Bakers and Bartenders

Are you the kind of person who loves to be around other people, and who loves to talk and socialize at all hours of the day and night? If you are, and you are employed as a shiftworker, you may be experiencing some difficulties, or you may be fitting in quite well with the shiftworker’s lifestyle. Since we know that there are many factors that help determine a person’s ability to adjust to shiftwork, we must assume that the answer is not as simple as it seems. When we add the personality factors of introversion or extroversion, we have to modify our analysis. In other words, “It depends on the job, and it depends on you.”

Our opening question contains two factors -- The degree of introversion or extroversion, and the degree of “morningness” and “eveningness”. (If you recall from a previous article, we also call these types “larks” and “owls.”) So once again, we must say, “It depends.” I have developed a model that explains different types of shiftworker profiles based on these factors. Each profile is named after an occupation that “vaguely” represents the attributes of that category.

This week, we’ll explore the profiles of the Baker and the Bartender. In our next visit, we’ll look at the Farmer and the Night Watchman.

The Baker

Are you a lark? Do you like people around, preferably in the morning? As much as you like to socialize, you ask people, “Please don’t call after 6:00 p.m.”

If you seriously have trouble staying up in the evening, you may not suited very well to shiftwork (or at least the evening, or “swing” shift). Night-oriented shifts associated with many jobs are completely out of synch with the lark’s normal rhythms. If you’re a gregarious lark, it’s best to stick to the day shift, preferably with an early starting time. You’d be very good managing a charter fishing boat. Some gregarioius larks actually enjoy a night shift that extends in to their peak energy times (6:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.)

Bakers rise early (no pun intended) to prepare their confections, and happily await the morning onslaught of sugar-dependent customers. What greater joy does a baker have than to watch others enjoy the efforts of the early morning? I’ve had quite a bit of joy in bakeries myself, but that’s another story.

The Bartender

The bartender likes being around people and loves to socialize into the early morning hours. Most of us used to fit into this category back in our college days, but that once again, is another story. As we get a little older, we slide into our natural God-given rhythms.

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