Rotating shift
Also called: rotating roster, shift rotation
A rotating shift pattern moves people between different shift types on a fixed cycle — a week of earlies, then a week of lates — instead of leaving the same person permanently on the same slot.
Why rotate at all
Fixed shifts are kinder to the body but harder to keep fair: someone owns every desirable Saturday morning and someone else owns every closing shift. Rotation shares both the good and the bad slots across the team.
Forward rotation is easier
Rotating forwards — earlies, then middles, then lates — follows the body clock and is noticeably easier to adapt to than rotating backwards. The direction is free to choose and most rotas choose it by accident.
Two-week cycles
A two-week alternating pattern is the usual starting point for small teams: it is short enough to remember and long enough to even out weekends. Anything longer needs to be written down or it will not survive a busy month.