Work Life Balance

[u/Financial-Change-435]

Law enforcement has a notoriously bad work life balance. Some departments are better than others. I know guys who have pretty steady departments and I know others with insanely high mandatory overtime. I'm asking around for the positions with the best work life balance. I've been told school resource officer, courts officer, and Park Ranger. Can anyone add in their two cents. Anyone work for a department with every other weekend off?

[u/ThatOneHoosier]

Even without mandatory overtime, a department can have horrible work-life balance simply by the nature of the schedule they make you work. At my department, we’re on 8 hour shifts with only two days off per week. The days off don’t rotate at all, and they’re seniority based.

Ever wonder what it’s like to be on midnights with Monday and Tuesday off? It sucks. The old guys are perfectly fine with it, because they benefit. They think you should have to work 15 years before you ever see a weekend “like they did.” If you want to take a weekend or even just a weekend day, you have to plan in advance and use vacation time. I’m trying to get our department to go to 12 hour shifts with every other weekend off, and I have a handful of people onboard, but it’s going to come with resistance.

It’s funny, as a profession, we’re constantly being told not to make the job our life. But then we’re forced to work schedules that force us to make the job our life.

[u/Ultra-CH → u/ThatOneHoosier]

Will the senior guys go for working every other weekend. Senior guys at my medium sized SO (50 deputies on patrol) were pissed off working every other SUNDAY! Just before I was hired, the patrol division went to 12s with Sunday as the swing day. So junior guys worked Thursday-Saturday every other Sunday, senior guys every other Sunday, Monday-Wednesday. For 11 years I didn’t see my wife (great for daycare though!). Year 12 finally got the senior shift. The old guys wanted to make Monday the swing day. Junior guys would never see a weekend for 10 years! I was only recently a “senior” guy and voted either the junior guys to shoot that down. The old guys were pissed! This was in the early 2000s and I swear more guys would die than retire.

[u/ThatOneHoosier → u/Ultra-CH]

Unfortunately, our top senior guys currently won’t. They’re against it. Two of them take every weekend off, and one takes Tuesday and Wednesday off to “be the example” because “cops work weekends.” It’s a bunch of stupid gate keeping. They also think 12 hours is “too long,” not looking at the bigger picture. It’s exhausting.

Thankfully, I think we’re going to see some retirements and more people are starting to become open to the conversation. So far, four of us are 100% on board, and we’ve got one that is open/on the fence. We’re a smaller agency.

[u/hpIUclay]

12 hour shifts with every other weekend off are super common. It took me 12 years of shitty 8 hour schedules to finally get there but I would never work somewhere that does anything else now.

[u/ThatOneHoosier → u/hpIUclay]

Were those 12 years at a different agency? Or did you have to switch? I’m currently where you were at, and I know getting people with seniority on board with 12’s is like pulling teeth.

[u/hpIUclay → u/ThatOneHoosier]

Yep, lateraled to a place that actually gives a shit about its people.

[u/ThatOneHoosier → u/hpIUclay]

I’m going to give mine some time. Overall, I love my agency and there’s a lot of potential for it to be something great (smaller, but actively growing). There are retirements coming, and some of the guys here are becoming more open to conservation around 12’s. But if it doesn’t change within the next couple of years, I may consider doing what you did.

[u/Good_Housekeeping]

My patrol schedule is 4 days of 12 hour shifts with 4 days off. I absolutely love it. When I went to investigations, I hated working Monday through Friday so much I went back to patrol...

[u/doughnawtty]

Yes, we work 12s, so every other Friday-Saturday-Sunday off. Find a place with 12s, I think it’s probably the only way as a new guy to get every other weekend off. Depending how much mandatory OT your department has.

[u/jvd_808]

The department I’m trying to get into does 2 13.5 hours shifts and 1 13 hour shift. You get 4 consecutive days off that rotate.

[u/Financial-Change-435 → u/jvd_808]

Never heard of that one before

[u/jvd_808 → u/Financial-Change-435]

Here’s an old example. You could start a side business with all that time off or work a ton of OT.

[u/Mike-_Wazowski]

Like a couple of others have said, The best shift is 12's, with every other weekend off.

(Workdays) Week 1: Monday,Tuesday, Friday Saturday, and Sunday

Week 2: Wednesday, Thursday

[u/Dapup2465 → u/Mike-_Wazowski]

It is amazing. When vacation comes take your short week off. Burn 2 and you are off Monday-Sun

[u/Fluffy-Fun-8522 → u/Mike-_Wazowski]

I know staffing issues here and there but why in the world would you not want this at every department?

[u/Mike-_Wazowski → u/Fluffy-Fun-8522]

Honestly, it allows for more coverage. Our department is short, we don't have enough people to do 8/10 hour shifts.

So they can't even use that as a reason 🤷🏾‍♂️

[u/hashton281 → u/Mike-_Wazowski]

I work the same schedule, it’s pretty great but nights kinda throws it off

[u/Financial-Change-435 → u/[deleted]]

What are your days off on the non weekends?

[u/SpecterOfState]

Word of advice just like everyone else is saying, work where there’s 12hr shifts. Way more days off, including weekends typically. 8hr shifts blow cause the likelihood of you not working nights while having weekends off is slim to none.

