Rotating Shift Schedules Compared

Last updated June 15, 2026

Side-by-side comparison

The work/off and hour figures are counted directly from each rotation's fixed cycle, so they are exact. The "best for" verdicts below are judgment calls — the right pattern still depends on your operation's coverage needs and what your team values most.

Which rotating shift schedule is best?

There is no single best rotating shift schedule, but there is a best one for each goal. For 24/7 coverage with every other weekend fully off, Pitman (2-2-3) is the most popular. For a long recovery break, DuPont builds in a full week off each cycle. For the simplest, most predictable rhythm, 4-on-4-off wins. For a true 40-hour week, choose 8-hour Southern Swing or 10-hour 4-on-3-off.

• 4 on 4 off — best for simple, predictable 24/7 coverage with frequent long breaks.
• 4 on 3 off — best for a flat 40-hour week with a three-day weekend feel and no built-in overtime.
• Pitman (2-2-3) — best for never working more than three days running and getting every other weekend off.
• Panama — best for the 2-2-3 rhythm while still rotating through night shifts.
• DuPont — best for a full seven-day break packed into every cycle.
• Southern Swing — best for shorter 8-hour shifts that rotate through day, evening, and night.

Pitman, Panama, 2-2-3, 2-3-2: which name means what?

These names cause real confusion because sources disagree. Here is how they actually relate:

• 2-2-3 is the pattern itself — 2 days on, 2 off, 3 on, then 2 on, 2 off, 3 off across 14 days. "2-3-2" is the same rhythm described from a different starting day.
• Pitman is the common name for a 2-2-3 schedule run on a 14-day cycle, usually on a fixed shift time, where teams alternate days and nights.
• Panama is a 2-2-3 stretched over 28 days that adds a slow rotation from a fortnight of day shifts to a fortnight of nights.

So yes — Pitman is a 2-2-3 schedule, and Panama is a 28-day, day-to-night variant of the same 2-2-3 rhythm. If a source calls Pitman "2-3-2," it is describing the identical pattern from a different day-one.

How to read "average hours per week"

A rotating schedule almost never gives a tidy 40-hour calendar week, so the fair way to compare patterns is the cycle average: total worked hours in one full cycle, spread evenly across its days, scaled to seven. A 4-on-4-off rotation on 12-hour shifts works four 12-hour days every eight days — 48 hours per eight days, which averages 42 hours a week even though no individual week is ever exactly 42. That two-hour-a-week overage above 40 is why most 12-hour rotations build in regular overtime; the overtime pay calculator shows what that is worth, and the federal overtime basics guide explains why overtime is still judged one workweek at a time, not by the cycle average.

8, 10, or 12-hour shifts: the core trade-off

Shift length is the first decision, and it cascades into everything else. Twelve-hour shifts cover a 24-hour day with just two teams and tend to produce more whole days off, which is why 4-on-4-off, Pitman, Panama, and DuPont are all built on them — the trade is longer, more tiring days and a week that runs a couple of hours past 40. Eight-hour shifts, like the Southern Swing, need three teams to cover the day and give shorter, less fatiguing shifts, at the cost of more workdays and fewer long breaks. Ten-hour shifts, as in 4-on-3-off, sit between the two and can land a clean 40-hour week.

Fixed vs. rotating shifts

A "fixed" rotation keeps you on the same time of day — our 4-on-4-off and 4-on-3-off generators show a steady day-shift crew. A "rotating" pattern moves you through different shift times: DuPont swaps between day and night within each cycle, Panama drifts slowly from a fortnight of days to a fortnight of nights, and the Southern Swing walks through day, then swing (evening), then night. Faster rotation spreads the unpopular night hours evenly but is harder on the body clock; slower rotation is gentler to adjust to but keeps you on nights for longer stretches.

The six patterns at a glance

• 4 on 4 off — the simplest 12-hour rotation: four straight days on, four straight off, on an 8-day cycle. Predictable, with long recovery blocks; best for round-the-clock cover without rotating nights in the basic form.
• 4 on 3 off — four 10-hour days then three off, a 7-day cycle that lands a true 40-hour week with a built-in three-day weekend feel and no automatic overtime.
• Pitman (2-2-3) — the public-safety favourite: a 14-day cycle of 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off, so every other weekend is fully off and you never work more than three days in a row.
• Panama — the same 2-2-3 rhythm, but stretched over 28 days with a slow rotation from two weeks of days into two weeks of nights.
• DuPont — a 28-day classic of heavy industry that packs a full seven consecutive days off into every cycle, rotating between day and night shifts the rest of the time.
• Southern Swing — the 8-hour, three-team option: a week of days, a week of swings, a week of nights across a 28-day cycle, for operations that prefer shorter shifts and a full rotation through every slot.

Frequently asked questions

Related tools and guides

• Shift Schedule Generator — build any rotation, named or custom, into a printable work/off calendar.
• Time Card Calculator — total the hours and pay for any specific week of your rotation, with breaks and overtime.
• Work Hours in a Year Calculator — see how a given weekly average adds up across a full year.