double-back

v. to work a full shift and begin another after a break of eight or fewer hours. Also attributive and as noun. Subjects: English, Employment, Jargon

Editorial Note: This differs from a split shift, which is a single shift separated into two or more segments over the course of a day.

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Citations: 1989 Kenn Marshall Harrisburg Patriot (Pennsylvania) (Oct. 28) “State weighs payment to police for riot duty” p. A1: We had to adjust our schedule…and it was not only a monetary but a physical strain. A lot of officers had to double back, or come back to work after being off for four hours. 1992 Juan Forero, Kevin Collison Buffalo News (New York) (July 2) “Police To Get 12% Raise For Past 2 Years City Gains Supervision Over Those Calling In Sick”: The arbitrator did not rule against the current “double-back” work shift, as the city had sought.…The current system calls for officers to work an eight-hour shift, take off for eight hours and return for another work shift. 1993 Michael Beebe Buffalo News (New York) (Apr. 23) “New Pact Should Result In Better Police Morale Tiring ‘Double-Back’ System Removed”: “I think the antiquated system we have had of ‘doubling back’ should have been replaced long ago."…The former double-back arrangement meant that every other day, an officer who finishes an eight-hour shift at 8 a.m. goes back to work at 4 p.m. for eight more hours.…Gone will be the old double-back system for the night platoon, which meant working 16 out of 24 hours every other day. With court appearances and second jobs, sleep became rare for some officers. 2000 Anne Forrest Hecate (Oct. 1) “What Do Women Want from Union Representation?” vol. 26, no. 2, p. 47: “They used to have one shift that was stuck on afternoons all the time. That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all for these people, because that was a condition that they got hired that they had to stay on an afternoon shift plus they had to double-back on the Saturday shift.” The double-back was physically very difficult, Susie said, but management “just didn’t care. They had no compassion, no nothing.” 2006 John Reynolds State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois) (July 10) “Dispatchers, 911 system at odds over overtime due ”: With so few dispatchers, people often work overtime to fill gaps in the schedule, according to the union. Eight-hour shifts can turn into 12 hours if there aren’t enough dispatchers available to work, which can lead to what is known as “double-back.” “Double-back is a situation where you work and you have to come back in eight hours, which really doesn’t allow for much rest,” Gurnsey said. “We have people now who will sometimes work 12 hours, and then work 12 hours the next day, and then due to how the shifts fall, they may only have eight hours off and have to come back and work another 12 hours.”

Posted 23 Aug 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend