If you are young, single, and just looking for a few extra bucks, I would say consider it. Night premium isn't much, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it if you have a significant other (that you are looking to keep) in the picture or children. I worked midnights over the holidays a couple of years ago and my fiancee (gf at the time) was not too happy with it.
There are other benefits to working midnights though. For the most part, you will have a set schedule or can at least plan around it. When you aren't sleeping, you will have part of the daytime free.
As for headaches, its basically tradine one for another. Just be ready to spend more time scanning your backstock and making trips to the office to print out backstock review sheets for Key Refailing.
The only way I would go back to midnights is if full time was involved. You get a significant pay bump, better insurance plan, and a jump in seniority over all of the part timers.
-- Edited by Drew P Weiner on Tuesday 21st of June 2011 05:05:23 PM
__________________
"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of The Kroger Co. family of stores."
If you are young, single, and just looking for a few extra bucks, I would say consider it. Night premium isn't much, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it if you have a significant other (that you are looking to keep) in the picture or children. I worked midnights over the holidays a couple of years ago and my fiancee (gf at the time) was not too happy with it.
There are other benefits to working midnights though. For the most part, you will have a set schedule or can at least plan around it. When you aren't sleeping, you will have part of the daytime free.
As for headaches, its basically tradine one for another. Just be ready to spend more time scanning your backstock and making trips to the office to print out backstock review sheets for Key Refailing.
The only way I would go back to midnights is if full time was involved. You get a significant pay bump, better insurance plan, and a jump in seniority over all of the part timers.
-- Edited by Drew P Weiner on Tuesday 21st of June 2011 05:05:23 PM
Young? Check
Single? Check
Extra bucks? Couldn't hurt.
I have a set schedule right now, too. I requested 3:30-midnight (our latest shift) as a matter of me being awake. I hate being awake during the day, always have been. I'm heading to night crew tonight just to test out the waters If I don't like it I will go back to front end or head into a department or something. I've been told it's only a temp move while my friend recovers from surgery. We'll see how that goes. I've heard the horror stories about being moved and never being let go though so I'm watching closely on that end.
I didn't think I would enjoy running a register when I first started working at kroger, but things aren't normally as bad as I have a habit of thinking they are.
__________________
Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
If you are young, single, and just looking for a few extra bucks, I would say consider it. Night premium isn't much, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it if you have a significant other (that you are looking to keep) in the picture or children. I worked midnights over the holidays a couple of years ago and my fiancee (gf at the time) was not too happy with it.
There are other benefits to working midnights though. For the most part, you will have a set schedule or can at least plan around it. When you aren't sleeping, you will have part of the daytime free.
As for headaches, its basically tradine one for another. Just be ready to spend more time scanning your backstock and making trips to the office to print out backstock review sheets for Key Refailing.
The only way I would go back to midnights is if full time was involved. You get a significant pay bump, better insurance plan, and a jump in seniority over all of the part timers.
-- Edited by Drew P Weiner on Tuesday 21st of June 2011 05:05:23 PM
Young? Check
Single? Check
Extra bucks? Couldn't hurt.
I have a set schedule right now, too. I requested 3:30-midnight (our latest shift) as a matter of me being awake. I hate being awake during the day, always have been. I'm heading to night crew tonight just to test out the waters If I don't like it I will go back to front end or head into a department or something. I've been told it's only a temp move while my friend recovers from surgery. We'll see how that goes. I've heard the horror stories about being moved and never being let go though so I'm watching closely on that end.
I didn't think I would enjoy running a register when I first started working at kroger, but things aren't normally as bad as I have a habit of thinking they are.
That is a problem in terms of trying to get off nights, but it can be done. If you work hard and they don't want to lose you, you will either be talked into staying or strung along until you have to bring the union into it.
I think you will enjoy it though. You can kinda work at your own pace and unless your store is open 24/7, worry about customers as much.
__________________
"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of The Kroger Co. family of stores."
If you are young, single, and just looking for a few extra bucks, I would say consider it. Night premium isn't much, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it if you have a significant other (that you are looking to keep) in the picture or children. I worked midnights over the holidays a couple of years ago and my fiancee (gf at the time) was not too happy with it.
There are other benefits to working midnights though. For the most part, you will have a set schedule or can at least plan around it. When you aren't sleeping, you will have part of the daytime free.
As for headaches, its basically tradine one for another. Just be ready to spend more time scanning your backstock and making trips to the office to print out backstock review sheets for Key Refailing.
The only way I would go back to midnights is if full time was involved. You get a significant pay bump, better insurance plan, and a jump in seniority over all of the part timers.
-- Edited by Drew P Weiner on Tuesday 21st of June 2011 05:05:23 PM
Young? Check
Single? Check
Extra bucks? Couldn't hurt.
I have a set schedule right now, too. I requested 3:30-midnight (our latest shift) as a matter of me being awake. I hate being awake during the day, always have been. I'm heading to night crew tonight just to test out the waters If I don't like it I will go back to front end or head into a department or something. I've been told it's only a temp move while my friend recovers from surgery. We'll see how that goes. I've heard the horror stories about being moved and never being let go though so I'm watching closely on that end.
I didn't think I would enjoy running a register when I first started working at kroger, but things aren't normally as bad as I have a habit of thinking they are.
