social life is going to just completely go away. Stay up for another 2-3 hours after work, and let your work improve at the sacrifice of a life. Make it clear to the pre-wife that this is a temporary thing only. To that point, if you haven't found anything in (throw a number out there, 1-6, I'd probably pick 2) months, you're quitting/making them get you off the third shift no matter what.

Second, get better boots.

Third, pursue that Colombus job as hard as you can.

Good news/bad new. The higher ups decided to move someone else up to take my supervisor position and move me back to just being a brewer. All figured, that will be a good thing for me. I won't really need the mental energy on graveyard shift, and once I get the new supervisor up to speed (since I will be training him), I will probably be able to transition back to day shift.

This also means it will be easier for me to move to a new job elsewhere, and the boss already knew I was looking and hoping to move on in a couple months.

Part of me feels like a failure for not being up to the challenge. A bigger part of me says, "berkeley the 'challenge'. I want to have a life, and you are not rewarding me well enough to set that aside." Part of me feels insulted over being demoted. Another part is relieved, since it will make backing out easier.

I'll just leave this here:

http://imgur.com/gallery/V6KoHbF

You are not a failure. So many people get into manager or supervisor positions not because they are good at it, but because they have seniority, etc.

I agree whole heartedly with Basil, ECM and mtn.

Stay positive and excited in communications with Columbus. The mix of excited to get started and wanting to do so before winter should be plenty reason when discussing time frame with anyone in Columbus.

I think in your case, you really can't switch your sleep schedule around multiple times a week. commit to the hours you need to.

If you've got multiple inserts for your shoes, start experimenting. nothing says you can't cut the heel out of a thinner one and add it in addition to the thick insert you already have. get a razor or fillet/serrated bread knife to experiement with. You should know pretty quickly if it feels more comfortable or not.

bluej wrote: I think in your case, you really can't switch your sleep schedule around multiple times a week. commit to the hours you need to.

I want to quote this to make sure it is seen. I'm 23, active, and have been my whole life running on an odd schedule. Play hockey late at night, caddy early in the morning. Referee late at night, play hockey early in the morning. Play bluegrass jams into the wee hours, be up for whatever early.

I have no problems doing this, but I also realize that if I take the 10:00PM game on a Sunday night for an extra $80, it WILL disrupt my entire week at work IF I don't adhere to a schedule otherwise. Back in college, I would take every late night work assignment I could. I also never woke up before 10AM. Nowadays, I force myself to stay awake on that Monday until my normal bedtime. I want to keep my schedule as regular as I can.

Additionally, I try to keep up with sleep hygiene, which is something I don't think people pay enough attention to. My bed is my bed, it is for 2 things: Sleeping, and, um, gymnastics. I don't watch TV in it, I don't lounge around on it, I am not on my computer in it. I try not to even text in it. And, I don't look at any "screen", be it tv computer or cell phone, for at least 30 minutes before I go to sleep. I read a book, or a GRM, or a Chiltons manual.

turboswede wrote: I'll just leave this here: http://imgur.com/gallery/V6KoHbF You are not a failure. So many people get into manager or supervisor positions not because they are good at it, but because they have seniority, etc.

Amen to that. Get your feet squared away and them come on out to Cbus, Mid Ohio is only an hour away.

Beer Baron wrote: For another data point: turnover rate for folks in my position here is roughly 6-9months. That has been true for at least the past 3 people. I have been here just over 9.

If I remember correctly, you mentioned several people left this company right before you were hired. And I think I pointed out that that might not be a good sign.

It seems this company doesn't really care for its employees, as shown by high turnover. They probably piss and moan that "they can't find any body that wants to work".

I can learn from this thread... but I kinda knew that already. Work owns me, my work and projects at home suffers because of it, blah social life, haven't been to the track in a couple years... and that is what makes me tick... makes my heart beat.

And Beer Baron, good luck w/ your future.