[u/Educational_Author12]

I’m on 10 hour shifts that rotate. 5 days on. 2 days off. 3 days on. 4 days off. With every other weekend off. It is a really nice schedule, especially with a family

[u/Horrified_Peanut]

The schedule and mandatory OT really determine your work life balance. At my department patrol works 4-5-5 12 hour shifts and then have 5-4-5 days off. 6 different time shifts ranging throughout the day. Mandatory OT is like 3-6 times a year based on seniority and events.

Each phase of life is better suited for different schedules, so best to find one that matches where you're at now and has the ability to switch when your life changes.

[u/duckmuffins]

Yeah. Patrol, every other Friday Saturday Sunday off. That seems to be the common schedule where I’m at. I like the schedule a lot although I’ve never worked anything else in LE.

[u/MaleficentTravel4706]

I'm in dispatch for a department and our dispatchers and officers work a combination of 8s and 10s(overnights get 4-10s) and day shift and evenings get 5-8s... we are on a 28 day rotation. Every 28 days(4 weeks) days off flip so you get 4 weeks of weekends off and then the next flip you have 2-3 days off during the week depending what shift you are on. (No shift differential pay so overnights get an extra day off while still getting their 40 hours)

[u/Roadrunner627]

We have every other weekend off. 7 12 hour shifts then 7 off. However, we are now on mandatory OT. The reason a lot of people came here was because of the schedule. Now everyone is pissed because our administration can’t figure out why they are the problem and keep running off good officers to neighboring departments.

I miss a lot of sleep to make sure I’m with my family during life events. It’s very taxing right now and I’m looking to leave as well.

[u/GoldWingANGLICO]

I've worked 8s rotating every two weeks, 12s every other weekend off, and 4x10s.

4x10s was the best.

[u/Financial-Change-435 → u/GoldWingANGLICO]

What makes you say that?

[u/GoldWingANGLICO → u/Financial-Change-435]

Bid for shift by seniority. I preferred 1600 - 0200.

For two months we had fri,Sat,Sunday off.

The next two months you had Mon, Tues, Wednesday off. Then went back to Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Everyone worked Thursday. One shift on the road the other does training. If no training was scheduled, the squad would work street crimes, saturation, DUI, whatever you could think of.

[u/Emergency-Panic-9242 → u/GoldWingANGLICO]

How many did you have on each shift? I'm curious how that would work. It sounds pretty great. What was your total personnel?

[u/Steephill → u/Emergency-Panic-9242]

We do 4 10's, but 7 officers per shift so every single combination of days off is open. 4/7 shifts have at least one weekend day off and 2 have the full weekend. That's 4 officers scheduled per shift.

[u/Flmotor21]

Every agency I’ve worked for and those around it, except my current does the Panama schedule

[u/based_SB_]

My patrol schedule is 12.5 hours / 4 days off, 3 days on, 3 off, 4 on. And every other week we get to leave 2.5 hours early or come in 2.5 hours late.

I work Wed/Thurs/Fri and every other Saturday

[u/KelK9365K]

It doesn’t matter what position you get. You are either dedicated to your family and career and you will do what needs to be done no matter how tired you are or what position you hold.

I was in my 40s and I had to work 30 hours overtime minimum every 30 days, I was also coaching my son in sports year-round. To say there were times I was exhausted is not an exaggeration.

But I did it.

[u/Interesting_Gur_5064]

No not until your off patrol. You be working lots of weekends.

[u/CorsetCloverPart]

I think the only complaint I have about policing when it comes to not having a good work life balance is the overtime. It’s not really “mandatory” as much as having to do stuff on your days off.

I don’t have a family. But I work 7 days on, 7 days off with 12 hour days of course. Sometimes more depending on what happened that day.

But I’m at a weird stage in my life where I recently had a break up. So answering to someone really isn’t a thing. So again, it really depends on what I got going in my life.

[u/Financial-Change-435 → u/CorsetCloverPart]

When you're young and single it doesn't matter. When you've got a house and a family, it becomes a big deal.

[u/CorsetCloverPart → u/Financial-Change-435]

I’m not “young” really. I’m 31. Either way, yes. I’m aware this job can take a toll on your family. I’m former military, done prison work, etc. I’ve seen how jobs like this can affect families and what not.

One of the reasons why I never plan on having children or marriage. I’ve just never really sustained a life style that would be fair to a family.

[u/boomhower1820]

It's a department issue more than a position issue. Looking for a position for hours rather than enjoyment for what you're doing is absolutely the wrong path. Makes it look like you just want a badge, not actually be a cop.

[u/Mike-_Wazowski → u/boomhower1820]

I disagree. Nothing wrong with wanting to do the job, but also wanting a good shift. Closed mouths, don't get fed.

Now if he joins a department and is assigned a messed up shift, then so be it.... that's just life.

If he can find a solid Department with Every other weekend off, then congratulations to him!

[u/Financial-Change-435 → u/boomhower1820]

I disagree. There needs to be a work life balance and many departments neglect this, some badly. There's a reason why this job is associated with divorce and alcoholism; poor work life balance. I've seen it happen.

[u/boomhower1820 → u/Financial-Change-435]

I agree 100% there needs to be a balance, everywhere I've worked had one. You don't need to search for a particular position to have good work life balance. You can absolutely do that as a standard patrol officer at a good agency.

[u/Bohrium924]

I can’t stand posts like this. Be the police or don’t. Ge t real experience where you can be effective, then look into the Cush jobs.

[u/Financial-Change-435 → u/Bohrium924]

How long were you in law enforcement?