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Swing shift schedule: evening hours and the southern swing rotation

A swing shift is the evening shift between day and night work, usually 3pm to 11pm or 4pm to midnight. "Swing shift schedule" can also mean the southern swing: a rotation where four crews work 7 days, 7 swings and 7 nights on 8-hour shifts over 28 days.

Shift length
8 hours
Cycle
28 days
Average week
42 hours
Longest stretch
7 on / 3 off

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The calendar only shows which crew works which shift. Describe your crews, roles, time-off and rules in plain English, and Smeno drafts a full schedule from this starting point, free. Check the draft before you share it.

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What are swing shift hours?

The swing shift fills the gap between the day shift and the overnight (graveyard) shift. Common hours are 3pm to 11pm or 4pm to midnight, and some places start at 2pm. It's also called the second shift or evening shift.

Many businesses run swing as a fixed shift: the same people work evenings every week. Restaurants, retail, hospitality and customer service use it to cover the evening rush after the day staff leave.

How the southern swing rotation works

In a 24/7 operation with three 8-hour shifts (day, swing, night), the southern swing rotates four crews through all three. Each crew works a 28-day cycle:

  • 7 day shifts, then 2 days off
  • 7 swing shifts, then 2 days off
  • 7 night shifts, then 3 days off

Hours and pay on the southern swing

Crews start 7 days apart, so every day has one crew on each shift and one crew off. Each crew works 21 shifts of 8 hours per cycle: 168 hours, 42 a week on average, about 274 shifts a year.

Weekly hours are uneven. Depending on where the week starts, a crew might work 56, 40, 40 and 32 hours, or 40, 40, 40 and 48. Under the 40-hour rule, that's 8 to 16 overtime hours per cycle. Federal law does not require extra pay for evening or night work; a shift differential is up to the employer or a union contract.

The trade-off: 7 shifts in a row

The southern swing rotates forward, from days to swings to nights, which NIOSH says is easier to adjust to than rotating backward. But it changes shift every week, and NIOSH calls weekly rotation the hardest speed to adjust to. Crews also work 7 days in a row three times per cycle.

The name is used loosely. Some sites apply "southern swing" to other 8-hour patterns, and the "California swing" is a different pattern of 24-hour shifts. Check the sequence before you adopt one.

Pros and cons

  • 8-hour shifts instead of 12.
  • Forward rotation: days, then swings, then nights.
  • Everyone shares evening and night work equally.
  • Each 7-day block of one shift is followed by at least 2 days off.
  • 7 shifts in a row, three times per 28-day cycle.
  • The shift changes every week, the rotation speed NIOSH says is hardest to adjust to.
  • More work days: about 274 a year, against about 182 on 12-hour rotations.
  • At most one full weekend off per 28 days.

Who it works for

  • Manufacturing plants that run three shifts
  • Energy and utilities
  • Healthcare
  • Restaurants, retail and hospitality (fixed evening swing shift)

FAQ

What are swing shift hours?

Usually 3pm to 11pm or 4pm to midnight, sometimes 2pm to 10pm. The swing shift sits between the day shift and the overnight shift.

Is swing shift the same as second shift?

Yes. Swing shift, second shift and evening shift all describe the afternoon-to-midnight shift, though exact hours vary by employer.

Does swing shift pay more?

Not by law. The US Fair Labor Standards Act does not require extra pay for evening or night work. Many employers pay a shift differential anyway, and if they do, it counts toward the overtime rate.

What is a southern swing schedule?

A 28-day rotation for 24/7 operations with three 8-hour shifts. Four crews each work 7 day shifts, 2 off, 7 swing shifts, 2 off, 7 night shifts and 3 off.

How many hours a week is the southern swing?

42 hours on average: 21 eight-hour shifts every 28 days. The heaviest week has 7 shifts, 56 hours.

What is the difference between swing shift and graveyard shift?

Swing runs from afternoon to about midnight. The graveyard or night shift runs overnight, typically from 11pm or midnight to 7am or 8am.

Related rotations

Sources