During which hours does the night shift differential apply?

The choice indicating that the night shift differential applies from 10 PM to 6 AM is commonly used by many organizations as a standard definition of night shift hours. This timeframe covers the most common period during which employees are working in the night shift category, recognizing that work performed during these hours is often less desirable due to natural human sleep cycles.

The practice of providing a night shift differential is to compensate employees for the inconvenience of working non-traditional hours, encouraging retention and willingness to work during these less preferred times.

Other common time frames, like 8 PM to 4 AM or 11 PM to 7 AM, may also exist in some organizations but often do not align with the standard definition for purposes of calculating the night shift differential. The time span chosen often reflects a balance of meeting operational needs while also providing adequate compensation to employees for the less favorable shifts.