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«The hardest thing to do is to make sure you don’t end up working 12-hour days routinely,» Kelly notes. Alternatively, Kelly says you could also consider picking a few days per week where you’ll work on another international team’s schedule entirely. Similarly, if a hiring manager in California gives a Dublin-based job candidate an interview time without noting EST or PST, the job candidate might log on for a video interview at the wrong time.

If both of you take turns behind the wheel, you’ll get to your destination much faster (not to mention much safer). Think of it like the difference between real-time data processing and batch data processing. At the end of the day, you want to be on the same page as the rest of your team members. And that can still be possible by thinking ahead and being deliberate with documentation. Even if your whole team is dispersed all over the world, it’s worthwhile to plan for a time when everyone will be in the same place.

Access to a global talent pool

Try Every Time Zone to super quickly see what time it is where all your coworkers are located. Having tools in place will take the guesswork out of figuring out someone’s time zone, and can help you avoid reaching out to someone when they’re already off the clock or out for lunch. There are more time zone tools at TimeandDate.com, too, so be sure to check it out if you want to find local times around the world for your event, convert times for any location, and more. It’s impossible to overstate how crucial Slack—a team chat app that makes it easy to search through all of your team’s messages—is to remote teams.

Synchronous communication («sync») is when discussions are conducted in real-time, allowing for immediate responses and feedback between colleagues. This can be through phone calls, video chats or even using an instant messaging platform like Slack or Microsoft Teams. In the 19th century, as transportation and telecommunications improved, it became increasingly inconvenient for each location to observe its own solar time. Take a look at the following tips to help you handle different time zones with ease.

How to Design Remotely: Tips, Tools, and How to Get a Remote Design Job

We have to work odd hours if we want to interact with our colleagues on the other side of the world. And we simply can’t squeeze the world and bring time closer together. A common drawback to managing a team that operates across time zones is the lack of space for sharing insight about work progress. The already working remotely in a different time zone limited communication opportunities leave no room for staff to share what they’re working on, talk about ideas, or future plans. This can leave employees feeling their work is being overlooked, and potentially affect their career advancement as it doesn’t allow enough insight into their effort and contribution.