当好夜班经理（中/英）

对于那些愿意在大多数人睡觉的时候工作的人来说，工作的机会越来越多。现在全球经济每周7天，每天24小时的运转着，而且三班制或者夜班制的工作已经不仅仅针对那些技术不纯熟的员工了，John A. Challenger——全球再就业介绍公司Challenger, Gray& Christmas的执行总裁指出。
“午夜到早上八点这一轮工作已经不仅仅只针对蓝领阶层的员工了，”Challenger说。“随着业务不停的运作和世界范围内越来越多的顾客和员工，许多公司可能会聘用全夜班的人员资源专家以及三班制信息技术人员。他们甚至有可能拥有一个晚班营销团队来与地球另外一面的合作伙伴在晚上进行会谈。”
　　24小时作业的管理人员
　　劳动统计局报道将近有2400万美国人，在早上七点到晚上七点以外的时间也在工作。这些人当中有一半是医疗、技术、客户服务、零售、媒体行业的白领。预计随着越来越多的公司和机构进行24小时作业，这个数字还会继续增加。那意味着对于经理们来说将会有越来越多的机会，因为公司的业务和员工的作业都需要他们来领导。
　　夜班制的支持者和反对者
　　John Coffey，效力于处在米尼苏达州Woodbury市的Winning Careers(成功事业)公司的一名职业教练，曾经在制造行业做了25年的经理。关于夜班有两件事情最让他印象深刻：你很难睡个好觉，但是那夜晚恰恰就是工作的最好时刻。
“在上夜班的时候我从来没有一天睡到过8个小时，”Coffey说。“瞌睡和断断续续的睡眠就是夜班这个游戏的代名词。”
　　Coffey说管理好夜晚的工作有很多好处，比如很少会有执行主管，管理人员，卖主或者顾客会打搅你。他还发现夜班团队跟他们比例是9比5的白班制团队更加有凝聚力。而且从职业发展来说，夜晚的工作给他提供了一个很好的培训基础，因为他需要在没有其他主管和公司领导的信息输入情况下做出一些重要决策。
　　除了睡眠被剥夺以外，夜班不好的地方还包括你需要跟不同时间上班的员工打交道，有些人也是被剥夺睡眠了，有些人会睡过迟到了，有些人干脆根本就不来。
“有些人喜欢上夜班，而也有些人不喜欢上夜班，”Coffey说。“对于管理者来说，他们通常是夜班时唯一负责的人，所以所有的决策都必须要他们来制定。从质量问题到如何处理人员问题等所有的这些事情都落到了夜班经理的肩上。当早晨来临的时候，公司的高层领导来了，就会对晚上做出的决定做出评价。
　　人心有待振奋
　　Janie O’Connor——位于圣保罗的Shiftworker.com公司的总裁， 曾经对夜班经理进行过调查研究，并且指出雇员的工作热情在上夜班的时候会受到损害。
“从员工给轮班起的绰号和一些不好的名字可以看出他们对于这样的工作越来越不满意，这可能导致企业受挫，”O’Connor说。有一次在她的培训课上，在座的一位听众说，“试想一下，你是倒班族，清洁工，夜班族或是大夜班一族，这是怎样的一种感觉？——这对于自尊心是很大的伤害。”
　　O’Conor说夜班经理也需要应付夜班时薄弱的信息联络，不健康的饮食习惯，与睡眠相关的健康问题，以及那些认为公司不把自己当回事的员工。“越来越多的成功经理人对于这些问题变得敏感。”她说。
　　给夜班经理的一些建议：
　　O'Connor为你推荐以下的这些策略，让漆黑的夜晚变得光明：
　　•聘请那些有创新意识的员工。
　　•鼓励夜班的那些员工发表自己的意见，即使这些意见不一定被他们的同事们所认同。
　　•要求人力资源人员每个月一次或者两次在夜班时间就位，以便与经理或者员工商谈有关问题。
　　•利用夜班员工内部固有的凝聚力来创造高质量的产品和服务。

Manage the Night Shift
Management opportunities are growing for those willing to work when most people sleep. The world economy now runs 24/7, and third- or night-shift jobs are no longer solely for the unskilled, says John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
"The midnight-to-8-a.m. shift is no longer relegated to just blue-collar workers," says Challenger. "With nonstop operations and an increasing number of customers and staff worldwide, companies may employ all-night human resource professionals and third-shift information technology workers. They may even have a late-shift marketing team to conduct meetings with partners on the other side of the globe."
Managers for Round-the-Clock Operations
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that approximately 24 million Americans, half of whom are in white-collar occupations including healthcare, technology, customer service, retail and media, work outside of the 7 a.m.-to-7 p.m. shift. This number is expected to grow as more corporations and institutions operate around the clock. That means more opportunities for managers, who will be needed to lead these organizations and shifts.
Night Shift Pros and Cons
John Coffey, a job and career transition coach for Woodbury, Minnesota-based Winning Careers, spent more than 25 years as a manager in the manufacturing industry. Two things stood out from his experience on the night shift: It was tough to get good sleep, but it was one of the most pleasant times to work.
"I never slept an entire eight hours a day while working this shift," says Coffey. "Brief naps and very fretful sleep was the name of the game."
Coffey says there were many positives to managing the night shift, such as few interruptions from executives, support people, vendors and customers. He also found night-shift teams to be more cohesive than their 9-to-5 counterparts. And in terms of career development, his night job provided a good training ground, because he had to make key decisions without input from other managers or company leaders.
In addition to his own sleep deprivation, negatives included dealing with workers on different shifts, those who were sleep-deprived or workers who would come in late after oversleeping or not make it in at all.
"There are people on these shifts who love it and those who hate it," says Coffey. "For managers, they are often the only person in charge on the shift, so all decisions must be made by them. Everything from quality issues to how to deal with personnel issues fall upon the night-shift manager. Decisions are made and are the object of critique by the powers that be upon their arrival in the morning."
Morale Boosters
Janie O'Connor, president of St. Paul-based Shiftworker.com, has studied night-shift managers and says employee morale can often suffer on the night shift.
"Labels and negative names for shifts were seen as decreasing job satisfaction, which can lead to turnover," says O'Connor. During one of her training classes, one attendee said, "Consider the impact of belonging to the ff-shift,' lean-up crew,' og watch' or raveyard shift' -- it is not very affirming for self-esteem."
O'Connor says night managers also struggle with poor intershift communications, unhealthy eating habits, health issues related to sleep problems and staff members who feel they are not included as key members of the company. "More and more successful managers have become sensitive to these issues," she says.
Tips for Night Managers
O'Connor recommends these strategies for brighter nights:
•Invite night workers to be creative.
•Encourage shift workers to voice their opinions, even when not shared among their peers.
•Ask that human resources personnel be on site during night-shift hours once or twice monthly to discuss issues with managers and/or employees.
•Use the natural cohesiveness among night workers as a means to achieve production and service.
　　编辑：高文轲