Poll: I am usually up and working during most of my clients' business hours.
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jun 19, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I am usually up and working during most of my clients' business hours.".

View the poll results »



 
Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:06
Member (2011)
French to English
+ ...
Yes Jun 19, 2018

Yes, but this is actually quite easy for me since the vast majority of my customers are either located in the UK or mainland Europe, so I only have to start work an hour earlier than I would do otherwise in order to fully cover their business hours.

 
Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:06
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
No Jun 19, 2018

I work from around 8.30/9 am until 5.30/6.30 pm, Central European time.
That means I am working during my European clients' business hours (including most clients in the UK), but not during clients' business hours in the Americas or Asia.
Emails sent by a US client in their afternoon will have to wait until the next morning. Sometimes that means that by the time I read the email, the project has been offered and/or assigned to someone else who replied sooner. That is something I can
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I work from around 8.30/9 am until 5.30/6.30 pm, Central European time.
That means I am working during my European clients' business hours (including most clients in the UK), but not during clients' business hours in the Americas or Asia.
Emails sent by a US client in their afternoon will have to wait until the next morning. Sometimes that means that by the time I read the email, the project has been offered and/or assigned to someone else who replied sooner. That is something I can live with.
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:06
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes Jun 19, 2018

The large majority of my regular customers are located in Europe and I tend to have sort of the same business hours they do, but I’m quite flexible with my work schedule and I can adapt it in order to satisfy my clients…

 
Debora d'Amato (X)
Debora d'Amato (X)  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:06
English to Italian
+ ...
Luckily they live in Europe! Jun 19, 2018

I can't complain about this because my clients, so far, were located in Europe and me too, so we have more or less the same time zone. That means I'm used to working during their business hours!

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 02:06
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
No! Jun 19, 2018

Living in California, I have very little overlap with clients just about anywhere except the western US. It can be both a problem and an advantage. On the one hand, I can miss out on job opportunities, but on the other hand I can work while they are asleep if they send me a job at the end of their work day.

 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:06
German to English
+ ...
No, for these reasons Jun 19, 2018

1. I have clients in various countries. It would be insane for me to be up and working in Canada, based on Hong Kong time.
2. I see no practical reason to do so. I'm not working hand in hand with my clients. I am creating a product (the translation) for the client.

Maybe the question involved being available for queries, questions, or contacting your clients? Yes, I do check
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1. I have clients in various countries. It would be insane for me to be up and working in Canada, based on Hong Kong time.
2. I see no practical reason to do so. I'm not working hand in hand with my clients. I am creating a product (the translation) for the client.

Maybe the question involved being available for queries, questions, or contacting your clients? Yes, I do check messages especially during Canadian work hours, and if I happen to be up in the wee hours might see if my overseas clients had anything to ask.
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JaneTranslates
JaneTranslates  Identity Verified
Puerto Rico
Local time: 05:06
Spanish to English
+ ...
No! Jun 20, 2018

I'm often (like tonight) up all night on the due date so that I can have their translation on their computers when they arrive at work in the morning.

It's cooler at night, and there are almost no interruptions.

It works for me. (Then I sleep till noon.)

--Jane


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:06
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Jun 20, 2018

I have clients all over the world. Clients in Europe (+3-5 hours), in Israel (+5 hours), in North America and Canada (-2-3 hours), and even some in Japan, Korea, Australia...
You can't answer yes to this question unless all your clients are in the same continent as you, which is quite uncommon for translators.

[Edited at 2018-06-20 05:30 GMT]


 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 10:06
English to German
I don't know Jun 20, 2018

I work when it's best within my biorhythm. They work whenever they feel like it, and looking at their time zones, some of them seem to have a rather individual biorhythm as well. So far, that's working out fine ("so far" meaning the last twenty years).

I guess everyone in language departments is used to feral freelancers by now, or is secretly one themselves.

[Edited at 2018-06-20 06:15 GMT]


 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:06
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
No way Jun 21, 2018

If I wanted to cover even just the business hours of my regular clients, I'd end up with a 20-hour day.
That's not gonna happen.


 


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Poll: I am usually up and working during most of my clients' business hours.






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