Sling has now rebranded to Sling by Toast! This exciting change represents a stronger commitment to providing comprehensive solutions for team management and scheduling. Continue reading to find out more about our features and how they can benefit your business.

Key Features

• Labor Costs: Optimize your labor costs as you schedule.
• Task Management: Assign and delegate tasks per shift or employee.
• Time Clock: Accurately track employee work time from anywhere.
• Multiple Work Locations: Easily schedule and communicate across locations.
• Communication: Stay in touch with messaging, newsfeed, and more.
• Integrations: Manage all your work from a single easy-to-use platform.

More Features

• Employee documents
• Mobile time tracking
• Announcements
• Employee breaks

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Shift Work: What It Is and The Industries That Use It

If your business is open for more than 10 hours a day, chances are you’re going to need to schedule some type of shift work.

But what exactly is shift work? What industries use it? And how can you set up shift scheduling for your business? The management experts at Sling answer those questions and more in this article.

What Is Shift Work?

Shift work takes place during times that exceed the traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. Shift work may involve morning work (e.g., 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.), night work (e.g., 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.), or a rotating shift schedule that incorporates both.

The Different Types of Shifts

• 1st Shift: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• 2nd Shift: 4 p.m. to 12 a.m.
• 3rd Shift: 12 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Part-Time vs. Full-Time

Most businesses build their traditional shifts around full-time work. But what exactly is full-time?

Full-Time

A 40-hour workweek didn’t appear in the common lexicon until 1940. Nowhere does it state that 40 hours equals full-time work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines “full-time” as 35 hours or more per week.

Part-Time

Full-time work is arbitrary, with most businesses setting the bar somewhere between 30 and 40 hours per week. Part-time work is a repeating schedule in which an employee works fewer hours than are required for full-time.

Novel Approaches to Shift Work

9/80 Work Schedule

A 9/80 work schedule consists of eight nine-hour shifts, one eight-hour shift, and one day off spread out over a two-week period.

Flextime

Flextime is a special arrangement in which employees can vary the start and finish of their shift as long as they are present during specific core hours.

Split Shift

A split shift is a type of work schedule in which an employee’s workday is divided into two or more distinct parts separated by two or more hours.

What Industries Use Shift Work?

• Call center representative
• Customer service representative
• Server
• Food runner
• Manager
• Housekeeping
• Cook
• Bartender
• Stock Clerk
• Cashier
• EMT
• Firefighter
• Police officer
• Security guard
• Nurse
• Doctor
• Bus driver
• Factory worker
• Warehouse worker

Key Aspects of Shift Work

Advantages of Shift Work

Shift work gives all your employees the opportunity to work both busy and slow shifts, keeping them engaged and helping them learn how to work during peak hours.

Disadvantages of Shift Work

The main disadvantage is that employees may want a more consistent schedule. Shift work can also impact employees' physical health, leading to sleep deprivation and other issues.

How to Set Up Shifts

For example, the 2-2 / 3-2 / 2-3 shift schedule for a coffee shop. Basically, everyone rotates through the same pattern of days, nights, and time off.

Use the Right Tool to Help Schedule Shift Work

Sling's cloud-based features make it easy for you to create and manage even the most complicated schedules.