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General Category => Whatever => Topic started by: TRex on September 21, 2019, 06:47:52 AM

Title: Challenge game brings flashback
Post by: TRex on September 21, 2019, 06:47:52 AM
It isn't recognised as a word, so this isn't a spoiler.

In a previous lifetime, I worked as an air traffic controller. One of the shifts was called a daymid. A typical work schedule was
Day 1: 1600-0000
Day 2: 1300-2100
Day 3: 1000-1800
Day 4: 0700-1500
Day 5: 0000-0800

The last two were referred to as a daymid. They were difficult. The only positive thing about them was having 80 hours off or 56 hours off (alternating each week) before returning to work.

Despite a very large number of studies which show shift workers need to be kept on a steady shift, despite the requirements for air traffic controllers to meet the same physical standards as pilots, despite requirements for pilots to have a minimum rest period of 10 hours, with the opportunity for at least 8 uninterrupted sleep hours, the Federal Aviation Administration allowed this as a normal schedule. And because every other week, the schedule was move up 24 hours, a controller would, in a 14 week period work all 24 hours all 7 days (forget about making a regular commitment (e.g. coaching youth sports, taking a college course, regularly making meetings of an organisation, etc.).

I hated the work schedule. And when I asked a supervisor why we worked such a 'stupid schedule', I got one of the all-time worst responses that can be given: 'that's the way we've always done it'!

Anyway, that was the flashback prompted by the letters in the puzzle.
Title: Re: Challenge game brings flashback
Post by: yelnats on September 21, 2019, 07:36:25 AM
You should have been an airport firefighter...

Day 1: 0800 - 1800
Day 2: 0800 - 1800
Day 3: 1800 - 0800
Day 4: 1800 - 0800
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Off
Day 7: 0800 - 1800 etc

Only 1 firefighter needed to be awake on night shift, the others had to be in the truck within 1 minute (i.e. sleep dressed).
The extra hours over a 38 hour week built up to give 2 months off in every 7 months, and 4 months straight every 3 years.

Regular firefighters have the same shifts but they actually have fires to attend!
Title: Re: Challenge game brings flashback
Post by: Jacki on September 21, 2019, 09:13:42 PM
When I used to sell timeshare I would get two consecutive days off after fourteen straight days which were admittedly in the day but started at 9am and often didn't finish till 8 or 9pm.
And if I wanted more than that off it was twenty one day straight.
Title: Re: Challenge game brings flashback
Post by: birdy on September 22, 2019, 11:04:12 AM
If I remember correctly (it was a long time ago), my longest week was 13 days, though the 4th and the 8th were half days (but the busiest and lowest staffed - no breaks).

But I remember asking a friend who worked putting on business events what her longest day was, and it was 108 hours (though I suspect she got an hour or so sleep every once in a while).
Title: Re: Challenge game brings flashback
Post by: anona on September 22, 2019, 04:49:54 PM
My nephew-in-law works in business events, birdy. My niece told me a few weeks ago he was looking forward to a few days off, as he had had only one (and counting) in the last four weeks. Some of the time would be spent travelling, of course, when on long flights it might be possible to catch up on sleep. I thought what a miserable life!