A report from IT company Atlassian contains some valuable lessons about hybrid working.
Atlassian is an innovative Australian software company. In 2020, the company launched a “Team Anywhere” policy that allows staff to “work from home, one of [their] 12 global offices, a mix of both or somewhere else entirely.”
In January 2024 the company published a report on their findings after 1,000 days of “distributed working.” Here are 5 lessons on hybrid working we can take from Atlassian’s experience:
1. Focus on how people work, rather than where people work
Many critics of hybrid working are concerned that it will diminish productivity and collaboration. However, Atlassian believes “the biggest blockers to productivity, connection and innovation are not location based – they centre around how work gets done.”
So rather than focusing on where people work, Atlassian focuses on advancing how they work. “We’re not precious about where work happens. But we care a lot about how it happens.”
Rather than “rewarding facetime”, they focus on setting clear goals and tracking progress against them. The company has an online goal setting and progress tracking methodology and system to achieve this.
2. Face-to-face interaction is still important
Atlassian believes “in person time is critical for our teams and our business.” To this end, the company has teams meet in person a few times a year.
They’ve found that because their team get-togethers are highly intentional – with a clear purpose and agenda – they have a “greater impact on connection than sporadic office attendance.”
The 3-to-5 day “intentional team gatherings” take place at Atlassian’s offices. The priorities are “forging relationships, sharing meals and advancing important projects.” Offices have been redesigned to offer open and flexible spaces to accommodate these gatherings.
3. Offices still matter
Offices are an essential component of Team Anywhere. Despite the fact that Atlassian has no in-office mandates, over 80% of staff visited one of their offices at least once per quarter over the past year.
Atlassian says their offices serve three purposes:
- Connection – to foster building and maintaining work relationships.
- Company belonging – to create a connection to company values and culture.
- A place to get work done – for those who prefer to work in an office.
4. Reinvest real estate savings into office redesigns
The money Atlassian has saved by having a smaller office footprint (they estimate their office footprint would be double without Team Anywhere) has been reinvested in redesigning their office space to better facilitate their way of working.
For example, offices include “focus booths” – small private spaces for focused individual work and video calls. These feature vanity lighting and backgrounds that support all skin tones. Offices also include space for out-of-town visitors to store their luggage.
The Austin office even has a conference centre where workers can connect and collaborate.
5. Remote work is attractive to sob seekers
Since Atlassian started Team Anywhere, the number of candidates applying per role has more than doubled. The candidate acceptance rate has increased by 20%.
The policy has also lifted job satisfaction. Ninety-one percent of staff say Team Anywhere is an important reason why they stay at Atlassian.
Your milage might vary
While Atlassian is a leader in hybrid working, it helps to keep in mind it is a software company selling products online. In other words, the business is highly suited to hybrid work.
Remote work is more challenging when a company has physical products and warehouses or needs to meet clients face-to-face.
To find out more about hybrid working at Atlassian you can read their report: Lessons Learned: 1,000 Days of Distributed at Atlassian
