My first job out of college has me working US hours from Asia. It's tiring, but I value the flexibility.
A software engineer living in Singapore shares his experience of working remotely on a US-based night shift schedule. While he values the flexibility, he notes the significant personal challenges of maintaining a schedule misaligned with his local time zone.
Why it matters
The story highlights the human impact of the globalized, remote-first workforce and the trade-offs inherent in modern digital employment models.
Clarence Koh lives in Singapore and works remotely for a US-based company on a night shift schedule. Provided by Clarence Koh. Clarence Koh, 30, lives in Singapore and works remotely for a US-based company. He moved his workday to the night to better match his team's schedule. Three years in, he says the flexibility still comes with challenges. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Clarence Koh, 30, a software engineer who lives in Singapore but works US hours. It's been edited for length and clarity. When I was studying computer science at a university in Singapore , I joined a one-year overseas work-and-study program meant to encourage entrepreneurship. I was supposed to spend the year in Toronto , taking classes at a host university while interning at a startup. But because of the pandemic, I had to stay in Singapore and complete the program remotely.
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