If you want to work remotely in sync with the North American economy, and you want to avoid time zone obstacles, we recommend Latin America. Choosing time zones is somewhat dependent on the type of remote work you do. Since I live in Portugal, 5 hours ahead of EST, I block off when I have to pick up the kids, have dinner with the family, and get ready for bedtime.
For me, this was huge when I left my job to go remote, and I worked remotely everywhere from Mexico City to Hanoi, Vietnam. I was sometimes in my home time zone, as a digital nomad in Lima, Peru, and I was sometimes 13 hours in the future (Taiwan). I was choosing my remote work destinations based on where I wanted to go personally, but always made them work, professionally. Spell out your location in introductions, or speak up when a team is setting up recurring meetings. It’s all part of the challenges of working in different time zones, but it’s easily resolvable.
When I convinced my boss to let me work remotely and travel, I was working with a team based in the US, with team members based across the country from Seattle to NYC. One time, when we were working remotely from Vietnam, Dan had an international meeting with clients in the US, and Australia. Unfortunately, no one asked him to confirm if this was an OK time for it. For instance, maybe you’re located on the US’s East Coast when you’re home. A common assumption is that someone’s hours are a ‘standard’ 9-5 or 9-6 pm; however, location is not always equal to working hours.
Benefits of working remotely across different time zones
Often called split shifts, this involves working part of the day during your time zone, then working part of the day during the time zone of another team. When introducing yourself, let your colleagues know your schedule and preferred communication channels. Give an example of a situation when you’re able to be contacted — even though you’re off-the-clock. When you have a colleague in Portugal and another in India, it’s harder to keep track of time. Additionally, team members can find it harder to collaborate in an asynchronous environment, and it can take a while for them to adjust.
Bring order to your work and life
Adjusting your work hours or finding a compromise that works for everyone involved may be necessary to navigate scheduling conflicts. This might mean starting work earlier or later in the day or being flexible with deadlines and project timelines. It’s also important to keep an open mind and be willing to adapt to ensure a successful team collaboration. Alongside the benefits of working across time zones, there are some challenges to consider as well.
Join millions of people who are finally feeling the relief of getting organized. Thankfully, tools like Google Calendar and Calendar solve this problem. Make sure not to mix up AM and PM times or use roman numerals when writing in a foreign language. Despite sounding like a small detail, this can cause confusion and unnecessary stress. That way, we’ll not only be better at work, but have more time to spend with those that we love and pursue interests and passions for a well-balanced life.
You can also easily adjust the time slider at the top of the screen to go back or forward in time, which is helpful when planning meetings and projects. The best job for you might not be in your hometown, and you might work better when you aren’t shackled to a 9-to-5 workday. And that’s ok on a distributed team, as long as you can manage the time shift. Your team will likely get more done, and you’ll be able to provide better support for your customers—but you’ll also need to figure out how to make the world feel a bit smaller. Exercise, eat well, and practice mindfulness techniques like meditation or deep breathing.
- It gives you this unique chance to work with people worldwide while gaining exposure to new cultures and perspectives.
- “When it comes to online publishing, being in different places isn’t so strange,” says Russell.
- The rest of the year, we manage to work together across 17 time zones, using Slack, Zoom, and some sheer effort to all stay connected.
- Software engineer Kevin Furbish found this to be true about his remote team at Intuit.
- We have been using a tool for many years at Clearword which allows us to see the current time for our teams and colleagues around the world.
- When I convinced my boss to let me work remotely and travel, I was working with a team based in the US, with team members based across the country from Seattle to NYC.
Frequently asked questions about working remotely in different time zones
This means giving yourself some time and space living and working in different time zones to recharge, relax, and refresh your energy and focus. For example, you can take a short walk, meditate, read, listen to music, or do any other activity that helps you unwind and de-stress. You can also schedule some longer breaks or vacations to explore your new location, connect with your friends or family, or pursue your hobbies or interests. Light is the principal control of our day-night cycle, influencing everything from body temperature to metabolism to sleep.
Time Zone Challenges for Remote Teams: 8 Troubles They Face Across the Globe.
- Break things up into chunks that can be worked on individually, find time to sync back up on what’s been done, and make sure each person on the team can self-direct their work.
- But if your business does not require so many meetings and phone calls, you might have more quiet time for creative work.
- Even though you should still be aware of the time zones of others, setting one official time zone for your company can help reduce misunderstandings.
- When you are looking for employees or business partners, it can be tough to find the right person in an industry where ‘who you know’ is just as important as what you know.
- Open up Every Time Zone in your web browser for an at-a-glance guide to your time zone as compared to multiple cities, including Tokyo, Berlin, and Dubai.
- Meetings can be set up according to each manager’s personal time zone, leaving everyone scrambling to come up with their own time zone.
And companies can leverage the benefits of having workers across the nation—and the world. Working with a distributed team can be challenging at first because it’s difficult to build the kind of rapport that comes naturally when working in an office setting. It takes extra effort for remote teams to stay on task without face-to-face communication. The body operates on a biological schedule known as the circadian clock. Seeing daylight at specific times of day helps set this clock—but it’s slow to adjust when we rapidly fly across time zones. When working with geographically dispersed people, it’s essential to be intentional about team building.
As previously mentioned, the ongoing challenge of time zone differences can significantly impact employees’ mental health. It’s crucial for companies to prioritize employee wellness to foster a supportive work environment. You will likely not hear from the other parties until the next business day if they live on the other side of the world. Meetings can be set up according to each manager’s personal time zone, leaving everyone scrambling to come up with their own time zone. Having an official time zone means everyone will set and communicate deadlines and meetings using the same time zone, regardless of their location.
As questions arise, figure out a mutually agreeable time to meet and discuss specific issues. Sometimes you need someone to hold you accountable or just to work alongside you. Jeff Atwood found that when he started Stack Overflow programming on his own turned into a lonely job. To work effectively with a time shift, you’ll also need to work in public.
For the people who have learnt the value you can get from recording meetings however, they have become a foundational tool for them, especially when working remotely. This is a great starting point, you can then establish your meeting cadence as a team, and figure out when and how to meet. Establishing boundaries for when people “can’t” attend meetings and which type of meetings you can eliminate, will make your meetings much more enjoyable, and efficient. Since you will not always be able to collaborate with your teams in real-time, it is ideal that you clarify your expectations from the beginning. At the beginning of the week, sit down with your team and establish the goals for that week. This will make sure every member of the team, including yourself, understand what has and will be done, regardless of the timezone they are in.
How do you identify stars when your company is composed of remote workers? If you are a regular reader of our blog, you will have realised a common thread which is establishing clear boundaries. Establishing boundaries around work-life balance, around meeting cadence, and in general around your asynchronous communication methods. Managing expectations, especially when working remotely with an international team, is possibly one of the most important leadership skill you can develop regardless of your role or position.