Duty Shift

A duty shift is the portion of the day that various scheduled personnel aboard a starship or space station are on duty. Officers are expected to report on time for their duty shifts and those that fail to do so, without a good excuse, could face penalties such as being placed on report.
In Starfleet, days are typically divided into thirds, resulting in three duty shifts, each eight hours in duration. However, some commands utilize a four shift rotation, six hours each, that has been shown to reduce crew fatigue and allows for more flexable scheduling. The U.S.S. Endeavour uses a standard three shift rotation.
==Types:==
===Day Shift===
The day shift or day watch is the first duty period which theoretically happens during whatever would be considered day in space. It takes its roots from day shifts currently in use in military and other jobs.
===Swing Shift===
The swing shift or midday watch is the duty period between Day and Night shifts, generally during the early evening hours up to midnight.   This shift is usually given to midlevel officers, or junior officers who have shown an aptitude for working alone or in smaller groups.
===Night Shift===
The night shift or night watch is a duty period that occurs during the hours in which an officer would otherwise be sleeping. It is usually relegated to the junior officers, as most people are not fond of working the night shift.
==Rotations:==
===Alpha-Shift===
Alpha shift is a standard duty shift aboard Starfleet vessels, the first shift of the day watch. In the standard three shift rotation, the shift begins at 08:00 and ends at 16:00 hours.
Alpha-Shift is typically commanded by the ship or station's Executive Officer and is typically manned by the ship's Senior Staff.
===Beta-Shift===
Beta-Shift is the second duty shift of the day watch, beginning at 16:00 hours.
Beta-Shift usually is manned by seperate personnel from the other shifts, however that may not always be the case.
===Gamma-Shift===
Gamma-Shift is the third duty shift on board Starfleet vessels. Gamma-Shift is sometimes called the night shift. On a three shift rotation, Gamma-Shift runs from 00:00 to 08:00.
===Delta-Shift===
Delta-Shift is the fourth duty shift on board ships and installations that use a non-standard four shift rotation.
On a four shift rotation, the day is divided into quarters. Alpha-Shift (08:00 - 14:00), Beta-Shift (14:00 - 20:00), Gamma-Shift (20:00 - 02:00), and Delta-Shift (02:00 - 08:00).