Understanding Timezone Behavior in WorklogPRO
On this page
What this page covers
If your worklogs are showing at a different time or date than expected — or your manager sees a different time than you do — this page explains exactly why this happens and what to do about it.
How timezone layers work
When you log work in Jira, three independent timezone layers are involved. Each one plays a different role, and mismatches between them cause the time or date to appear differently for different people.
PC / OS Timezone
Determines what time appears in the worklog dialog when you open it. This is your computer's system clock timezone.
↓ converts to UTC for storage
Jira System Timezone (Admin setting)
Set by your Jira administrator in General Configuration. Acts as the fallback when a user hasn't set their own profile timezone.
↓ overridden by user profile if set
Jira Profile Timezone (Per-user setting)
Set individually in your Jira profile. This controls how stored UTC timestamps are displayed to you. If not set, the Jira System Timezone applies
↓ overridden by user profile if set
Viewer's Jira Profile Timezone
When someone else (e.g. a manager) views your worklog, they see the time converted to their profile timezone — not yours.
Key insight: The worklog is always stored in UTC. What changes between users is only how that UTC value is displayed. This means the same worklog can show different times and even different dates to different people — and all of them are technically "correct."
The UTC flow
Common real-world scenarios
Below are the most frequently encountered timezone mismatch situations, ordered by how often they occur in practice.
Scenario 1: Remote developer with default company timezone profile VERY COMMON
Scenario 2: User updated profile, manager hasn't — they see different times VERY COMMON
Scenario 3: Forgotten profile update after travel COMMON
Scenario 4: Accidental wrong timezone selected in profile COMMON
Scenario 5: DST (Daylight Saving Time) transition SEASONAL
Understanding date shifts
The most confusing scenario is when a worklog appears on a different date than the one you logged it on. Here's the exact mechanism:
PC Timezone | Entry time | Stored UTC | Profile Timezone | Displayed as | What the viewer sees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vietnam UTC+7 | 09:00 AM, Jun 22 | 02:00 UTC, Jun 22 | Vietnam UTC+7 | 09:00 AM, Jun 22 | Worklog appears at 09:00 AM on Jun 22 — correct time and date, as expected. |
Vietnam UTC+7 | 09:00 AM, Jun 22 | 02:00 UTC, Jun 22 | London UTC+1 | 03:00 AM, Jun 22 | Worklog appears at 03:00 AM on Jun 22 — date is correct but time looks 6 hours earlier. This is normal when PC and profile timezones differ. |
Vietnam UTC+7 | 09:00 AM, Jun 22 | 02:00 UTC, Jun 22 | Sao Paulo UTC-3 | 23:00 PM, Jun 21 | Worklog appears at 23:00 PM on Jun 21 — shifts to the previous day. This is expected given the timezone difference, but may cause confusion in reports. |
Tokyo UTC+9 | 09:00 AM, Jun 22 | 00:00 UTC, Jun 22 | Sao Paulo UTC-3 | 21:00 PM, Jun 21 | Worklog appears at 21:00 PM on Jun 21 — shifts to the previous day. Normal behavior for this timezone combination, but the date will look wrong in the calendar view. |
London UTC+1 | 09:00 AM, Jun 22 | 08:00 UTC, Jun 22 | Tokyo UTC+9 | 17:00 PM, Jun 22 | Worklog appears at 17:00 PM on Jun 22 — date is correct. Time difference is expected due to the 8-hour gap between timezones. |
Rule of thumb: A date shift happens when the UTC storage time plus the viewer's timezone offset crosses midnight. The larger the negative offset of the viewer's timezone, the higher the risk of seeing the worklog on the previous day.
How to fix timezone issues
Step 1: Check and update your Jira profile timezone
Click your avatar in the top-right corner of Jira and select Profile.
Go to Preferences and find the Time Zone setting.
Set it to your actual current location timezone. This is the most important setting — it controls how all worklogs are displayed to you.
Save and refresh the page. Existing worklogs will immediately reflect the updated timezone.
Changing your profile timezone affects all past worklogs. They are stored in UTC and always re-displayed using your current profile timezone. Changing it will shift how all historical entries appear.
Step 2: Make sure your PC timezone matches your Jira profile timezone
For the most accurate experience, your PC/OS timezone should match your Jira profile timezone. If they differ, the time shown in the worklog dialog when you open it will not match what you see after saving.
Operating System | Where to change timezone |
|---|---|
macOS | Apple Menu → System Settings → General → Date & Time → Time Zone |
Windows 11 | Settings → Time & Language → Date & Time → Time zone |
Windows 10 | Settings → Time & Language → Date & Time → Change time zone |
Step 3: For admins — verify Jira System Timezone
If many users are experiencing timezone issues, ask your Jira administrator to check the system-level timezone setting:
Go to Jira Settings → System → General Configuration.
Check the Default user time zone setting. This is the fallback for all users who haven't set their own profile timezone.
Ensure this is set to a timezone that reflects the majority of your users, or communicate to all users that they should set their own profile timezone.
FAQ
My worklog shows the correct time after I save it, but after refreshing the page it moves to a different time. Why?
This happens when your PC timezone and your Jira profile timezone are different. The dialog initially shows the time based on your PC clock. After saving and refreshing, Jira re-renders the time using your Jira profile timezone. The two will only match if they are set to the same timezone.
My manager says my worklog is on the wrong day, but it looks correct to me. Who is right?
Both of you are seeing technically accurate values — just in different timezones. The underlying UTC timestamp is the same. The date difference arises because when the UTC time is converted to your manager's timezone, it crosses midnight. Check the table in the Understanding date shifts section for examples.
I didn't change anything, but suddenly my worklogs all shifted. What happened?
This is most commonly caused by a Daylight Saving Time transition. If you or your Jira administrator recently updated a timezone setting, or if DST kicked in, all stored worklogs will be re-displayed using the updated offset. Check whether the shift is exactly 1 hour — if so, DST is almost certainly the cause.
Does WorklogPRO store time differently than native Jira?
No. WorklogPRO uses the same Jira API and UTC-based storage that native Jira worklogs use. All timezone display behavior described on this page applies equally to both native Jira and WorklogPRO.
I set my profile timezone correctly but the date picker in the worklog dialog still shows the wrong time.
The worklog dialog's date picker reads your PC/browser timezone — not your Jira profile timezone. This is a Jira platform behavior. To avoid confusion, keep your PC timezone and Jira profile timezone in sync.