2023-09-18 09:17:24
There is the image we have of the digital nomad. Working under the sun in a hot country before heading to the beach or hiking once the day is over. But the reality is often much less rosy, reports the economic media Bloomberg. Because settling far from your employer or clients also means having to deal with a more or less significant time difference.
“Many remote workers who have settled in remote locations work split shifts, logging in for a few hours in the evening until midnight, before sleeping for a few hours and waking up to log back in,” summarizes the American site, which met Therese-Heather Belen, who teleworks from several countries in Southeast Asia.
His working day is divided into several segments in order to stay in touch with his company, based in New York. To deal with a twelve-hour time difference, this executive works from evening to early morning, while taking breaks to get some sleep.
“Tonight I have a meeting that I have to attend between 3:30 and 4 a.m.she explains. I have many, many alarms set for different times, which will allow me to attend this meeting and then go back to sleep.”
Hellish schedule
According to Tue Le, chief executive of Remote Year, a company that makes it easier for workers to travel abroad, 15 percent of his clients work nights to meet the U.S. time zone, while a third prefer flexible hours like early morning. morning to be able to exchange with colleagues who remained in the country.
If night work suits Therese-Heather Belen, it cannot be generalized to all digital nomads. Especially since researchers regularly warn of the harmful effects of poor sleep hygiene. Chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating and mood swings are among the consequences of too short or broken nights.
Jordan Carroll, career management advisor, has had this bitter experience. He tells his “timetable from hell” when he left at midnight, during a stay in Thailand and Indonesia, to go to a coworking space open twenty-four hours a day. “My internal clock was totally out of whack. I couldn’t really function. Even when I went to see friends, I was tired. I couldn’t be myself,” he confides.
An exhausting pace which means that some prefer to return or find a country where the time zone is less restrictive. For those who are determined to give it a try, the University of Pennsylvania advises maintaining the same sleep schedule, including weekends, in order to adjust the circadian rhythm.
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