Article created by: Rūta Zumbrickaitė

As far as I can remember, I have always been a night owl, so the appeal of the night is never lost on me. However, I have never worked a night shift, so I don’t really know what it feels like to do your job while everyone else sleeps.

Surprisingly, there are many people who do, and they freely shared all the perks of working the graveyard shift that no one talks about. If you are thinking about switching your work hours, looking at these benefits might help. We have compiled the best ones for you, so just scroll down to check them out!

More info: Reddit

#1

Night shift worker shopping in a brightly lit store aisle, showing the surprising benefits of overnight work. Grocery shopping at 9am on a weekday is so much more peaceful.

ShatBandicoot , Ninthgrid Report

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    #2

    Stacked Euro coins on a white surface symbolizing the financial benefits of working night shift overnight. There are no downsides, if you ask me.


    Management is gone


    Far higher pay


    *Far* slower pace, since no one's riding you


    Grocery stores are deserted when I go after work at 7am


    I get a running excuse to decline invitations 
    because they're almost always my sleeping hours


    I personally don't suffer any ill effects from my weird sleeping hours. Probably will when I age


    Way cooler coworkers- misfits and people with interesting pasts work night shift .

    LadyCordeliaStuart , Slashio Photography Report

    #3

    Quiet empty street at night illuminated by streetlights, representing night shift workers and overnight work benefits. Less traffic to and from work would be one perk that immediately comes to mind.

    Neorafter Report

    #4

    Female doctor with stethoscope talking to a patient, representing night shift workers sharing benefits of working overnight. Working a traditional Mon-Fri 9-5 makes it very difficult to do anything that must be done during the week (think renewing a driver's license, doctor's appointments, etc). When I'm on nights, I'm technically free Mon-Fri from 9-5 (though obviously sleeping for most of that) so I can schedule stuff way easier than most people.

    ExtremeWorkinMan , Getty Images Report

    #5

    Person sitting alone on a wooden dock at dusk, reflecting on the benefits of working the night shift. Usually its a lot quieter and calmer, everyone just wants to chill and get on with their job, nobody has the energy for any b******t lol. Also the quiet walk home at 6 AM when the sun is coming up and the streets are empty is really nice.

    DeusPrime , Berkeli Alashov Report

    #6

    Person sleeping in bed during the day, illustrating rest benefits for night shift workers after overnight work. Pros: More pay, no bosses around... cons: fcks up your sleeping schedule.

    Klempostif , Greg Pappas Report

    #7

    Patient using a walker in a hospital room, highlighting the benefits of night shift workers assisting overnight. As a nurse I love night shift. It's either nutter city and it goes by fast or it's chill and you can relax in between patients.

    As others have said , biggest perks are zero senior management running around micromanaging and making things worse, and traffic home is awesome.

    Toomanynightshifts , Go to Curated Lifestyle's profile Curated Lifestyle Report

    #8

    Children enjoying outdoor activities on a sunny day, reflecting the surprising benefits of night shift workers' overnight routines. I work 3 12's weekend nights. Fri-sun. It means I have all the time I need with my kids during the week and I don't pay for child care. Also, my hospital pays a good bonus for night shift. So more money. No child care costs. The Sunday to Monday transition can be rough though....

    Brittany5150 , Jochen van Wylick Report

    #9

    Sunrise over tall pine trees symbolizing the benefits of working overnight in night shift jobs despite its reputation. Enjoying the fresh, light mornings on the way home in the summer knowing you’re off while most people are just starting their day.

    ATOL_PROTECTED3228 , Annie Spratt Report

    #10

    Person working on laptop during night shift in a quiet cafe with natural light and contemporary decor. For me, being autistic with OCD who is also an introvert. I don’t have to interact with the public. I do my job. And I do it well. When I am done, I go home. I make my own schedule. That is as long as I get my responsibilities done. I don’t take advantage of the clock.

    IamPlantHead , Emma Ou Report

    #11

    Two night shift workers wearing masks and casual clothes greet each other with an elbow bump indoors. As someone who has worked all shifts for years:

    The camaraderie.

    Night shift workers tend to work well together and form close bonds.

    Less drama too. Probably the best kind of people to know.

    PsychPCT , https://unsplash.com/photos/man-in-green-crew-neck-t-shirt-and-blue-denim-jeans-standing-near-black-flat-screen-xFTRk8YBye0 Report

    #12

    Man focused on laptop in a home office surrounded by books, illustrating night shift workers benefits of working overnight As everyone else has mentioned, traffic is amazingly quiet both ways to work. Less management around (I was the manager) means cruisy atmosphere.

    Ran a tight ship so to speak, and let the production crew do what they needed to do (frequent smoko breaks as long as no one complained and their quality/output was good).

    I got through ridiculous amounts of movies and tv shows in my office. The crew didn't have me micro managing them and just called me if they needed anything, which I was straight on to. I'd do walk arounds of course to check on things, and then straight back to media. It was great and couldn't be achieved on day shift.

    Also the money was better. Extra $20k annually helped out the bank account when I needed it, and I didn't mind being nocturnal.

    Honestly the only two downsides were that my social life took a hit for obvious reasons, and sometimes noise outside would keep me up during the day instead of sleeping.

