So I’m in Switzerland which is one hour ahead of the UK, 6 hours ahead of the East Coast and 9 hours ahead of the West Coast. None of this would matter if I didn’t need to speak to friends, family and work colleagues in each of these time zones.
I can get by with the one hour difference between CET and GMT, and although it’s stretching the difference between CET and EST is manageable as well. But man, getting in touch with anyone in the PST during work is a pain in the a**.
My guess is that some countries which are outsourcing hubs do not work the typical 9-5 work day but rather something that fits their partners in Europe or in North America. But there’s no way I’m starting the work day at 2pm just to be on point with the east coast and get good overlap with the west coast. And I don’t expect other countries to do this either.
You do get a chance to catch up on work or get things done at other times when people are still sleeping or commuting. Overall, the way I’m coping is that you have to assume that there will be delays in communication, that instead of getting an answer that day or a response that hour you’re waiting till the next day to hear back on things. It’s not ideal but it is the cost of doing business globally.
