Atlassian pushes for distributed work with ‘Team Anywhere’
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Australian-American software giant Atlassian has embraced a distributed work model, known as ‘Team Anywhere,’ rather than returning to traditional office settings post-COVID-19.
In an interview with UNLEASH, Annie Dean, VP of ‘Team Anywhere,’ explained that this approach means most work happens online, with the company maintaining 12 global offices but allowing 100% employee distribution.
“It’s not really about where you work; it’s about how you work – and Atlassian is on a mission to get really, really good at these ways of working,” said Dean.
After 1,000 days of experimenting with the distributed work model, Atlassian reports significant benefits, including no dip in productivity, better talent acquisition, and improved diversity and inclusion efforts.
The company, which ranks 7th in Fortune’s Best Places to Work, uses its own products like Atlas, Confluence, and the newly acquired Loom to facilitate asynchronous work and maintain team connections across time zones.
Asynchronous work, which is also being practiced at human resources (HR) platform Remote, allows for flexibility across different time zones, enabling companies to access a wider talent pool and potentially increase productivity.
Atlassian’s strategy includes dedicated leadership, tech optimization, and data-driven adjustments. With employees experiencing 13% less time in meetings and 32% more focused work, the company has also seen a boost in connection and engagement by 27%.
“We really want to focus people on moving away from value judgements about remote workers– and avoid inserting bias into the conversation, and instead focus on the data.”
Nick Bloom, a Stanford University professor known for his research on working from home, has declared that “the RTO (return to office) debate should end,” predicting that current rates of remote and hybrid work will remain consistent over the next five years.
