Is Atlassian’s year-long experiment the future of work?

Atlassian’s new workspace doesn’t offer meals, has just 12 desks in total and barely offers any meeting rooms.

But Australia’s largest technology company is confident that its Connection Hub, a year-long experiment for the company’s 500 or so Melbourne-based employees, offers a glimpse of the future of work.

Gina Creegan, Global Head of Workplace Experience, Atlassian and Dom Price, Work Futurist, Atlassian. Credit: Photo: Aaron Walker at Aaron Walker Photography

Just don’t call it an “office”.

As questions persist over attendance mandates, the benefits and drawbacks of working from home; and whether workers will ever really return to the office full-time, Atlassian has been trying to drum up some answers with its hub.

Occupying two floors of an otherwise nondescript Flinders St building, the company’s co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes describes it as a physical representation of the best aspects of in-person and remote work.

Flexibility is the company’s stated goal: some workers come in every day, and some never use it at all. There are around a dozen using the hub on the day of my visit. The space fits squarely with Atlassian’s “Team Anywhere” strategy, which allows employees to effectively work from wherever they want.

“Atlassians”, as they’re called, can live and work from any of the 13 countries in which the company has a legal entity. They can also work outside their designated “home base” for short periods each year.

It puts the software maker squarely at odds with a growing number of rival firms, including Amazon, Meta and Alphabet, who have all mandated at least a partial return to the office amid concerns over productivity and company culture.

A survey late last year suggested most chief executives predict a full return to the office within three years. But the ensuing conversation hasn’t been pretty.

A power struggle between employees demanding flexibility and employers trying to drag them back has translated, in some cases, to mass resignations and walkouts. The return to office issue remains contentious nearly five years after the pandemic-induced exodus of workers.

The workplace is spread over two floors in a building on Flinders Street in Melbourne’s CBD.Credit: Craig Tan Architects + Eve Wilson

Despite the tumult, Atlassian is holding its ground: it says that its number of candidates per role has more than doubled since it launched its Team Anywhere initiative, without any dips in productivity.

“We’re not making a bet on remote work, we’re making a bet on flexibility, and this is our commitment to that,” Atlassian’s in-house work futurist Dom Price said in an interview.

“Asking if you’re an office person or not, that’s silly to me. Giving people access to flexibility is the best thing you can do.”

Workers who are home all the time may be productive, but they often can struggle to maintain a connection with their colleagues, according to the company’s global head of workplace experience Gina Creegan.

Atlassian’s new connection hub in Melbourne.Credit: Aaron Walker at Aaron Walker Photography

She said the hub had been designed to be drastically different to its traditional offices. More than half of its furniture is either from other offices or secondhand stores. It doesn’t have a fully catered kitchen (though snacks and coffee are available) and certainly no hidden speakeasy bar like the one at Atlassian’s Sydney HQ.

What it is, is prototypically Melbourne: AFL jumpers and pictures of trams adorn the hub’s walls.

While office leases are typically locked in for 10 years, Atlassian’s lease for the hub is for just 18 months. The company spun up the space in a matter of weeks after settling on the idea, and is open to either tearing it all down or keeping it going after the experiment ends.

“This was employee-driven, it’s a fast and furious experiment for our Melbourne employees who were chasing us down asking for what we’re doing for them,” Creegan said.

‘The hub is like our communal living space. There are plenty of nooks to read quietly, desks to work, open space and lounge areas to chat.’

Atlassian employee Kartini Cooper

“And three months in it’s looking really good. The people here are reporting a 38 per cent increase in connection, a 24 per cent increase in creativity and a 20 per cent increase in productivity.

The “Connection Hub” concept is not just relevant for technology firms, according to Price, but for banks, for telcos, or really any business.”

Mike Cannon-Brookes is taking the reins as sole CEO next month.Credit: AFR

“The people that we hire, whether they’re in customer support, user experience, or communications... It’s a complete mix,” he said.

“I don’t have a tech role. But I value working with other humans, sharing ideas in a space and creating value that way. I think sometimes these concepts get pegged as being unique to the tech sector, and they’re not.”

Kartini Cooper is a Melbourne-based manager in Atlassian’s procurement team. Her team is variously located in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, India and across the United States.

“Nope, it’s just me,” she says when asked if any of her immediate team join her in the hub.

“If we lived in a gigantic share house the hub is like our communal living space. There are plenty of nooks to read quietly, desks to work, open space to play games, and lounge areas to chat.

“Most of my meetings occur in the morning, so I take those from my home office. When I arrive at the hub I usually do a lap to see who is free for coffee. After that, I settle into a little space to work for a few hours and head home before rush hour. Sometimes I bring my dog Mochi into the hub... She loves all the attention.”

With Cannon-Brookes set to take over as sole CEO next month, after co-CEO Scott Farquhar announced his resignation after 23 years, change is in the air at Atlassian.

Price has been with Atlassian for 11 years, and he is confident that “a lot will change, and nothing will change” once Cannon-Brookes takes the helm solo.

“Scott’s legacy will live on,” Price said.

“And Mike is not taking the wheel by himself, he’s surrounded by some great leaders, everyone from the board to the leadership team around him. Scott will be missed... He’s a great human.”

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