Ask a manager what shifts they run and the answer starts with three: days, afternoons and nights, which in a three-shift operation are first, second and third shift and which between them cover the clock. Around those three sit the shifts that shape a schedule: the split shift, the mid shift, the on-call shift, the double, and the rotating shift that moves a person through the three over a cycle. This page sets out the types of shift a small business is likely to run, the 3 types of work shifts that cover twenty-four hours and the 3 shift hours each keeps, and the shift time each type usually holds, so that a schedule can name them consistently.
The three that cover the clock
Day shift, or first shift: morning to mid-afternoon, commonly 7 to 3 or 6 to 2 on eight-hour shifts, 6 to 6 or 7 to 7 on twelve-hour days. Afternoon shift, second shift or swing shift: mid-afternoon to late evening, commonly 3 to 11. Night shift, third shift or graveyard: late evening to morning, commonly 11 to 7. On an eight-hour pattern the three run back to back and three crews cover a day; on a twelve-hour pattern there are two, days and nights, and four crews cover a week. Which hours each keeps is the employer's decision; the names only say where in the day the shift sits.
The shifts around them
The mid shift, an overlap laid across the busiest hours of a business that opens and closes, commonly 10 to 6. The split shift, two blocks of work in one day with an unpaid gap between, common in restaurants and transit. The double, two consecutive shifts worked by one person, usually because a call-out was not covered. The on-call shift, hours a person must be available for and may or may not work. And the rotating shift, which is not a time of day but a pattern: a person works days for a stretch, then afternoons, then nights, on a cycle the schedule fixes.
Naming them on the schedule
A schedule that says 'late' on one line and 'second' on another for the same hours is a schedule that gets argued about. Pick one name per shift, write the shift time beside it on the published copy, and keep it the same across cycles. The rotating schedule generator on this site works from the shift length and the days on and off rather than the names, so the hours it returns are the same whatever the crew calls the shift, and the published schedule is the place the names and the times are fixed together.
Questions people ask about types of shift
What are the 3 types of work shifts?
Day (first), afternoon (second or swing) and night (third or graveyard). Together they cover twenty-four hours on an eight-hour pattern; on twelve-hour shifts there are two, days and nights.
What is a rotating shift?
A pattern rather than a time of day: a person or a crew works one shift for a stretch and then moves to another over a fixed cycle, so that nobody is always on nights or always on weekends.
How long is a shift?
Eight hours is the traditional shift and twelve hours the common alternative in round-the-clock operations; ten-hour shifts on a four-day week sit between. Federal law sets no maximum shift length for adults; it requires overtime on hours over forty in the workweek.