Does working remotely offer true flexibility with global time zones?

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Does working remotely truly offer more flexibility if your team is globally distributed and you’re constantly expected to be available for meetings or urgent requests across multiple time zones? Feels like it could lead to working *all* the time.

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Cameron Clark 17 May 2025

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My company has 'core collaboration hours' where most meetings happen, trying to find a reasonable overlap for most time zones. Outside of that, it's mostly async. It's not perfect, but it helps. If there are no such agreements, it can definitely be a nightmare.
73
Avery Brown 19 May 2025

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The 'flexibility' often means you can do your laundry during the day, but you might also be taking a call at 7 AM or 9 PM. You have to be very disciplined about setting your own boundaries and communicating your working hours clearly, otherwise burnout is inevitable.
66
M.J. 22 May 2025

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Real flexibility comes from strong documentation and asynchronous communication practices. If everything requires a meeting, then time zones will always be a pain. If work can progress without everyone being online simultaneously, then it's much better.
57
Moses Kaliya 20 May 2025

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It varies hugely. Some companies are great and respect local time off. Others say 'remote' but mean 'remote in our HQ time zone only'. You HAVE to ask about this specifically during interviews: 'What does a typical day/week look like regarding meetings for someone in my time zone?'
56
Anonymous 22 May 2025

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Sometimes the 'flexibility' is yours to define by being unavailable outside reasonable hours for your timezone. It can be scary at first, but if the work is good and delivered, many teams will adapt.
41
Anonymous 25 Jul 2025

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no - not automatically. set clear boundaries, async-first habits, rotate meeting times, limited overlap hours, enforce no-meeting blocks.
17
Hazel Brown 3 Jul 2025

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Totally get that - remote can feel like 24-7 if you don't set rules 🚀. Set core overlap hours, push async updates, and block Do Not Disturb for deep work. Rotate meeting times and document decisions so nobody chases you at midnigt. Say no sometmes, tbh, and get team buy-in on SLAs. Boundaries = freedom imo!!! 🎉👍
13

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Accepted Answer · 2025-05-17T09:30:00+00:00

It COMPLETELY depends on the company culture and your team's working agreements. True flexibility means asynchronous work is the default, and meetings are minimal and carefully scheduled. If it's just 'WFH but be on call 24/7', then no, it's not flexible, it's a trap.