An Analysis of the Best Shifts at Amazon Warehouse

With billions of packages delivered each year, Amazon never stops operating. Consequently, there are many different shifts available at Amazon’s warehouses. 

In this post, we will explore which shifts at Amazon are the best for those with certain preferences or life circumstances. 

Note that this post applies specifically to entry level Amazon warehouse jobs - management, customer service, and corporate roles at Amazon work on different schedules.

What shifts are available at Amazon?

This post applies to the 3 main types of Amazon warehouse: Fulfillment Centers (FCs), Sortation Centers (SCs), and Delivery Stations (DSs). Depending on which type of warehouse you work at, certain shifts may be more common than others.

Note that the typical start and end times given in this post assume you’re working a full-time position (40hrs/wk). They may differ substantially if you’re working part-time.

If you would like to learn more about shifts at Amazon in general, you can read our full post about Amazon shifts . In general, there are four main shift types:

Amazon Day Shift

The day shift at Amazon is the closest thing Amazon offers to a typical 9-to-5 job. Day shift employees typically start between 6:00am and 8:00am, and end between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. 

This shift is often unavailable at DSs, as the delivery sort & pick cycles run during the night and early morning.

Amazon Early Morning Shift

The early morning shift at Amazon is like an earlier version of the day shift. Early morning shift employees typically start between 4:00am and 6:00am, and end between 2:00pm and 4:00pm.

The early morning shift tends to be available at all site types. Some early morning shifts are paid at a higher hourly rate.

Amazon Night Shift

The night shift at Amazon operates during the evening and nighttime hours. Night shift employees typically start between 10:00pm and 4:00am, and end between 2:00am and 12:00pm. Note that some sites or site types may have longer shifts.

While many other employees separate the classifications of night shift and evening shift, Amazon combines them.

The night shift tends to be available at all site types. Night shifts are almost always paid at a higher hourly rate.

Amazon Weekend Shift

The weekend shift at Amazon operates during the days of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Weekend shifts typically start anytime between 7:30pm on Friday night to 6:00pm on Sunday night, and end anytime from Friday night to Sunday night. 

Weekend shifts are usually worked by those who wish to work a shift on the weekend in addition to weekday shifts, not for weekend-only work. Weekend shifts are almost always paid at a higher hourly rate. 

Note that it may be very difficult to avoid having at least one weekend shift on your schedule (Friday night, Saturday, Sunday). Most Amazon site schedules involve working at least one of these days.

What makes a shift “good”?

Due to the many factors that go into each person’s individual calculation of how good a certain Amazon warehouse shift is, and the fact that the relative importance of each of these factors differs for each person, it’s impossible to say which shift is objectively the best. Different people may have completely different opinions on which shift is the best and which is the worst. 

However, we can get into which shift is the best for people with certain preferences or life circumstances.

Compatibility with Obligations

One of the most important factors everyone considers when deciding what shift to work is how compatible each available shift is with their existing obligations.

Students

For those who are working at Amazon on top of attending classes, the day shift is usually out of the question (unless you’re taking night classes, in which case the day shift is the most compatible). 

The night shift (or, if your class schedule allows for it, the early morning shift) tends to be the best-fitting shift to school schedules. Taking a shift pattern that involves one or more weekend workdays often also makes sense. 

Note that Amazon offers accommodations for students, including 30-hour work weeks and school leave of absences. Shane Lynch , a T1 Associate in Connecticut, confirms this, telling us that Amazon essentially offers unlimited time off for education-related activities (as long as you have the proper documentation). 

Amazon is also known to approve transfers (to different shift timings or different sites) related to educational needs. If you start attending school while working at Amazon and your old shift schedule no longer works for you, it’s worth explaining your situation to HR and asking for a hardship transfer.

Second Job

If you’re taking an Amazon warehouse job on top of your normal 9-to-5 to make extra money, the night shift (or possibly the early morning shift) are going to be the most compatible. Taking a schedule that involves one or more workdays on the weekend is also sensible. 

