Working Across Time Zones: Pros, Cons, and Best Practices

You can work at opposite times from the rest of your team, and still join in on all the office banter. It might not be possible—or even desirable—for each team member to take ownership of part of your company’s work, but you can break projects up in a way that everyone has their own specific area to focus on. This strategy makes your projects asynchronous, which remote developer Mutahhir Ali Hayat suggests is the best way to make remote development work out. It will help if you switch meeting times weekly and make them more convenient for people worldwide to prevent burnout in one employee. Perhaps you can have two different meetings on one day at two different times so everybody can get a chance to participate.

Learn how to write an effective Ruby on Rails developer job description, including key qualifications and responsibilities, and sample job description template. Flexible workers hours have been proven to reduce burnout, stress levels, and psychological distress while increasing job satisfaction. They can also unlock more productivity by allowing team members to work when they’re most productive whether that be in the morning, afternoon, night, or a mix.

Schedule any meetings during the times everyone can attend

You are responsible for sharing any changes in your schedule, whether you are switching shifts or clocking out early.

How many of us often find ourselves hitting loose ends and empty, awkward pauses when talking to a colleague who is 10 hours ahead of our time zone? You have to navigate not just the time difference but the difference in language, accent, and even energy levels. The person on the other end of the Teams or Zoom call is having their last call of the day and you are just getting started with the highest possible energy level or vice versa. Aside from specifically discussing timezone-related needs and boundaries as needed, you can also mark your standard work hours on a team calendar — while encouraging colleagues to do the same. As a hardworking employee located farther away from your company’s office, you might find feel pressure to say yes to every meeting you’re invited to.

Think about how important and time-sensitive the update is and act accordingly

A remote team can be a great way to get work done from anywhere in the world. All these async communications tactics reduce pressure and help create a more relaxed work environment, making it easier for everyone to balance their professional and personal lives. Clearly define goals, roles, responsibilities, and deadlines so that everyone on the team knows what needs to be done and by when. Our virtual leadership training builds the skills you need to lead effective and inclusive digital-first teams. TimeandDate.com’s World Clock Meeting Planner won’t win any design awards, but it makes time shift scheduling straightforward. You pick the cities where everyone lives, and the date for your meeting, and it’ll show in green, yellow, and red the times that are best, not too bad, and terrible for everyone.

• Questions over how to ensure equal input, how to streamline meetings, and how to collaborate effectively are all valid concerns.
• An employee handbook is a written document that outlines the company’s mission, culture, core values, policies, procedures, teams, best practices, and any other information employees need to do their work.
• While creating processes that allow employees to work in different timezones is logistically beneficial, on a deeper level, it also makes it easier for diverse global talent to join your team.
• These ground rules should include guidelines for when and how communication should take place.
• Every employee is also assigned a random “pair partner” each week— that means we’ll jump on a call with one of our colleagues just see how things are going, and perhaps work together on a cross-team project.
• It enables you to allow everybody to have a shared repository where files can be kept for smooth retrieval at any time.

It can also be a great way to communicate and collaborate on projects.3. Set clear expectations.When working across time zones, it’s important to set clear expectations. This includes things like meeting times, deadlines, and communication expectations. By being clear from the start, it will be easier to avoid misunderstandings and conflict.4.

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Teams employing a globally distributed workforce should pay special attention to learning and optimizing for different cultural specifics. Your employees’ communication styles, collaboration methods, and work schedules are largely impacted by their cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. Consider making a record of all culture-specific holidays to make sure no meetings or group work sessions are scheduled around those dates. To successfully utilize key principles of asynchronous communication to their advantage, distributed teams need to prioritize efficient, written communication. When working on a report, for example, globally distributed teammates won’t necessarily have the opportunity to ping a coworker and get the missing info right away. This is why it’s paramount to keep detailed written records of all the processes and projects.

“I’ll take phone calls late in the evening from folks that don’t realize I’m on the east coast and consider that part of the job for someone working remotely in a different time zone,” Furbish says. Your colleagues might sometimes forget the time zone difference, so you might need to remind them every now and then. Eventually, you and your counterparts will build a clear, mutual understanding of each other’s availability to set a solid base for future collaborations.

For everyone to understand the different times, use a simple timezone converter tool. You can, however, overcome these challenges with the right tools and approaches. Sleep masks like Lumos can help you gradually adjust your internal clock during travel times. It’s working remotely in a different time zone a little pricey at $298, but when CNET tested the Lumos sleep mask, we found it did help significantly. Every week, we share actionable digital nomad tips, inspiring stories, practical travel advice, and curated high-quality resources sent directly to your inbox.

• But when working with a distributed team, communicating takes more effort.
• You’ll learn about the key responsibilities, qualifications, and skills required for an AWS developer role, including hard skills and soft skills.
• “If I planned well, we’d find magic in going to bed frustrated by a missing puzzle piece, and waking to find it in our inbox. It was like having a friend in the future.”
• But, despite all the benefits of having a diverse global staff, companies are still trying to figure out how to work successfully across different timezones.
• If you’re flying when you would be sleeping at your destination, try and sleep on the plane to avoid jet lag.
• Adjusting your work hours or finding a compromise that works for everyone involved may be necessary to navigate scheduling conflicts.