Originally Posted by
Gonzo
Of course, it all depends how you look at it.
The other view would be that Monday to Friday workers have 40 extra working days than H24 watchkeeprs. At my unit the majority of each watch on a given cycle do not do night shifts, so they do get 4 days off per cycle.
Not sure what you mean by 'most office workers do 9-day fortnights'. I certainly don't. I'd also dispute your claim that WFH means working much less.
I'm guessing that WFH doesn't include a journey to and from work that may be an hour or more dealing with stressful traffic. A trip from the home work area to the kitchen will be quicker and easier. and may save many hours per week especially when the weather is poor, which ATCOs on shift will make a huge effort to get through to work as part of a 'team'.
I also have done both, and shifts, especially nights, are harder to deal with when older. It's the shift from finishing at 0700 and pivoting to mornings when next back at work that's the killer. I believe one of the Scandinavian countries doesn't allow ATCOs over a certain age to do nights. Still, after 38 years of shiftwork, I'm retiring soon, and looking forward to it.