It is recommended to choose a Part-Time or Flex-Time position rather than a Full-Time position if you already have another job.

Primary Working Parent

For parents who are the primary earner in their household, the day shift (with only weekdays) is typically the most compatible schedule.

A normal 6:00am-8:00am start time allows plenty of sleep, the 4:00pm-6:00pm end time allows time to spend with children, the lack of nighttime working hours ensures childcare will be available, and the lack of weekend workdays provides for additional time to spend with family.

Stay-At-Home Parent

Parents who are the primary caregivers for their children can easily find work that fits in their schedule at Amazon. 

The most commonly compatible shift types for parents are those during which children are asleep or a working spouse is home, such as night shifts or weekend shifts.

Pay

Another factor that tends to carry a lot of weight in most people’s evaluation of the best shift for them is the shift’s pay rate.

Differential

Workers of certain shifts receive a “shift differential,” which is what Amazon calls the extra hourly rate that associates receive for working certain shifts. A shift differential can be anywhere from $0.50 per hour to $3.00 per hour. For example, Jesse Gauthier , a T1 Associate at a Michigan FC, tells us that the shift differential for night shift workers at his site is currently an extra $2/hr.

Typically, Amazon warehouses base the presence and amount of a shift differential for a certain shift upon how difficult it is to attract people to work that shift. Check out our full post on shift differentials at Amazon.

Day Shift 

The day shift receives no shift differential. Almost all sites have no trouble recruiting day shift workers, resulting in the day shift being paid the least. 

A small number of early morning shift patterns also fall under the no shift differential umbrella, depending on the site and the exact hours of the shift.

Night Shift & Early Morning Shift

The night shift almost always confers a shift differential. Associates who are willing to work during the night are universally harder to find than their day shift counterparts, resulting in night shift workers being paid more. 

Most early morning shift patterns also fall under the shift differential umbrella, depending on the site and the exact hours of the shift.

Weekend Shift

Similarly to the night shift, the weekend shift almost always provides a shift differential. Amazon sites have a hard time finding associates who are willing to forgo their weekends, making the weekend shift lucrative for those that do.

Physical Compatibility

Another factor that most people assign a fair amount of weight to when choosing a shift is how compatible the shift is with their biology, their sleep schedule, and their physical health.

Early Birds

For many people, the day (or early morning) shift is most compatible with their sleep schedule and physical health. 

These people tend to experience negative effects on their health and sleep when working the night shift. If this is you, sticking with the day shift or early morning shift is the way to go.

Night Owls

Certain people are more compatible with the night shift than the day shift. For these people, working the day shift causes the same adverse health effects that working the night shift causes for most. 

If you’re in this group, the night shift is the best choice.

Somewhere In Between

Most people land somewhere in between, being able to work either shift. People whose biology is compatible with either shift type typically base their decision for which shift to pick on other factors.

Availability

Another important factor in shift decisions is what’s available near you. If you would prefer to work day shift, but the only positions available to you are on the night shift, you don’t have a whole lot of options. 

If you have a strong shift preference, this scenario highlights the importance of checking which shifts are available near you early and often.

Flex Time Shifts

An alternative to working one of the shift types we have already discussed on a set schedule is Amazon’s Flex Time positions. 

As a Flex associate, you have no set schedule. Instead, shifts for the upcoming week are made available on Amazon’s employee app each Friday, from which you can put together a schedule consisting of the shifts that work best for you. 

Shane says that Flex shifts may also appear throughout the week as Amazon’s projected staffing needs for each day change over time. All shifts are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

All Flex associates have a minimum hour requirement each week to avoid incurring negative attendance points (4 for FlexPT, 20 for FlexRT).

Taking a Flex position is an especially good idea for those who have frequent changes in their availability.

If you would like to learn more, you can read our full post on Flex Time shifts.

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