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faire les 3 x 8 / faire les trois fois huit

English translation: to work shifts / to do shift work

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:faire les 3 x 8 / faire les trois fois huit
English translation:to work shifts / to do shift work
Entered by: Dr Andrew Read

16:44 Nov 11, 2014
French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Human Resources / Slang
French term or phrase: faire les 3 x 8 / faire les trois fois huit
This is from the subtitles of a documentary I'm translating about youth unemployment in France.

In this section, the young man gets dropped off at a budget hotel where he works. I have some ideas of what this phrase means (starred below) but will leave it to see what others think. Answers welcome from native speakers and others.

#Chaque jour, c'est sa mère,#
#qui le dépose à son travail.#

#Depuis un mois,#
#Guillaume ***fait les 3 x 8***#

#dans cet hôtel low cost,
[...]#

#Pour 80 chambres,#
#le jeune homme est tout seul.#

#Au programme : ménage#
#et téléphone.#

[...]

#39 heures par semaine,#
#le plus souvent de nuit,#
#payé au smic.#
Dr Andrew Read
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:07
shift work
Explanation:
Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use of, or provide service across, all 24 hours of the clock each day of the week (abbreviated as 24/7). The practice typically sees the day divided into "shifts", set periods of time during which different groups of workers take up their posts. The term "shift work" includes both long-term night shifts and work schedules in which employees change or rotate shifts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_work

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Note added at 13 mins (2014-11-11 16:58:01 GMT)
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You could simply say "does shift work," "performs shift work," etc.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2014-11-11 17:40:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And, of course, given the "depuis" of the preceding line, the verb should be in the present perfect continuous: "has been doing shift work."
Selected response from:

Sheri P
United States
Local time: 17:07
Grading comment
Hi Sheri

You get the points as you found the explanatory reference very quickly then made the good suggestion for the translation before Tony made his equally good suggestion. A key thing was that I had to be brief because of the subtitles.
Andrew
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +6shift work
Sheri P
3 +6has been working shifts
Tony M
5Working 8 hour multi-shifts
Sarah Crosby (X)
3covers the 3 (8-hour) shifts
Lorraine Dubuc
3works on a three-shift system
JaneD
3works an eight hour shift
Jane Phillips
3has been working a rolling 8 hour shift
Duncan Moncrieff
Summary of reference entries provided
Wikipedia Def
Sheri P

  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
covers the 3 (8-hour) shifts


Explanation:
works day, afternoon and night

Lorraine Dubuc
Canada
Local time: 17:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: That could be misconstrued as meaning he is working 24 hrs a day! / Not here, it's a well-known expression that is perfectly understood by anyone using it in FR.
15 mins
  -> Yes indeed but that's the impression that the 3x8 leaves as well.
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin
6 hrs
  -> Thank you!
disagree  Adrien Henry: Agree with Tony here. He cannot be working 24 hours a day.
1 day 3 hrs
  -> It only means he covers any of those shifts or works on all of them, obviously not all of them in one day.
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
works on a three-shift system


Explanation:
This was my first thought, but I'm not sure it works given the context of him mainly working at night?

JaneD
Sweden
Local time: 23:07
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
works an eight hour shift


Explanation:
Its one of those neat little French phrases that needs a sentence or more to translate accurately. He only works 8 hours and generally does the night shift. Often those doing a 3x8 work different shifts each week which is why it can be so tough. That doesn't seem to be the case here. You may need to put in somewhere that the front desk (which is where he'd be based) is manned 24/7.

Jane Phillips
France
Local time: 23:07
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Not incorrect — but fails to explain that his shift is part of a 3-shift pattern: like anyone else, he might just work an 8-hr day...
7 mins
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
has been working shifts


Explanation:
I think this would be a more appropriate way of expressing it for your subtitles, where you can't go into lenghty detail about the fact that the trois-huit means 3 × 8-hour shifts to enable round-the-clock working for factories etc.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 minutes (2014-11-11 17:07:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yes, it's enough, as your text then goes on to explain that he works mainly the night shift.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 46 minutes (2014-11-11 17:31:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Do let's note that FR expressions using (e.g.) 'depuis + present tense' are often best rendered in EN by a perfect continuous tense.

