On February 14th, girls from Girl Scout Cadette Troop #40421 interviewed Taylor R., a night shift worker at Sheetz. The purpose of the interview was to complete badge requirements for the Night Owl badge, and to learn more about what it is like to work the night shift. Before the interview, the Girl Scouts compiled a list of interview questions to ask, and narrowed them down to get more specific answers about what the night shift is like. From the interview, the troop learned about some of the pros and cons of working the night shift, along with some interesting things that you wouldn't normally think of if you weren't working the night shift.
First the Girl Scouts asked some questions regarding the positive aspects of working the night shift. These include extra pay by the hour- in fact, Taylor said that she decided to pick up the night shift to help pay for a new car. Another good thing about the night shift is that there are less demanding and/or rude customers for workers to deal with. Despite working long hours on the night shift, Taylor said it isn't as hard as she thought it would be to get good sleep. She appreciates that Sheetz is flexible with work hours. Similarly, working the night shift (especially as a parent), can free up time during the day to be more available and flexible for your family and home life. These are some examples of positive benefits for working the night shift.
There are also many perks of working the night shift that only apply to working at Sheetz. Taylor says that there are discounts on food and free coffee and soda for the workers. Additionally, she feels that working the night shift at Sheetz is very safe and not scary, as some people may think. Sheetz has specific safety protocols to keep their employees safe during all times of day, particularly during the night shift. Workers wear a pendant that signals if help is needed when they go to do the trash, and other jobs outside of the building.
However, there are also a few cons to working the night shift. Taylor said the job was more stressful and demanding than she had thought it would be. The biggest stress is being on her feet the whole time. Likewise, there is always something to keep her busy. She spends most of her time cleaning up, doing dishes, and preparing for the next day. Also, long work hours can be boring since, as Taylor put it, nothing interesting tends to happen during the night at Sheetz.
As for how long the night shift lasts, Taylor usually works around 8.5 hours, from 10:00 pm to 6:30 am, but some night shifts can be as long as 13 hours (2 pm-3 am). Taylor says that most rude customers come into Sheetz during the dinner hours, around the 6:00-8:00 time frame.
Taylor gave our troop a better understanding of what it is really like to work the night shift in some places (in this case, Sheetz). She also left advice for anyone interested. If you're a Night Owl (energetic and awake at night), then working the night shift would be good for you. The night shift can have pros and cons, so ask yourself- do you think the night shift sounds like a good fit for you?
-- Written and edited by Girl Scout Troop 40421
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