Working across a one or two hour difference

Every country we recruit from sits within three hours of US Eastern. That changes what remote feels like more than most people expect.

What the overlap is

A specialist in Kingston, Jamaica or Bogota, Colombia works the same clock as a team in New York. In Buenos Aires, Argentina or Sao Paulo, Brazil they are one or two hours ahead, which usually means they start before you and finish mid-afternoon your time. Against the US West Coast you get five to six hours of overlap, which is a full morning on both sides.

You share a working day, which means they can be in your standup and your pairing session rather than reading notes about them.

Two habits worth keeping

Write decisions down anyway. The habit costs nothing and it survives holidays, illness and the day someone's power goes out. Second, agree a response-time expectation rather than an always-on one. "Inside the hour during our overlap" is a rule people can keep.

Public holidays

Local public holidays differ from yours and they are in the contract. We send you the calendar for the specialist's country at the start of the placement so it is never a surprise. Most clients swap a local holiday for a US one when the timing matters, and the specialist decides.