Tony M
France
Local time: 23:07
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 103

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Victoria Britten: Grammar 'n all!
18 mins
  -> Thanks, Victoria! Innit?
neutral  Sheri P: You are right about the grammar, of course, but "working shifts" doesn't convey the idea that it's "shift work." "Working shifts" could be 9-5, M-F, every week.
31 mins
  -> Thanks, Sheri! Not really — in the UK at least 'working shifts' in the plural implies some kind of shift pattern just like this; unlike, of course 'working a shift'.
agree  nweatherdon: That's how I would say it. Apparently shift work is not optimal for health (higher mortality, even long in the future, if I understand correctly).
42 mins
  -> Thanks, NJ! Fancy that! Must be millions of people affected by it then... :-(
agree  Catharine Cellier-Smart
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Catharine!
agree  CKSTraductions
14 hrs
  -> Merci, CKS !
agree  kashew
18 hrs
  -> Thanks, J!
agree  Adrien Henry
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Merci, Adrien !
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54 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
has been working a rolling 8 hour shift


Explanation:
Another way of saying the same thing, but which accounts for the rotating nature of the 3x8 shift system.

Duncan Moncrieff
France
Local time: 23:07
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 3
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
shift work


Explanation:
Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use of, or provide service across, all 24 hours of the clock each day of the week (abbreviated as 24/7). The practice typically sees the day divided into "shifts", set periods of time during which different groups of workers take up their posts. The term "shift work" includes both long-term night shifts and work schedules in which employees change or rotate shifts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_work

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 mins (2014-11-11 16:58:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You could simply say "does shift work," "performs shift work," etc.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2014-11-11 17:40:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And, of course, given the "depuis" of the preceding line, the verb should be in the present perfect continuous: "has been doing shift work."

Sheri P
United States
Local time: 17:07
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Hi Sheri

You get the points as you found the explanatory reference very quickly then made the good suggestion for the translation before Tony made his equally good suggestion. A key thing was that I had to be brief because of the subtitles.
Andrew

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: You said this before Tony did!
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, phil
agree  katsy
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, katsy
agree  Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
12 hrs
  -> Thank you, S&K
agree  kashew
18 hrs
  -> Thanks, kashew
agree  Adrien Henry
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Adrien
agree  Lorraine Dubuc: I prefer that by far.
1 day 23 hrs
  -> Thanks, Lorraine!
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Working 8 hour multi-shifts


Explanation:
Along with the 4-8, this system is used in companies operating 24 hours a day.

For example an employee will work 3 morning shifts followed by 2 afternoon ones. The following week he will work 3 afternoons and 2 mornings. Shifts are 8 hours long making a total of 24 hence the term 3x8

Usually SMIC paid work and industry standard in France

My ex works the 3-8; body clock goes haywire



Sarah Crosby (X)
France
Local time: 23:07
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Once again, taken baldly in isolation, this could lead to misinterpretation, as if he was working multiple shifts. / Much too long and unnecessarily detailed for a subtitle.
5 hrs
  -> Yes...based on your post how about '8 hour shifts as part of a round the clock team', although this translation may be a bit informal?
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Reference comments


4 mins peer agreement (net): +4
Reference: Wikipedia Def

Reference information:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_×_8

Les 3 × 8 ou trois-huit sont un système d'organisation d'horaires de travail en travail posté qui consiste à faire tourner par roulement de huit heures consécutives trois équipes sur un même poste, afin d'assurer un fonctionnement continu sur les 24 h d'une journée, sauf week-end, contrairement au 4 x 8 ou 5 × 8. Chez certains employeurs, les équipes changent de tranche horaire chaque semaine. Ce système est principalement appliqué dans les entreprises du secteur secondaire ou de transports.

Sheri P
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Note to reference poster
Asker: Hi Sheri, feel free to post an answer based on your research here... Andrew


Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Tony M
19 mins
  -> Thank you, Tony
agree  Victoria Britten
34 mins
  -> Thanks, Victoria
agree  Duncan Moncrieff
37 mins
  -> Thanks, Duncan
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, 1045
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