Shift work and meeting new people

[toxyboy]

Anyone done shift work and found it harder to maintain a hobby/activity where you would meet new people as you can't go every week thus not build relationships through repeated exposure? Any suggestions on how to get around it? I'm currently in that position so any pointers would help

[Furdle_McShmurdle]

There are plenty of people who work shifts and in a similar position so you're not alone with this. I've done shift work in the past and understand how difficult it is to meet new people. I worked a Sunday to Thursday shift 2pm to 10pm. I was with my partner at that time so it wasn't an issue about meeting new people.

I'm not sure what shift or shifts you work toxyboy or how you prefer to meet people but there are a couple of things i could suggest.

Hope these are idea you've not already looked at:

Have you heard of meetup groups?

I've recently joined three "meetup" groups which have interests for many tastes. London will be a hotbed for many different meetup social groups and you're likely to find something which interests you. I recommend checking out the website and see which social groups interest you. Meetup meets are advertised in advance so you can plan ahead as to when you're off work or have other commitments.

A meetup group can be on any day of the week and at any time. However, most social groups run on a Saturday and Sunday and on weekday evenings.
You can attend meetings by joining and becoming a member. Once a member you can write a a few small lines about yourself and add an avatar if you wish. You can check out there calendar and see what you fancy attending and RSVP. If you're suddenly unable to attend due to work or any other reason you can change your RSVP.

My experience of meetup group meets is that there is a core element of the group whom attend regularly and there are also people who attend once or twice and before peetering out. If you're unable to make a regualr meet, there will often be the mainstay element of the social group who you will be familiar with and get to know further.

It's defintely worth looking into and trying one out for yourself :-)

If you're at home and like to socialise online in realtime you could perhaps use mainstream internet chatrooms. There is also the chatroom on the SA site that you could use which is a very friendly place and make friends that you could possibly socialise with in person. I'm not sure if you use that already though.

[avoider]

I have the same problem...i often miss things i really want to go to due to having some late nihht shifts..also i sometimes work vdry early shifts and subsequently feel too sleep deprived when i get home to do anything...let alone attend a social event.

[Sid]

Me!! I do permanent nights.
I did ask my boss for one regular night off once so I could go dance class.... it only lasted a few weeks before she started putting me on that night again..... hence had to quit dance class as couldn't keep up with the dances after missing a few classes

(Was street dance and fast paced)

[toxyboy]

Hey, thanks for the suggestions, yeah I'm actually on meetup, I find the continuity difficult as I work earlies, middle and late shifts over 7 days a week, so trying to build any sort of relationships with people through constant exposure is difficult as I can't go to any activites on the same day every week. Online chatrooms are ok but I crave actually meeting people, I can't quit my job as it pays well and it's so hard to find one nowadays so I guess I'm going to have to do a mixture of everything or even start my own sort of club/group and try to find people that share my interests (daunting as I would worry that no one will come, but nothing ventured nothing gained) and see where it goes, oh how I crave the Monday-Friday 9-5!

[diplodocus]

Did shift work for a bit. My patterns altered all the time, days and nights. I found it pretty hard to keep up my hobbies and my social life suffered a lot too. I'd not do it again for those reasons and also for my health.