DeepSummary
Scott Farquhar, the co-CEO of Atlassian, discusses the company's bold approach to distributed work called 'Team Anywhere', which allows employees to work from anywhere without being forced back into an office. Atlassian's research findings contradict the belief that being in the office every day is necessary for building connections with coworkers.
Farquhar explains that intentional gatherings, where employees deliberately come together a few times a year to build social bonds, are more effective than random daily encounters at the office. Atlassian has redesigned its offices to cater to different needs, such as closed rooms for focused work, open spaces for casual interactions, and flexible areas for intentional gatherings.
Farquhar argues that measuring productivity by hours spent in the office is flawed, and Atlassian focuses on outputs instead. He also shares personal stories of how Team Anywhere has positively impacted employees' lives, allowing them to be present for important moments or pursue unique lifestyles.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Atlassian's 'Team Anywhere' approach allows employees to work from anywhere without being forced back into an office.
- Atlassian's research found no correlation between being in the office every day and feeling connected to coworkers.
- Intentional gatherings, where employees deliberately come together a few times a year, are more effective for building social bonds than random daily encounters at the office.
- Atlassian has redesigned its offices to cater to different needs, such as closed rooms for focused work, open spaces for casual interactions, and flexible areas for intentional gatherings.
- Atlassian focuses on outputs rather than measuring productivity by hours spent in the office or presenteeism.
- The 'Team Anywhere' approach has enabled Atlassian to tap into broader talent pools not limited by geographic constraints.
- Atlassian's approach has positively impacted employees' lives, allowing them to be present for important moments or pursue unique lifestyles.
- Atlassian believes that the future of work is moving toward more distributed and flexible arrangements, and they are leading the way as a pioneer in this space.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I think of Atlassian as the canary in the coal mine, and as a canary, we are singing our heart out at the moment. This has been very beneficial for us.“ by Scott Farquhar
- “We believe that you do need to get together to build social bonds. Our belief, though, is that you don't need to get together every single day to sit next to each other on a Zoom call in an office and commute back and forth to get that benefit.“ by Scott Farquhar
- “We've managed to tap into talent pools that 40% of our people live more than 2 hours from an office. So whole bunch of benefits, things we're still working on.“ by Scott Farquhar
- “We have someone who works for us, Jan, in a van, who lived and worked in a van, traveling around the country. She didn't join Atlassian because of that, but this is an opportunity she got to take because we had that policy.“ by Scott Farquhar
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Episode Information
Masters of Scale
WaitWhat
1/18/24
The backlash against remote work is in full swing, with 90% of CEOs reportedly rewarding in-office workers with more promotions and raises. But to Scott Farquhar, co-CEO of Atlassian, that’s a big mistake — and in a just-released study, he’s got hard numbers to back him up. Scott talks with Rapid Response host Bob Safian about how the 10,000-person collaboration-software company — Australia’s premier tech startup — is defying the trend with a bold gambit called Team Anywhere. Adhering to an Atlassian core value (“no bullshit”), Scott shares insights about work flexibility, productivity, and the unexpected power of sporadic, but intentional gatherings. To prepare for the future of work, he says, business leaders need to take risks.
If you're interested in learning more from Atlassian and Scott be sure to check out "Lessons Learned," a report about how Atlassian has navigated distributed work at scale, including experiments they've run, data they've collected, and stories Atlassian employees have shared: https://www.atlassian.com/solutions/distributed/lessons-learned
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