{"id":5454,"date":"2026-01-13T08:52:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/?p=5454"},"modified":"2026-03-26T08:09:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:09:13","slug":"clopening-shifts-ultimate-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/clopening-shifts-ultimate-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Clopening Shifts: The Ultimate Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around 50% of employees<\/a> regularly work clopening shifts with barely two weeks\u2019 notice \u2014 and one in ten receive less than a week\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

This kind of schedule instability, especially when combined with clopening shifts, is linked to higher levels of psychological distress, reduced quality of life (QoL), and lower overall employee happiness.<\/p>\n

So, what exactly are clopening shifts, how do they impact employees\u2019 work-life balance, and why are they associated with negative employee outcomes?<\/p>\n

<\/span>What are clopening shifts?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Clopening shifts \u2014 a combination of the words \u201cclosing and \u201copening\u201d \u2014 occur when employees work a closing shift and come back to the office for their opening shift, with barely four to six hours of downtime in between.<\/p>\n

For instance, if an employee works at a store from 5 pm to 12 am, closes it at midnight (which can take at least half an hour), and comes back at 6 am to get everything in place before the morning, they\u2019re pulling off a clopening shift.<\/p>\n

<\/span>What leads to clopening shifts?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Clopening shifts can be the result of both deliberate and careless scheduling. However, they are more often caused by the latter than the former. But these aren\u2019t the only reasons why they happen.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s explore some other reasons below.<\/p>\n

1. Shortage of employees<\/h3>\n

While some businesses deliberately keep their teams lean to ensure their profit margins are high, others either struggle to hire people or experience high turnover rates, which require them to rehire constantly.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reason, not having enough people to manage a 24\/7 business requires it to take desperate measures \u2014 and that means asking their employees to cover both opening and closing shifts.<\/p>\n

2. High turnover<\/h3>\n

Businesses that struggle with high turnover may not have enough trained employees to handle complicated and have-to-get-right tasks like opening and closing. They may be forced to depend on employees who\u2019ve stayed with them for years.<\/p>\n

This means only a select few employees will be able to handle these tasks, which will inevitably cause managers to schedule clopening shifts.<\/p>\n

3. Cutting costs<\/h3>\n

Companies may resort to scheduling clopening shifts instead of hiring more people because the total cost to hire a new employee can be 3x to 4x their salary.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re paying $15 per hour, you\u2019d have to spend $45 to $60\/per hour to find the right employees in the first place. Then there\u2019s the added cost of training, which usually requires an average of 46.7 hours\u00a0of another employee\u2019s time<\/em>.<\/p>\n

These costs can quickly add up when you want to hire several employees, which is why many retail and service businesses schedule clopening shifts for their experienced employees instead.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Which industries commonly see clopening shifts?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Here are some industries that commonly struggle with clopening shifts:<\/p>\n