Your time zone or mine?

John Tang, Chen Zhao, Xiang Cao, Kori Inkpen

2011 · 61 citations · 13 references

Concepts

TL;DR

Recent work connectivity from home and blurred work–home boundaries have increased scheduling flexibility. The study proposes design implications to support workers spanning global time zones. The authors interviewed sixteen team members working across global time zones. Teams managed to meet synchronously despite eight‑hour differences by using diverse strategies—including off‑work hours and remote participation—while email dominated communication and video was desired but hindered by obstacles.

Abstract

We conducted interviews with sixteen members of teams that worked across global time zone differences. Despite time zone differences of about eight hours, collaborators still found time to synchronously meet. The interviews identified the diverse strategies teams used to find time windows to interact, which often included times outside of the normal workday and connecting from home to participate. Recent trends in increased work connectivity from home and blurred boundaries between work and home enabled more scheduling flexibility. While email use was understandably prevalent, there was also general interest in video, although obstacles remain for widespread usage. We propose several design implications for supporting this growing population of workers that need to span global time zone differences.

References

13