How the 4-on-4-off rotation works
Each crew works four day shifts, has four days off, works four night shifts and has four more days off. With four crews starting four days apart, one crew is always on days and one on nights.
If your crew works fixed days or fixed nights, the on and off days are exactly the same; just ignore the day and night colors.
| Day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew A | D | D | D | D | N | N | N | N | ||||||||
| Crew B | N | N | N | N | D | D | D | D | ||||||||
| Crew C | N | N | N | N | D | D | D | D | ||||||||
| Crew D | D | D | D | D | N | N | N | N |
- Cycle length
- 16 days
- Work/rest blocks
- 4-4-4-4
- Shift length
- 12 hours
- Average week
- 42 hours
Pros
- Four days off after every block of work.
- Easy to remember: four on, four off.
- Coverage is 24/7 with four crews.
Cons
- Four 12-hour shifts in a row is 48 hours in four days.
- Your days off move through the week, so weekends off are irregular.
- Night blocks of four in a row are tiring in the rotating version.
Make your own shift calendar
Print the calendar above for your crew, or open it in the builder: every shift of 2027 is added as a colored event (amber for days, indigo for nights) next to anything already on your calendar. Add birthdays and appointments, pick a theme and export a PDF of one month or all twelve. In the builder and the PDF, shifts show as colored dots on each date.
Open crew D in the builder4-on-4-off Shift Schedule FAQ
How many hours a week is the 4-on-4-off schedule?
42 hours on average. Crews work 12-hour shifts, and over each 16-day cycle half the days are worked, but individual weeks run longer or shorter than the average.
How many shifts does a crew work in 2027?
With the cycle starting on January 4, 2027, crew A works 182 shifts in 2027 (2,184 hours) and has 183 days off. Other crews and start dates land within a day or two of that.
How many days a year do you work on 4 on 4 off?
Half of them, give or take a day: the cycle is half work and half rest, so a crew works about 182 or 183 shifts in a 365-day year. The calendar above shows the exact count for your crew.
Is 4 on 4 off the same as a 4x4 schedule?
Yes. "4x4", "4-on-4-off" and "four on four off" all describe four working days followed by four rest days.
How do I line the calendar up with my real rota?
Pick your crew, then set the cycle start to a date when crew A began the first day of the pattern. If you only know your own days, change the start date until the calendar matches your next few shifts.