    TheRealReapz , Javad Esmaeili Report

    #13

    Vending machine stocked with snacks offering convenient options for night shift workers during overnight hours. I'm at work right now. You see what I'm doing? I'm sitting here eating Cheetos and typing an answer to a question on Reddit. There's nobody here. I could strip off my shirt and smear orange Cheeto dust on my chest and nobody would even know.

    I get paid to work a 10 hour shift and actually only work for about 2 hours.

    stootchmaster2 , Veronica Report

    #14

    Person wearing a backpack standing alone at lake dock with mountains and cloudy sky in background, symbolizing night shift workers benefits. It’s quiet.

    You don’t really appreciate how loud the day is until you’re awake all night lots of nights in a row. And not just human stuff either, but all the natural stuff as well that’s never loud enough to be heard over the cars and the talking and the moving but that your brain notices anyway.

    3 am, I can hear things a mile away, easy. And it’s so much easier to think without all that noise.

    Taysir385 , Jessica Favaro Report

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    #15

    Foggy graveyard at night with tombstones and tall trees, illustrating the night shift workers' overnight environment. I miss working graveyard. The world is so tranquil then.

    slinky_crayon , Rodion Kutsaiev Report

    #16

    Security guard working overnight shift and using flashlight while patrolling a dimly lit industrial area at night. I had a friend while studyin, who was doing watchman/guard service at night in several places and in a period of time in the mall downtown, which had a lot of food and beverage outlets and retails, culinary shops, food court and such. I often joined him on his watch just for fun, nothing better to do. He and the other guys were free to use the training center as much as they wanted, and all the food outlets had cleaned up, or were, by the time they met for the shift, and they had put out all sorts of delicacies for them. We lived like kings every night, noodles and soft drink, icecream, chocolate, snacks and crisps and large baskets of fruits from the juicer shop. It was not uncommon that two-three guys and I would feast throughout the night, to end up filling a garbage bag of trash after us. At first it was because the food was going to be thrown out anyway, but over time, they made deliberate servings for us. I got to talk to a lot of the cooks, in the evening before they went home, and they learned what we liked, and even in the daytime when we dropped by, we could often get a free lunch.

    There's really something about night shift if you get to have such relations with the day people.

    cylonlover , Getty Images Report

    #17

    Graveyard at night lit by candles among trees, representing night shift workers and benefits of working overnight. When you say nighr shift, do you swing shift from around 4:00pm to midnight? Or do you mean graveyard - or overnight?

    For swing shift the main benefit is you have plenty to time to deal with doctors appointments and anything else where you deal with businesses open 9-5 Monday through Friday. If you work 9-5, dealing with this stuff usually means using your sick time and/or pto.

    I haven't worked a ton of graveyard shifts, but i hated them when i did because you're literally running on a different schedule from most of the rest of the world.

    If you live in a city, swings or graves probably arent too bad because there is a whole subculture of people who work the same shifts. You can lead a pretty normal life, including a social life.

    In a small town it can be pretty isolating because there aren't usually a lot of people working similar shifts, and many social hangouts are going to be closed when you're off. If you need child care it can be hard to find.

    movieguy95453 , Nikola Johnny Mirkovic Report

    #18

    Night shift workers collaborating in a modern office, highlighting benefits of working overnight despite common challenges. Most of the management goes home.

    razorbock , Jonathan Borba Report

    #19

    Empty street illuminated by streetlights at night, representing the quiet environment of night shift workers. For some reason, most night shift i work with are pretty chill and cool people. Do work, go home, less drama.

    Ensaymada01 , Ben Kupke Report

    #20

    Sun rising over foggy landscape with tree silhouette, symbolizing night shift workers and benefits of working overnight. Not having to wake up super early.

    Open-Sherbet-3790 , Anurag Gautam Report

    #21

    Person in bed reaching to turn off alarm clock at 6 AM, illustrating the challenges of night shift workers. Sleep schedules align with global time zones.

    SandraKimberly921 , Solving Healthcare Report

    #22

    A quiet grocery store aisle during a night shift with a worker and child, showcasing the benefits of working overnight. Perk I miss the most is being able to do your everyday tasks like grocery shopping etc. first thing in the AM when no one else is in the stores.

    SeriousMixture1285 , Frankie Cordoba Report

    #23

    Smartphone on a wooden stand displaying time and date, symbolizing night shift workers managing overnight schedules. Not having to set an alarm and wake up early.

    anon , Oakywood Report

    #24

    Man working on a laptop in a modern green-lit workspace, showing benefits of night shift workers working overnight. I can work in peace and quiet because the people crazier than me are sound fast asleep. No more of those exhausting meetings that should've been an email. They are literally sent to me as an email lol.

    I_have_no_idea_why_I , Paymo Report

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    #25

    Empty city street early in the morning with parked cars and trees, reflecting benefits of night shift workers working overnight. Less people at work which means a more relaxed and causal environment to work in. also agree with the points of traffic and management going home. also less things are tend to go wrong during the night compared to during the day lol. idk 🤷‍♀️ just from what i’ve experienced so far.

    anon , Linoleum Creative Collective Report

    #26

    Red delivery truck moving fast at night in a blurred urban setting, illustrating night shift workers benefits. Used to be a lorry driver, driving round the Cotswolds in the summer as the sun came up. No tourists, roads virtually empty. Magical.

    GarwayHFDS , Sandy Galabada Report