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

“It is impossible for most institutions that represent lots of people and lots of identities to satisfy everybody,” Katz said. “When an older person says to them, ‘This is how you should do it,’ they want to check that out for themselves. It doesn’t mean they’re always right; it’s a different way of understanding,” Katz explained. This means you wouldn’t want to send an important email after they’ve logged off for the day and expect them to respond right away. No more hoping for some sunshine in the middle of January to make the gloomy and short days just that little bit more bearable. I am writing this article in the middle of January, sitting next to the river and the jungle in a ray of sunshine.

There’s a lot of gesticular communication on video chats, so the quality must be keeping up. The main project management tools include Trello, Basecamp, and Asana, which keep track of what everyone is working on as it progresses through the pipeline. You can use the tools and practices that are the best fit for your organization and make working working remotely in a different time zone across time zones a pleasurable experience for everybody. So, in today’s blog, let me walk you through the best practices and working remotely tips and tools for companies having employees from different work time zones. Asynchronous communication is an excellent way for managers and remote employees to be mindful of different time zones.

Use async communication as much as possible

“When it comes to online publishing, being in different places isn’t so strange,” says Russell. It’s possible to hire people around the globe and still have your whole team working 9-to-5 at your office’s time zone—after all, plenty of people work night shifts—but it’s not optimal. Zapier are on a mission to make automation easy and accessible to everyone at work. With over 400 remote employees spread across 30 countries, Zapier is one of the largest fully remote companies. They know what they’re doing and write great guides on how to get the most out of remote work. While it may seem strange to let people work at all times of the day, you’re already going to be doing that indirectly by working across time zones.

Teach your remote team to be flexible about time, though, and everyone’s lives will be easier. Plus, you’ll be able to hire the best people from anywhere around the globe. The Couchsurfing team has a similar schedule to make sure everyone’s connected. “We have a bi-monthly full company meeting https://remotemode.net/ to make sure we all know we still exist,” writes designer Ben Hanna. Find the perfect JavaScript developer for your team with our comprehensive job description template. It covers all the essential elements including responsibilities, skills, qualifications, and employee benefits.

Schedule any meetings during the times everyone can attend

Choosing time zones is somewhat dependent on the type of remote work you do. One of the best things about Help Scout is that they publish how they work and their post on how to build a globally remote team that really works is a great example. Remind remote team members that social interaction doesn’t have to come from co-workers or consider offering a co-working space stipend as a remote employee benefit.

working remotely in a different time zone

Let’s say you’re starting your day at 8am, which is 6pm US Pacific time… This is a time slot where you can sync up with clients over there quite easily despite the drastic difference in the time of day. According to the geography realm website, there are more than 24 time zones in the world. This can be overwhelming when working remotely and trying to coordinate with clients, colleagues or services. But simply learning how to identify key variables that affect your productivity within a certain time zone and region will allow you to create a strategy to enjoy your remote position fully. GitLab might be the world’s largest fully distributed company with 1,400+ remote workers in 65+ countries.

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