Rotating shift schedules explained: 2-2-3, Panama, DuPont and 4 on 4 off

A rotating schedule repeats a fixed pattern of shifts and days off. The common round-the-clock patterns, 2-2-3 (Pitman), Panama, DuPont and 4 on 4 off, all average 42 hours a week, because four crews share the 168 hours in a week. What differs is how they bunch the work: the longest stretch of shifts, how many nights in a row, and how long the breaks are.

Updated October 2026

The schedules side by side

D is a day shift, E an evening, N a night and O a day off. Names vary between employers: “Pitman” and “Panama” are both used for 2-2-3 patterns, and many workplaces rotate the same pattern between days and nights.

Why so many come out at 42 hours

A week has 168 hours. When four crews share round-the-clock cover, each crew works 168 ÷ 4 = 42 hours a week on average, whatever the pattern. The 24-hour schedules use three crews, so each works 168 ÷ 3 = 56.

2-2-3 (Pitman)

Work 2, off 2, work 3, off 2, work 2, off 3: seven 12-hour shifts every two weeks.

If your employer’s workweek runs Sunday to Saturday and the cycle starts on a Monday, you work 3 shifts (36 hours) one week and 4 (48 hours) the next, and every other weekend is a three-day weekend off.

Panama, days and nights

The same 2-2-3 rhythm over four weeks: two weeks on days, then two weeks on nights.

DuPont

A four-week cycle with a seven-day break: 4 nights, 3 off, 3 days, 1 off, 3 nights, 3 off, 4 days, 7 off. See the DuPont schedule explained for its weekly hours and crew cover.

4 on, 4 off

Four 12-hour shifts, then four days off. Rotated, as here, it is four days, four off, four nights, four off; some workplaces run days only.

Continental and the 24-hour schedules

The 8-hour Continental pattern here runs two days, two evenings, two nights and two off. The 24-hour patterns are 24 on, 48 off, and the Kelly schedule, which repeats on, off, on, off, on, then four off.

Overtime: averages don’t count

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, a workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods, and averaging hours over two or more weeks is not permitted. Non-exempt employees are owed time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek. So a 2-2-3 schedule that averages 42 hours can still mean 8 hours of overtime in every 48-hour week. Which weeks are long depends on the day and hour your employer’s workweek starts, and a night shift that crosses that boundary splits its hours between two weeks.

What NIOSH’s guidance says about rotations

NIOSH’s training for shift-working nurses summarizes guidelines researchers have proposed for designing schedules:

• keep consecutive night shifts to a minimum on rotating schedules;
• in the evening and at night, shorter shifts (8 hours or less) are better tolerated than longer ones;
• with extended shifts of 12 hours or more, avoid several days of work followed by 4- to 7-day “mini-vacations”;
• consider two rest days after three consecutive 12-hour shifts.

It also notes that studies comparing 12-hour and 8-hour shift systems have shown mixed results on sleep, alertness, safety and health. If you are choosing between schedules, compare the columns above with these guidelines and with your own commitments outside work.

Schedules vary by employer and agreement; this guide describes common forms of each. Overtime figures use the federal FLSA baseline for non-exempt employees and count each shift in the week it starts; state law, contracts and special rules can differ. General information, not legal advice.