As globalization expanded and companies are taking advantage of the digital benefits to employ anyone around the globe, managers are often faced with the challenge to lead a team that works in a different time zone.
We interviewed David, who worked as a project manager (as per his request his full name and company will remain anonymous) leading a team that worked in three different time zones.
When asked what was his schedule like he said " On most days I worked double the hours because I had to be active during my official working hours but in order to get my tasks done I had to stay behind to talk to my team that worked abroad. Initially, I thought that the pay was good but when I calculated the amount of hours I was putting in, it meant that I work for half the rate per hour."
He shared that as a manager he would schedule the meetings during the working hours of his team, sacrificing his free time but on some occasions they were supposed to that too. He was promised during the recruiting process that time zones won't be an issue. As time went by he realized that to get the job done he had to work outside his working hours and as he had no family commitments he could do it. However, he explained that "even though I could afford to spend my free time working, in the end I felt that it led to burnout. I had no time for myself and to do something that I enjoy and recharges me and I decided to quit."
David is not the only we have spoken to about the timezone issue. Many experienced similar situations. If you feel you are exploited due to where you work and the fact that it clashes with your team's timezone let us know in the comments below. If you are working within an international team located across different countries and you found a great way to create a good work life balance also let us know.
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