As each business day begins in New York City, Wall Street becomes flooded with expensive cars and designer suits. Meanwhile, as the sun sets in Manila, some Filipinos get ready to start their workday at a call center.

While the typical workforce in Manila begins to settle down for the night, the faceless army of call-center operators are preparing to take your call. The lives of operators, armed with dual monitors and headsets are drastically altered in order to accommodate Western time zones. This synchronization ensures that Filipinos are better suited to assist the American customer.

See also: The Black Entrepreneur Trying to End Startup Racism Is Almost Out of Cash

Westerners may be unaware of the burden that operators face, as call-center employment is far from your typical nightshift. Some workers liken adjusting their body clocks to the sleep habits of vampires, but that just scratches the surface of their social and cultural sacrifice.