2-2-3 schedule (Panama)
Four teams on 12-hour shifts work 2 days, get 2 off, work 3, in a 14-day cadence that gives every team a full weekend off every other week.
Also known as: Panama schedule, Panama shift pattern, 2-2-3 rotation
- Shift length
- 12h
- Rotation cycle
- 28 days
- Teams
- 4
- Avg hours/week
- 42
- Longest stretch
- 3 days
- Longest break
- 3 days
The full 28-day rotation
One complete cycle for all 4 teams. Coverage is 24/7: every day has exactly one team on each shift.
| Team | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | ||||||||||||||
| Team B | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | ||||||||||||||
| Team C | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | ||||||||||||||
| Team D | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | ||||||||||||||
- Each row is one team, each column is one day of the 28-day rotation (two 14-day cadences, with teams swapping days and nights between them).
- Teams A and B alternate to keep the day shift covered, while C and D cover nights. Halfway through, they trade.
- Anchor the cycle on a Monday and the 3-day blocks land on Friday to Sunday, which is what creates the alternating full weekends off.
Build your 2-2-3 calendar
Pick the date your rotation starts (day 1 of the grid above) and a team to see the next six weeks as real dates. Download the result for your calendar app or as a spreadsheet.
Calendar exports cover 26 weeks from the start date. Shift times use this page's defaults and can differ from your operation's clock times.
How the 2-2-3 schedule works
The 2-2-3 schedule, widely known as the Panama schedule, covers 24/7 operations with four teams working 12-hour shifts. Each team follows a simple cadence: 2 days on, 2 days off, 3 days on, 2 days off, 2 days on, 3 days off. Over 14 days that adds up to 7 worked shifts, or an average of 42 hours a week.
The cadence is the big selling point. No employee ever works more than 3 shifts in a row, and every other weekend is a full 3-day weekend off. That combination keeps fatigue manageable while still packing full-time hours into half the days of the month.
In the rotating version shown below, teams swap between days and nights every two weeks. Plenty of operations run it with fixed day and night teams instead, which is essentially the Pitman schedule. Both versions use the same 2-2-3 cadence.
How many people you need
Every position staffed 24/7 on this pattern needs 4 employees, one per team, before you cover holidays, sick leave, and training. A planning buffer of around 25 percent on top is a realistic starting point; the exact number depends on your absence rates, which you can work out with our shrinkage calculator.
| Positions per shift | Minimum headcount | With 20% shrinkage buffer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | 12 | 15 |
| 5 | 20 | 25 |
| 10 | 40 | 50 |
Pros and cons of the 2-2-3 schedule
Works in its favor
- Never more than 3 consecutive workdays, which keeps fatigue lower than most 12-hour patterns
- Every other weekend is a guaranteed 3-day weekend off
- Only 14 to 15 workdays a month, so employees get roughly half the month off
- The 14-day cadence is easy to memorize: 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off
- Predictable months ahead, which makes childcare, appointments, and second commitments plannable
Watch out for
- 12-hour shifts are physically demanding, especially in jobs done on your feet
- Working every other weekend is a dealbreaker for some employees
- The rotating version swaps days and nights every two weeks, which disrupts sleep rhythm
- Built-in 42-hour weeks mean 2 hours of overtime per week wherever the workweek is capped at 40
- Short 2-day breaks can feel like a single real day off once you factor in recovery sleep
Who runs 2-2-3
Police and dispatch
Many US police departments run 2-2-3 because officers get predictable 3-day weekends without coverage gaps.
Hospitals and nursing
Nursing units use the cadence to spread 12-hour shifts fairly, with the fixed-shift Pitman variant common for night staff.
Manufacturing
Continuous production lines pair 2-2-3 with day and night crews to keep machines running around the clock.
Emergency services and utilities
Control rooms and 911 centers value that no one is ever more than 3 shifts from a break.
Whichever industry you plan for, the hard part is rarely the pattern itself but keeping it fair as people join, leave, and swap. That is worth reading up on before you commit a team to one; our guide on making shift schedules faircovers the rotation-fairness tradeoffs in depth.
Common variations
- Fixed 2-2-3 (Pitman)
- Teams keep permanent day or night assignments instead of rotating. Better for sleep, but night teams stay on nights indefinitely.
- Slow-rotating Panama
- Teams swap days and nights every 4 to 8 weeks instead of every 2, trading rhythm disruption frequency for longer night blocks.
- 2-3-2 ordering
- The same 14-day cadence started at a different point: 2 on, 3 off, 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off. Coverage is identical.
Compare with other patterns
Pitman schedule
The fixed-shift take on the 2-2-3 cadence: two permanent day teams and two permanent night teams, 12-hour shifts, and every other weekend off.
12h shifts · 14-day cycle · longest stretch 3 days
View pattern →DuPont schedule
A 4-week rotation of 12-hour days and nights whose signature feature is a full 7-day break every cycle, paid for with one 72-hour work week.
12h shifts · 28-day cycle · longest stretch 4 days
View pattern →4-on-4-off schedule
The simplest continuous pattern there is: work 4, rest 4, forever. Four teams on 12-hour shifts cover 24/7 with a cadence anyone can remember.
12h shifts · 16-day cycle · longest stretch 4 days
View pattern →7-on-7-off schedule
A full week on, a full week off. Two fixed day teams and two fixed night teams alternate 7-day blocks of 12-hour shifts.
12h shifts · 14-day cycle · longest stretch 7 days
View pattern →Frequently asked questions
- How many hours a week is a 2-2-3 schedule?
- A 2-2-3 schedule averages 42 hours a week. Each team works 7 twelve-hour shifts over every 14-day cycle, which is 84 hours per two weeks.
- Why is it called the Panama schedule?
- The origin of the nickname is not documented anywhere reliable. The most common story ties it to continuous operations at the Panama Canal, but the name has simply stuck as shorthand for the 2-2-3 cadence.
- How many teams do you need for a 2-2-3 schedule?
- Four teams. Two cover the 12-hour day shift on alternating cadences and two cover the night shift. That means every position staffed around the clock needs at least 4 people before you account for holidays and absence.
- Is the 2-2-3 schedule good for work-life balance?
- It is one of the better 24/7 patterns for it. You never work more than 3 days in a row, get a 3-day weekend every other week, and only work about 15 days a month. The tradeoffs are 12-hour days and working half of all weekends.
- What is the difference between the Panama and Pitman schedules?
- They share the same 2-2-3 cadence. Panama usually refers to the rotating version where teams alternate between days and nights, while Pitman keeps fixed day teams and night teams.
- Do 2-2-3 schedules include overtime?
- The pattern averages 42 hours a week, so in jurisdictions with a 40-hour overtime threshold it builds in about 2 overtime hours per week per employee. Many employers treat this as a planned cost of 12-hour coverage.
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