That is a problem in terms of trying to get off nights, but it can be done. If you work hard and they don't want to lose you, you will either be talked into staying or strung along until you have to bring the union into it.
I think you will enjoy it though. You can kinda work at your own pace and unless your store is open 24/7, worry about customers as much.
Thing is i know someone who wants to go on nights but can't because of a short staffing in his department. If i say "sure, i'll work dairy" then he would be all of that **** in a heart beat. haha.
__________________
Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
Been on nights for a couple years now .. what do all of the night crew members have in common???? We've been trying to get off nights to have normal lives. We have the 50 cent premium too and that doesn't come close to enough compensation.
It is, however, the best way for a kid to get 40 hours in this company. I haven't worked less than 40 since I started.
so you took it huh. why did you ask us our opinion then if you already had made up your mind! LOL
I had my mind made up for me, but still had a day or so to think about it. It was kinda quick as I had the two days off and on my second day they had marked out my schedule and just wrote "NIGHT STOCK" over it. When i got home I wrote the post to see what you all thought.
It didn't sound too bad just some "if you think you can take it" stories.
__________________
Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
I actually love being on the Night Shift. I work the Deli/Bakery, so technically, I'm not stock crew.. But moving to Nights was wonderful because my husband has been Night Crew for the past 5 years or so. When I worked days, and he worked nights, it really strained our relationship. I tried for the better part of a year to get moved overnights in the Deli Bakery. They wound up creating the night position for me when I told them I would leave and go to another store, and started actually calling around.
Working nights, I don't have to deal with customers. I don't have to deal with the store manager I hate. My husband and I are on the same hours now so we can have a much stronger relationship. It's very nice.
If you ever get into a relationship, it's going to take a lot of effort on your part to make things work. Good luck. Maybe you will get lucky and you will meet someone who also works nights.
I've been night leader for 3 years now and i had worked swing shift for years before that. Like every body else said it had pros and cons. No customers or management which is nice, but the body sometimes has a hard time adjusting. Your body makes melotonin and serotonin at night while you sleep, if you sleep in the daytime you can become depressed and have trouble feeling rested. Buy some black out curtains and take melotonin. You may be just fine, but if not it can be a living hell.
I've been night leader for 3 years now and i had worked swing shift for years before that. Like every body else said it had pros and cons. No customers or management which is nice, but the body sometimes has a hard time adjusting. Your body makes melotonin and serotonin at night while you sleep, if you sleep in the daytime you can become depressed and have trouble feeling rested. Buy some black out curtains and take melotonin. You may be just fine, but if not it can be a living hell.
Great post! You definitely have your bio chemistry down.....I would also recommend buying a small UV lamp to help offset Seasonal Affective Disorder----it is a product of never getting any sun light, which also robs of us melatonin~
----on the other hand, some folks do just fine without any assistance while working thirds. Peeps should just see how they adjust (or not) before hand~
Getting up and staying awake isn't that hard for me at night. I don't know why but I'm loving the way my shifts are set up. 10pm-6:30am is great. I've been told that tonight is going to be a living hell as it's our full stock night so... we'll wait and see on that one. I spoke to a fellow co-worker who had been at it for years and i told him "It seems like a great place to visit, from time to time, but I wouldn't want to live here." It seems like the stress levels spike greatly then taper off over the course of the shift then, in contrast to, being a clerk where stress tends to stay at steady levels with the occasional spike.. More lifting to do, though.
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
I have two friends at the Kroger I late night shop at in Decatur, Il.; one is Doug (night stocker, aged approx 48), the other is Stephanie. Steph just told me she's been there for 24 years....on over nights. These two seem to be perfectly balanced in their jobs and their worlds.
Like you said, BagBoy, if you're used to being awake 'til 6:30 a every day with no ill effects, you should be fine with all this. Do whatcha hafta...just as we all do~
I have blackout curtains I have been wanting to put up, but neither my husband or I is very handy, so they are just sort of sitting on a shelf. We did invest in sleeping blindfolds, which are a godsend. Sometimes when sleeping in the day, my eyes just want to open no matter how tired I am. The blindfold helps keep my eyes closed, and makes it black as night. Because of this, I can leave the curtains beside the bed partially open for the cats to look out. I wonder.. Sunshine from the window probably still does me good, eh?
and with last night my week long escapade with night stock ends and my friend returns to work. all-in-all it was a pretty uneventful week. It wasn't too hard but I didn't have to work a night where there was literally nothing on the shelf and I had to do it all from scratch.... but I did get pretty proficient with stocking our isle 4! Back to the front end with a little more knowledge under my belt, I guess. Maybe it will come in handy sometime.
It's probably going to be a curse as I'm now an official night stock backup ~_~
__________________
Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
maybe they'll put you on night crew when there are vacations, at least it gives you experience too if you want to ever move to transfer to night crew at another store
maybe they'll put you on night crew when there are vacations, at least it gives you experience too if you want to ever move to transfer to night crew at another store
that's how i'm looking at it.
__________________
Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
You're body makes melatonin and seratonin when it's dark. The absence of light controls that function. The time of day has nothing to do with it. If you grew up sleeping during the day the process would actually reverse.
I know this is an old thread, and I don't even know if FedUp checks this anymore, but...
What does a night crew Deli/Bakery person do? I've never heard of anyone doing that but it actually sounds useful - i mean you could get caught up on a LOT of products that way...
