How many hours of overlap is reasonable with a US-based team?

Team FAQ: this question comes up often, so we've answered it below. Add your own experience, or a different view, in the comments.

Time-zone overlap can mean working at night. What's sustainable?

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devlk Team·12 hr ago

Many teams work well with about 2–4 hours of overlap, but agree on it explicitly and keep it sustainable.

From Sri Lanka (UTC+5:30), US working hours fall in your evening and night, and the difference changes when the US switches daylight saving time on and off.

Things to agree with your team:

Which hours you overlap, for example your 7–10 pm with their morning.
Which meetings you must attend live, and which can be recorded or handled in writing.
Response-time expectations outside overlap hours.
How on-call works, if there is any.

Making it sustainable:

Shift your day rather than extending it: start later and finish later, instead of working a full day and then a night shift.
Protect your sleep and set clear "off" hours.
Do your deep-focus work during your own daytime; use the overlap for meetings, reviews and collaboration.
Push for asynchronous habits (written updates, documented decisions) to reduce the need for meetings.

Before accepting an offer, ask exactly what overlap they expect. Daily work into the early morning is hard to sustain for long. See remote job interviews: questions to ask.