Nursly4 On 4 Off Schedule: How the 12-Hour Rotation Works
A 4 on 4 off schedule means you work four 12-hour shifts in a row, then have four days off, over and over. The cycle is 8 days long, so your work days move one weekday later every week. You average 42 hours a week and have half the days of the year off.
Want to see it on your own dates? Open the 12-hour shift schedule generator with 4 on 4 off, pick your first shift and print the whole year.
How the 4 on 4 off pattern works
The rule is simple: 4 shifts, 4 days off, repeat. What surprises most people is what that does to the week. Because the cycle is 8 days and a week is 7, every week your shifts start one day later. After 8 weeks the pattern lines up with the same weekdays again.
So you won’t have the same days off every week. One week you’re off Friday to Monday, a few weeks later you work the whole weekend. Writing it down — or putting it in a calendar app — matters more on 4 on 4 off than on most schedules.
4 on 4 off is common in police, fire and EMS, manufacturing and security. Some hospital units use it too, especially for 12-hour teams that cover 24/7, but most staff nurses work self-scheduled three 12s instead.
How four teams cover 24/7
To staff every day and every night, a unit needs four teams. Two teams share the day shift — while one works its 4 days, the other has its 4 days off — and two teams share the nights the same way.
There’s also a rotating version: 4 days, 4 off, 4 nights, 4 off — a 16-day cycle, so you work days and nights equally. You can preview it with the custom pattern in the generator. Another 8-day variant is 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off.
Hours, days off and weekends
| 4 on 4 off (12-hour shifts) | |
|---|---|
| Cycle length | 8 days |
| Shifts per cycle | 4 |
| Average hours per week | 42 |
| Shifts per year | about 182–183 |
| Hours per year | about 2,190 |
| Days off per year | about 182–183 |
| Longest stretch on | 4 shifts (48 hours in 4 days) |
| Longest break | 4 days |
| Full weekends off | 3 every 8 weeks — about 20 a year |
| Weekend days worked | about half — around 52 a year |
4 on 4 off and overtime
Here 4 on 4 off is easier to plan around than most 12-hour schedules. Because the block of four shifts slides through the week, your pay weeks follow the same rhythm every time: four weeks of 48 hours, then four weeks of 36 hours — no matter which day you start.
That’s 8 hours of overtime in each 48-hour week: 32 overtime hours every 8 weeks, or about 210 a year. Only the order changes depending on your start day — you might begin with the 36-hour weeks instead.
This assumes overtime after 40 hours in a 7-day pay week, as is usual in the US, and 12 paid hours per shift. Over 14-day periods, 4 on 4 off ranges from 72 to 96 hours, so hospitals that use a 14-day overtime period (8/80) or union contracts with their own rules can count it differently.
Example, before differentials: at $40 an hour, a 48-hour week pays 40 × $40 = $1,600 plus 8 × $60 = $480 — $2,080. A 36-hour week pays $1,440. If you work nights, the night differential raises both your base pay and your overtime rate (here’s why). Try your own numbers in the nurse overtime calculator.
Pros and cons of 4 on 4 off
Pros
- Four days off every time — a mini-vacation every 8 days.
- Simple to remember: there’s only one rule.
- Half the days of the year off.
- Overtime is predictable: four heavier weeks, then four lighter ones.
- On the fixed version you stay on days or on nights, so your body clock doesn’t keep switching.
Cons
- Four 12-hour shifts in a row is 48 hours of work in 4 days — the last shift is tough, especially on nights.
- Your days move every week, so recurring commitments (classes, childcare, a weekly team sport) are hard to keep.
- You work about half of all weekends.
- The first day off often goes to recovering, so it can feel more like 3 days off than 4.
Getting through four 12s in a row
- Prep before the block: meals for four days, clothes, a full tank of gas. You won’t want to do any of it on day 3.
- Keep the in-between hours simple: eat, shower, sleep. Errands can wait for the days off.
- Protect your sleep: 7+ hours between shifts if you can. On nights, blackout curtains and a fixed sleep time help.
- Plan day 1 off as a recovery day, and put appointments and plans on days 2–4.
4 on 4 off vs other 12-hour schedules
| Schedule | Cycle | Avg hours/week | Days off in a row | Same weekdays every week? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 on 4 off | 8 days | 42 | 4 | No — moves 1 day a week |
| Pitman (2-2-3) | 14 days | 42 | 2–3 | Repeats every 2 weeks |
| DuPont | 28 days | 42 | up to 7 | Repeats every 4 weeks |
| 7 on 7 off | 14 days | 42 | 7 | Repeats every 2 weeks |
| 3×12 (self-scheduled) | 7 days | 36 | varies | Varies |
All of these are in the schedule generator, so you can compare them side by side on a calendar.
Common mistakes with 4 on 4 off
- Assuming your days off repeat weekly. They don’t — check the calendar before you agree to anything recurring.
- Planning the budget around one week. Your paychecks alternate between heavier and lighter stretches of four weeks.
- Booking plans on the first day off. After four 12s you’ll probably want to sleep.
- Losing count mid-block. “Is this shift 3 or 4?” happens more than you’d think — a calendar with the whole rotation fixes it.
Questions
How many hours a week is 4 on 4 off? 42 hours on average. In real pay weeks you work 48 hours four weeks in a row, then 36 hours for four weeks.
Is 4 on 4 off full time? Yes. About 2,190 hours a year is more than a standard 40-hour full-time job (2,080 hours), and it usually includes around 210 hours of overtime.
How many weekends off do you get on 4 on 4 off? 3 full weekends off every 8 weeks, about 20 a year. You work roughly half of all weekend days.
Do you work the same days every week on 4 on 4 off? No. The cycle is 8 days long, so your shifts move one weekday later each week. The pattern lines up with the same weekdays again every 8 weeks.
Is 4 on 4 off better than Pitman? It depends on what you value. 4 on 4 off gives longer breaks (4 days) but longer stretches of work (4 shifts). Pitman never has more than 3 shifts in a row and gives every other weekend off, but its breaks are only 2–3 days.
Put your 4 on 4 off schedule on your iPhone
In Nursly, open Add Shift → Rotations and build the cycle once: Day, Day, Day, Day, Off, Off, Off, Off (or Night instead of Day). Choose the date of your first shift and generate the next 4, 8 or 12 weeks. Every shift appears in your calendar with its pay worked out, including overtime and differentials, plus reminders and a shift alarm — so you always know which day of the block you’re on.
Prefer paper? Print a year of 4 on 4 off from the schedule generator or download the free printable 2027 nurse shift calendar.