Night owls more likely to have Dark Triad of personality traits

[Cervus]

My job currently has me getting up at 6:00 AM for morning shifts. I've been doing it for several weeks but will never get used to it. Half a lifetime of being free to live on my own circadian schedule has my body screaming "NO NO NO stop doing this, you're killing me!" Since I started this job, I've been running on 5 hours of sleep or less every night, simply because I cannot fall asleep before my natural bedtime of somewhere between midnight and 1 AM. Trying to take a nap when I get home doesn't help; it just makes things worse because then I can't fall asleep at all at night.

I've been hearing rumors at work that I'll be taking over the afternoon shift, which would mean a reduction in hours (and therefore pay) but I'm at the point where I'll be grateful to be able to get back on my natural sleep cycle and the work schedule that suits me best. The long-term effects on my health are worth more to me than extra money in my paycheck.

[DawnStorm]

Hope it happens for you Cervus.
That's one advantage of my job: no set time. No I shouldn't dawdle, but I don't have to set an alarm either.

[WildaBeast]

The "normal" beginning of the workday where I work is 8 am, but in reality no one really cares what time you show up and what time you go home as long as you get your work done. Yet for some reason I still set my alarm clock with the goal of getting to work at 8:00. I don't know why I bother. My morning usually go something like this: Alarm rings. I turn it off, roll over, and go back to sleep for another hour or so. Finally get up, get ready for work, and roll in between 9:00 and 9:30.

[Mad Jay]

My industry used to have flex time. However, with jobs moving offshore, flextime is becoming a distant reality for many people in the US. If 80% your co-workers are in India, you need to be at work at 8 am EST (6 PM India time) so you can meet with them for couple of hours. Gone are the days of rolling into work at 11am.

I don't know how people on the west coast manage. Do they come into work at 5am? Or do they meet their co-workers at 8 PM or so?

[WildaBeast]

Originally Posted by Mad Jay

I don't know how people on the west coast manage. Do they come into work at 5am? Or do they meet their co-workers at 8 PM or so?

Yes, pretty much. Or vice-versa. I have a meeting every week at 8:00 am. For the people in India it's 8:30 pm. Other times I have to meet with them at 8:00 or even 9:00 pm.

[Mad Jay]

Right! That means a large percentage of people in the software industry are either getting up early or going to be late. Does that mean the entire industry displays signs of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathic tendencies?

[WildaBeast]

It probably depends on which of those times you actually prefer to have your meetings. I don't really like either option, but if those are the only choices I'd rather have my meetings in the morning. Not that I like getting up early, but after 8 pm I'm not really in the right frame of mind to think about work anymore. At that time of day I'd rather be sitting in front of the TV and not have to think about work until the next day. Besides I find it hard to get to sleep if I don't have enough down time before I go to bed.

[WildaBeast]

On the subject of having meetings early in the morning, I'm going to have to go to a meeting at 7:00 in the morning this Thursday. That's right, 7:00. I take back what I said about preferring to have meetings in the morning. 8:00 I can manage since I can call in from home, but at 7:00 I will pretty much rolling out of bed and calling in. I'll try to at least make a cup of coffee first.