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4 on 4 off vs Panama
Both are twelve-hour rotations averaging forty-two hours a week. They differ in how the time off arrives — in one big block, or spread evenly with your weekends protected.
| 4 on 4 off | vs | Panama |
|---|---|---|
| The cycle | ||
| 12 hours | Shift length | 12 hours |
| 8 or 16 days | Cycle length | 14 days |
| 42 hours | Average week | 42 hours |
| 4 | Most shifts in a row | 3 |
| 4 days | Longest break in the cycle | 3 days |
| What it does to your week | ||
| NoAn 8-day cycle walks through the week | Days off land on the same weekdays each cycle | Yes14 days lands on the same days |
| NoWeekends move through the pattern | Every other weekend off | Yes |
| Yes | A four-day break every cycle | No |
| No | Standing weekly commitments are possible | YesEvery other week |
| Fatigue | ||
| Yes | Four night shifts in a row | NoNever more than three |
| 4 days | Recovery time after a night block | 2 or 3 days |
Same hours, different shape
Both patterns land on forty-two hours a week. Four on four off gets there with four twelve-hour shifts every eight days; Panama gets there with seven shifts every fourteen. The arithmetic is the same and the week is completely different.
The eight-day cycle is the whole argument
Four on four off does not line up with a seven-day week. Your days off walk forward two days each cycle, so over a couple of months you will have worked every day of the week and had every day of the week off.
That is either the best thing about it or the worst. It is fair — nobody permanently loses Saturdays. It is also impossible to plan around. A Tuesday night class, a Thursday league, a standing family dinner: none of them survive an eight-day cycle.
Panama's fourteen days divide evenly into the week, so it lands on the same days forever. Every other weekend is a three-day weekend, permanently, and you can build a life around that.
Four in a row against three
The other difference is the block. Four consecutive twelve-hour night shifts is a genuinely hard run, and the fourth one is where people feel it. Panama never asks for more than three.
What you get for it is four days off together, which is real recovery time and long enough to travel or work a block of paid duty jobs without cutting into your sleep.
Which to bid
If your life outside work has fixed commitments — kids' sports, a class, a partner on a normal week — Panama is easier to live with. If you want long stretches of time off and nothing weekly to protect, four on four off gives you more usable days in a row.
Full detail on each pattern: 4 on 4 off schedule · Panama schedule
The shift schedule you actually work
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