NIGHT WORK IN INDUSTRY 
plants, one night shift normally supplements the day work 
while, 1n production emergencies, a second night shift is 
added. 
OrcanizaTioN oF NigHT Forces 
The night labor force as a unit may be organized under one 
of two general methods. It may be permanently assigned to 
night hours of labor or it may be allotted to a shift which 
rotates at periodic intervals. Under the fixed system, a 
group of employees is assigned to night work on a specified 
shift which may, in those cases where there are two periods, 
be either the first or second shift. For example, if there is a 
night force on duty between four o’clock in the afternoon 
and twelve o'clock at night which is succeeded by one start- 
ing at that point and continuing until eight o’clock in the 
morning, the worker might be assigned to either the first 
or the second shift. As a unit, the night force would thus be 
on a fixed program, although in some companies provision is 
made for promotion to the more desirable earlier shifts after 
the employee has served a definite period of employment or 
has given evidence of proficiency. 
Under the rotating policy, the employees as a group change 
their shifts at periodic intervals. For example, if there are 
three eight-hour shifts in a continuously operating estab- 
lishment, the employees on duty during the first shift change 
as a unit to the second, then to the third and then back again 
to the first, all groups advancing simultaneously at stated 
intervals with the first shift always on day duty. Thus, if 
the three groups are designated as A, B and C, their shifting 
program would be as follows in a series of periods: 
A—1st shift—2nd shift—3rd shift 
B—2nd shift—3rd shift—1lst shift 
C—3rd shift—s1st shift—2nd shift 
Where provision is made for a half- or full-day holiday at 
the week-end or on the day when the shifts alternate, the 
employees are usually required to work for a longer period of 
hours or to return to the next shift after a relatively short 
interval.