Add Participant
Participants
Scheduling Meetings Between Asia-Pacific and the Americas
The Pacific Ocean creates some of the widest time zone gaps in global business. Singapore is 13 hours ahead of New York and 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles. Sydney is 15 hours ahead of New York and 18 hours ahead of LA — which actually wraps back around, making Sydney and LA nearly a full day apart.
Singapore to Los Angeles
Singapore (SGT, UTC+8) is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles (PST, UTC−8) in winter, or 15 hours during US daylight saving time. The only practical window for same-day calls is early morning LA time: an 8 AM call in LA lands at 11 PM or midnight in Singapore. Many APAC-Americas teams treat this as a "one side takes evenings" arrangement and rotate the inconvenience monthly.
Sydney to New York: the "almost full circle" problem
Sydney (AEDT in summer) can be UTC+11, which is 16 hours ahead of New York's UTC−5. This means a 9 AM Sydney meeting lands at 5 PM New York the previous day. The window for both sides to be in normal hours essentially does not exist. The most common approach is 8 AM Sydney / 5 PM or 6 PM New York the day before — which means New York is staying late at the end of their day to attend Sydney's morning call.
Tokyo and Seoul to the US West Coast
Tokyo (JST, UTC+9) is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles (PDT) in US summer. The overlap window is small but exists: 9 AM LA / 1 AM Tokyo is obviously impractical, but 5 PM LA / 9 AM Tokyo the next morning is a workable slot for West Coast teams willing to end their day with a call.
Making APAC-Americas schedules sustainable
The key insight for long-running APAC-Americas team relationships: document the rotation clearly, write it into a team agreement, and review it quarterly. People accept inconvenient meeting times much more readily when the system is transparent and fair. Teams that rely on one region to always adapt tend to see burnout and attrition in that region first.
What is the best time for a Singapore to New York meeting?
8–9 AM New York (EST) / 9–10 PM Singapore is the most common slot. It keeps New York in normal morning hours and asks Singapore to join at the end of their evening. Many teams rotate this with an 8 AM Singapore / 7 PM New York (previous day) option.
Is there any good overlap between Sydney and Los Angeles?
On strict 9–5 schedules, no. Sydney is roughly 18–19 hours ahead of LA, meaning the windows don't overlap during business hours for either city. The most practical slot is 7 AM LA / 12 AM–1 AM Sydney, which asks Sydney to join very late. Some teams use end-of-day for both: 5 PM LA / 10–11 AM Sydney the next morning.
How does Australia's daylight saving time affect scheduling?
Australia's eastern states (NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania) observe daylight saving time from October to April — opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. This means that when the US is on summer time, Sydney is on standard time, and vice versa. The offset between Sydney and New York can vary between 14 and 16 hours depending on the time of year. This tool always uses the current offset.