Should I Split the Hour for Daylight Saving Time? Reddit User Seeks Advice
WIBTA if I refuse to split the hour during Daylight Saving Time after being denied the same courtesy by the night watch leader, setting up a potential showdown in November?
Some workplaces handle daylight saving time like it is a minor inconvenience. This one? They treat it like a scheduling boss fight.
OP and their partner group run 12-hour watches, with one section on days and the other on nights, then they rotate for a couple of days and rest. The problem hits on the Sunday DST starts in the US, because OP’s watch will land on days while the other section is on nights. In past years, the groups split the lost hour by adding or trimming 30 minutes to keep everyone’s total hours fair.
But this time, the night watch leader says their section is not affected, so they are not splitting anything.
Original Post
We work 12 hour watches (one section works days; another works nights) for a couple of days and then we rest. Unfortunately, my watch will be on this coming Sunday, which is the start of DST in the US.
In the years that I've been here, watches have been cooperative and in the spirit of goodwill towards each other, we split that difference. When we spring forward, the day watch comes in later to recover 30 minutes from that lost hour of sleep (the night watch, having worked just 11 hours, would work an extra 30 minutes for a total of 11:30 hours); when we fall back, same deal; day watch relieves the night watch 30 minutes earlier and each section will have worked 12:30 hours.
When inquiring about how we'd split the hour this time, the leader of the night watch said that because their section is not affected, they won't split the hour, and that one less hour of sleep is just the way it is. What the leader is failing to realize is that when we fall back in November, my watch will be on days and theirs will be on nights.
Talking to other folks that have been in watches with other groups, they said that they've never split the hour and never expected to either (meaning that they'll work the 13 hours when we fall back or 11 hours when we spring forward). WIBTA if, come November, I am asked to split the hour and I say "no" and when asked for a reason just say "it's just the way it is"?
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And this is just like the sisters arguing over skipping a parenting seminar and discipline methods, where the sibling clash turned into a full family rift.
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OP explains that in spring and fall, the day watch used to come in later or earlier by 30 minutes, so both sides stayed close to their 12-hour rhythm.</p>
Then the night watch leader shuts it down, claiming one less hour of sleep is “just the way it is,” even though that logic flips in November for OP’s schedule.</p>
When OP points out that the day shift will be the one dealing with the fall-back hour while the other group is on nights, the leader’s “not affected” excuse stops sounding so simple.</p>
Now OP is bracing for November, wondering if refusing to split the hour will make them the bad guy, especially after years of cooperative goodwill.</p>
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section.
Nobody wants to work 13 hours while calling it “fair” the moment it benefits the other shift.
Want more family drama like the AITA post about excluding critical in-laws from the reunion? Read the Reddit case about prioritizing parenting over in-law drama.
