Working with New York Teams
Time zone strategies for remote collaboration with NYC-based colleagues
⚡ Quick Answer
New York operates on Eastern Time (ET), with core business hours from 9 AM to 6 PM. For Europeans, aim for late afternoon meetings. For Asia-Pacific, early mornings or late evenings work best. The key is finding a 2-3 hour overlap window and protecting it for synchronous communication.
If you're working remotely with a New York-based team — whether you're in London, Tokyo, or anywhere in between — time zones are probably your biggest daily challenge. I've been there. The 3 AM calls, the "let's find a time that works for everyone" emails that never seem to work for anyone.
Here's what I've learned about making remote collaboration with NYC actually work, without destroying your sleep schedule or missing every important decision.
🌍 NYC Overlap Hours by Location
This table shows when NYC's 9 AM - 6 PM workday falls in your local time:
| Your Location | NYC 9AM-12PM | NYC 12PM-6PM | Best Window | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 2 PM - 6 PM | 6 PM - 11 PM | 2 PM - 5 PM your time | Excellent |
| Berlin/Paris | 3 PM - 7 PM | 7 PM - 12 AM | 3 PM - 6 PM your time | Good |
| Dubai | 6 PM - 10 PM | 10 PM - 3 AM | 6 PM - 8 PM your time | Limited |
| Mumbai | 7:30 PM - 11:30 PM | 11:30 PM - 4:30 AM | 7:30 PM - 9 PM your time | Challenging |
| Singapore | 10 PM - 2 AM | 2 AM - 7 AM | 9 PM - 10 PM your time | Difficult |
| Tokyo | 11 PM - 3 AM | 3 AM - 8 AM | 8 AM - 10 AM your time | Difficult |
| Sydney | 1 AM - 5 AM | 5 AM - 10 AM | 7 AM - 9 AM your time | Very Difficult |
| Los Angeles | 6 AM - 10 AM | 10 AM - 3 PM | 9 AM - 2 PM your time | Excellent |
Need exact calculations? Use our Meeting Planner.
📍 Strategies by Region
🇪🇺 From Europe (UK, EU)
You're in the sweet spot. NYC's morning overlaps with your afternoon, giving you a solid 4-5 hour window for real-time collaboration.
Recommended schedule:
- • Morning: Focus time (NYC is sleeping)
- • 2 PM - 6 PM: Overlap window for meetings & Slack
- • After 6 PM: Wrap up, async handoffs
🇦🇪 From Middle East (Dubai, Israel)
Trickier, but workable. NYC's day starts when yours is ending. You'll need to protect early evening hours for sync time.
Recommended schedule:
- • Morning/afternoon: Deep work, async communication
- • 5 PM - 8 PM: Overlap window (NYC 9 AM - 12 PM)
- • Late evening: Check Slack, respond to urgent items
🇯🇵 From Asia (Tokyo, Singapore, India)
This is the hardest time zone gap. NYC's workday is your night. You'll need to embrace async-first workflows and pick your sync battles carefully.
Recommended schedule:
- • 7 AM - 9 AM: Catch up on NYC's previous day
- • Daytime: Independent work, async updates
- • 8 PM - 10 PM: Limited sync window (if needed)
- • Use Loom videos instead of live meetings when possible
🇺🇸 From US West Coast
Only 3 hours difference — practically nothing. You have massive overlap, but watch out for the early meeting trap.
Recommended schedule:
- • Push meetings to 10 AM+ your time (1 PM+ NYC)
- • 9 AM - 3 PM: Full overlap window
- • Afternoon: NYC wraps up, you have focus time
🗽 NYC Communication Culture
Working with New Yorkers? Here's what you should know about their communication style:
📝 Email & Slack Style
- Direct and brief. Skip the pleasantries. Get to the point.
- "Per my last email" = passive-aggressive warning sign.
- One-line replies are normal. "Got it." "Done." "Sounds good."
- Response expected same day (during business hours).
📅 Meeting Culture
- Punctuality is non-negotiable. On time = 2 minutes early.
- 30 minutes default. 1-hour meetings need justification.
- Small talk is minimal. Maybe 30 seconds, then business.
- Decisions expected. "Let's circle back" is frustrating.
💡 Cultural Tip
New York directness isn't rudeness — it's efficiency. If a New Yorker seems blunt, don't take it personally. They're just respecting your time (and theirs). Match their energy: be clear, be concise, and don't bury the ask at the end of a long email.
📊 Visual Overlap Chart
See at a glance when NYC work hours (9 AM - 6 PM ET) overlap with your city:
How to read: Blue = NYC work hours in that timezone. Green = overlap with your local 9-5. The more green, the easier collaboration. Use our Meeting Planner to find exact times.
💬 Making Async Work Actually Work
The secret to remote work across time zones isn't finding more overlap — it's getting really good at async communication. Here's what that looks like in practice:
Write like they'll read it tomorrow
Because they will. Include all context in your message. Don't say "let's discuss" — say what you need and give a deadline. Assume they can't ask clarifying questions in real time.
Use Loom instead of meetings
A 5-minute video explaining your work can replace a 30-minute meeting. Record yourself walking through designs, code, or proposals. They watch on their schedule, you save an awkward timezone meeting.
Set clear response time expectations
"Reply within 24 hours" is reasonable for async teams. "Reply immediately" is not. Define what's urgent (and deserves a text/call) vs. what can wait for the next overlap window.
Document everything
Decisions made in meetings should be written down immediately. If it's not documented, it didn't happen — especially when half the team was asleep.
📅 When You Do Need Real Meetings
Some things genuinely need live discussion. Here's how to make cross-timezone meetings less painful:
Meeting Best Practices
- Rotate the pain. Don't make the same people take the 6 AM or 10 PM call every time. Share the burden.
- Make it shorter. A 45-minute meeting at an inconvenient time hurts. A 25-minute meeting is survivable.
- Record everything. Someone couldn't make it? They watch the recording. No guilt.
- Send the agenda in advance. 24 hours minimum. Let people prepare async so the meeting is efficient.
- Start with decisions. Don't save the important stuff for the end when everyone's tired.
Pro tip: Block your overlap hours on your calendar. Label them "NYC Sync Window" or similar. This protects your time for actual collaboration instead of random meetings.
🛠️ Useful Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best time to schedule a meeting with New York?
From Europe: 2-5 PM your time (9 AM - 12 PM NYC). From Asia: Consider 8-10 PM your time or 7-9 AM your time. From West Coast US: 10 AM - 2 PM your time gives you the most flexibility.
How do I handle urgent issues when NYC is asleep?
Define "urgent" clearly as a team (hint: most things aren't). For true emergencies, have a phone tree or on-call rotation. For everything else, document the issue thoroughly and flag it for their morning.
Should I adjust my schedule to match NYC hours?
Not fully — that's a recipe for burnout. Find a sustainable overlap window (2-4 hours) and protect it. The rest of your day should work for your life and timezone. If your company expects you to work US hours from Asia, that's a company problem.
Does NYC observe Daylight Saving Time?
Yes. Clocks spring forward in March (EDT, UTC-4) and fall back in November (EST, UTC-5). This can temporarily change your overlap by an hour if your country has different DST dates — or doesn't observe it at all.
Related Guides
Last updated: December 2025. Time differences may shift slightly during DST transitions.