Your US manager says, "Let's do the standup at 9 a.m." You're in Lagos. Is that 9 a.m. your time, hers, or the time in the city where the company was registered? Many new remote workers lose weeks of goodwill over exactly this kind of confusion. This guide shows you how to work out the overlap, agree a schedule, and protect your sleep, your power budget and your health.
Start with the offsets, and know which ones move
Nigeria uses West Africa Time (WAT), which is UTC+1 all year. Nigeria doesn't use daylight saving, so your clock never changes. The UK and the US do change, and this is where people get caught.
- UK: In winter the UK is on GMT (UTC+0), so Lagos is one hour ahead. In summer the UK moves to British Summer Time (UTC+1), so Lagos and London match.
- US: Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time all shift by an hour in summer. Lagos is generally five or six hours ahead of New York, depending on the season, and eight or nine ahead of California. Check the exact figure for the date you need.
- The switch dates differ. The US and UK don't change clocks on the same weekend, so for a couple of weeks a year the gap between you and them is different from usual. Calendar invites usually adjust for this on their own, but verbal agreements like "7 p.m. my time" don't.
Ghana is on GMT all year, so it sits one hour behind Nigeria in winter and matches the UK. Kenya is on East Africa Time (UTC+3) all year, and South Africa is on UTC+2. Your overlap with a US employer will be different from a Nigerian's, so don't copy someone else's schedule without recalculating.
Use tools, not mental maths
- Add a second and third clock to your phone and laptop: one for the manager's city, one for the team's.
- Use a free meeting planner such as the one on timeanddate.com, or the world clock inside Google Calendar, to see overlap hours for a specific date.
- Set your calendar's time zone to your own and let invites convert. Never type a time into a chat without writing the zone, for example "3 p.m. WAT".
- Name cities, not abbreviations. "Eastern" is clearer than "EST", because EST is technically only winter time.
Find your real overlap
Most employers don't need you online for their whole day. They need a window for meetings, handovers and quick questions. Ask this directly during the interview or offer stage: "How many hours of overlap do you expect, and which meetings are fixed?"
A hypothetical example
Say you're in Abuja and you've been offered a role with a team in Chicago. Assume Chicago is six hours behind you at the time. The team's 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. for you. If they only need four hours of overlap, you might work 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. instead of the full 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., and do deep work in the morning on your own. Compare that to a UK team, where 9 to 5 in winter is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for you, almost a normal day.
The point: two "foreign" jobs can be very different lives. Ask which clients' hours you'd have to keep before you accept.
Comparing common setups
| Setup | Typical pattern from Nigeria | Main strain |
|---|---|---|
| UK-based team | Near-normal daytime hours | Few; just the seasonal one-hour change |
| US East Coast | Afternoon to evening | Late finishes, dinner and family time |
| US West Coast | Evening to overnight for live meetings | Sleep loss, night-time power and security |
| Asynchronous, deadline-based | Your choice, with one short overlap window | Self-discipline; slow replies can feel awkward |
Plan power and data around the hours
A schedule that ends at 11 p.m. or runs overnight is a power and data problem as much as a time problem. Before you accept night hours, work out what it costs.
- Backup power: Decide how you'll cover a four to eight hour block. A laptop battery alone won't, so think inverter, power bank for your router, or a co-working space that stays open late.
- Two internet sources: Keep a second SIM or a mobile hotspot from a different network as a backup to your main line. Test both at your meeting hours, as network quality often changes in the evening.
- Safety: If working from a cafe or hub late at night, plan your transport home before the meeting starts.
If you're preparing for a call on a weak connection, our guide on preparing for a video interview with bad power has checks that apply to work meetings too.
Agree on communication rules in writing
Time zone problems are mostly expectation problems. In your first week, send your manager a short message like this:
"I'm in Lagos (WAT, UTC+1). I'll be online 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. my time, which is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central in summer. I'll reply to messages within two hours inside those hours, and I'll post an end-of-day update before I sign off. Please tell me if you need me for anything outside this window."
Then keep it. Reliable written updates let you work asynchronously, which is exactly what makes a distant time zone workable. Teams that value written handovers are easier to work with than teams that expect instant replies.
Common mistakes
- Saying yes to everything in the interview. If you agree to "flexible hours" without limits, you may end up at 2 a.m. meetings every week. Ask for specifics.
- Forgetting the clock change. Put the US and UK switch weekends in your calendar and confirm your meeting times a week before.
- Ignoring public holidays. The US and UK have different holidays from Nigeria. Ask for the company's holiday calendar and tell them your own, such as Eid, Christmas or Democracy Day, early.
- Not tracking hours for hourly clients. Keep a log with start and end times in one zone, so invoices don't get disputed. See our guide on handling a difficult freelance client if a dispute starts.
- Trading sleep for pay indefinitely. A few months of broken sleep can hurt your work. Negotiate a rotating or reduced overlap if you can.
How the advice changes for your situation
If you're a freelancer, you can choose clients by time zone. Put your available hours in your proposals, and see our piece on writing a proposal that gets replies. If you're a full-time remote employee, ask for core hours in the contract and check how overtime is handled. If you're a student or have a day job, a UK or European client is usually easier than a US one. If you have young children or share a house, a night shift needs a quiet, safe workspace first.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to work the employer's full business hours?
Not always. Many remote roles only need a few overlap hours. Ask during the interview, and get the expectation in your offer or a written message.
Should I put my time zone on my CV or LinkedIn?
Yes. Stating your location and available overlap saves recruiters guessing. Our CV guide for remote roles covers how to present it.
What if the employer wants me to work nights permanently?
Ask what the role really requires and whether async work is possible. If night work is non-negotiable, price in the extra power, data and health cost before you accept.
Can a job offer that ignores time zones be a scam?
A vague offer isn't proof of a scam, but a real employer will normally discuss hours. If someone asks for money before work starts, read our guide to spotting a fake remote job offer.
Your next step
Pick one target employer location today. Open a meeting planner, mark the overlap for both summer and winter dates, and write the two-line availability message you'd send a manager. You'll have it ready the moment an interview invite arrives.
Always apply through the employer's official website or verified channels. Genuine employers never ask applicants to pay for a job, training, or an interview.