Do Philippines virtual assistants work US hours?

Yes. Virtual assistants in the Philippines work US hours, and the right ones prefer it. Your 9am to 5pm Eastern day is 10pm to 6am in Manila from early November to mid March, so your assistant's night shift is your working day.

You are the one clients call, and the one your team waits on. The worry is simple: you send a question at 10am and wait until tomorrow for the answer. With the right person on your hours, that does not happen.

Below is the time difference by zone, then how to set the schedule before you hire.

What are US working hours in the Philippines?

US working hours fall at night in the Philippines. The country runs on Philippine Standard Time, 8 hours ahead of UTC, and does not change its clocks. The US changes twice a year: daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday of November and starts on the second Sunday of March.

So the Philippines is 13 to 16 hours ahead of the continental US from early November to mid March, and 12 to 15 hours ahead the rest of the year. Philippines assistants on US hours work your time zone's day, not Manila's. Here is a 9am to 5pm day in each time zone, in Manila time.

Most of Arizona stays on Mountain standard time all year, so it follows the first column.

Do virtual assistants in the Philippines work US hours by choice?

The ones you hire should. Skale Bak makes it part of the search: when your role needs US hours, the finalists you meet are comfortable with them and prefer them.

Even Baklid, the founder of Skale Bak, explains the check:

"We make sure the 3 to 4 finalists you meet are comfortable with, and prefer, working US hours."

Ask about hours early, whoever you hire.

Which work needs your US hours?

Anything where people reach you during your day needs your live hours. Even names the areas:

"A lot of the time, US hours are needed for anything in operations, admin, client work and marketing."

The table shows where each kind of task usually sits.

Which hours should your assistant work?

Skale Bak's standard is your working day, in your time zone. That is what most of the work above needs, and it means you are never waiting overnight for an answer.

There are 3 common ways to set the hours:

1. Your working day. Your assistant works your exact hours. Best for inbox, calendar and client work, where clients expect an answer the same day.
2. A later start. If you choose it, your assistant starts in your afternoon and keeps going after you stop, so you get a few live hours together and the evening work is done by morning.
3. Hours outside your day. If you choose it, only for work no one is waiting on, such as research, reports and drafts.

Through Skale Bak you choose 20 or 40 hours a week. Settle which hours in the consultation, before the search starts, so the finalists you meet already prefer them.

How do you work well across the time difference?

You work well across the gap with a fixed overlap and written handoffs.

1. Write the hours down. Put the start time in your time zone, and note the 2 weekends a year when US clocks change.
2. Keep 1 live window. Just 30 minutes a day together catches questions before they become delays.
3. Clear the overnight first. When your assistant starts, they work through what came in since they left, then move to the day's tasks.
4. 1 summary at the end. 1 message with what is done, what is waiting and what needs you, never 5 separate pings.
5. Write each task as a system. A written process lets your assistant finish the work without waiting on you.

This is where the hours give you something back. When the overnight is cleared and the day is covered, the evening is yours again. As Even puts it:

"You can run a very successful business and have a very successful family at the same time, and really be present for them."

What does a Philippines assistant on US hours cost?

A Skale Bak assistant costs $13 an hour for every role: $260 a week at 20 hours, or $520 a week at 40. The weekly total depends on the hours you choose, and the rate stays the same.

The rate includes your assistant's training, equipment, software and backup power. There is no placement fee and no setup cost, and you can leave any time with 30 days notice. The pricing page has the full list, and the full cost breakdown compares it with hiring locally.

Where should you start?

Start with the work, then the hours. List what you did this week, mark what needs a live answer, and you will know which hours you need covered.

The free Handover Playbook walks you through that list and the order to hand it over in. When you are ready to hire, how we vet a virtual assistant shows how hours are checked in the search, and how it works shows the 4 steps from the consultation to the first shift.