The Follow-the-Sun (FTS) model sounds great on paper: hand off work across time zones for 24/7 productivity. In practice, it often creates significant operational challenges that outweigh the benefits.
Four Problems With Follow-the-Sun
1. Context Loss in Handoffs
Task transfers across continents frequently lose important nuances, decision rationale, and scope changes. That “quick update” from your US team arrives incomplete for your Asia team, resulting in rework and misalignment.
2. Async Communication Limitations
The model struggles when projects require frequent alignment or rapid iteration. The right person won’t see a message for 8+ hours. For fast-moving work, this lag compounds into days of delay.
3. Hidden Burnout
Despite promises of flexible scheduling, team members often adjust their hours to create overlap with other regions. A developer in Manila takes calls at 10 PM “just this once”—until it becomes expected. Fatigue and morale issues follow.
4. Tool Proliferation
Teams compensate for lack of real-time collaboration by implementing numerous documentation platforms—Notion, Confluence, Slack, Jira, Loom. Eventually, coordination itself becomes the job.
A Better Alternative
Instead of spreading teams across the globe, consider hiring offshore teams within the same time zone as your core operations. You get:
- Real-time collaboration when it matters
- Cost efficiency of offshore hiring
- Stronger team culture through shared working hours
- Maintained agility without timezone complications
When FTS Can Work
To be fair, Follow-the-Sun works for organizations with mature async cultures, well-documented processes, and work that genuinely benefits from continuous coverage (like support or DevOps).
But for most scaling companies building products that require iteration and collaboration? Same-timezone distributed teams deliver better outcomes.