Global head of Team Anywhere, Atlassian
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Atlassian—which gives its 10,000+ employees a choice of in-office, hybrid, or remote schedules—has been widely cited as a leader in flexible work. As the head of the company’s distributed work plans, Dean builds her team’s strategy using a blend of behavioral science and internal data; her team now publishes its own data on flexible work outcomes to help inform practices at other organizations. A recent report marking 1,000 days of their distributed work policy found that 92% of employees say that the policy allows them to do their best work, with a 32% improvement in focus and a two-fold increase in the number of candidates per open role.
Right now, what is your biggest question or curiosity about the future of work?
We know that distributed work accrues real value to people, their families, and to their local communities, but there isn’t a good way to quantify this human impact. I’m curious about quantifying this value in a way that allows us to have more sophisticated conversations.
What is one problem leaders should be focused on solving in the year ahead?
Leaders should focus on the real problems plaguing today’s workers— including back-to-back meetings, overflowing inboxes, vague goals and processes, and minimal clarity on how to drive projects forward—and help workers design their days in a way that progresses the most impactful work. This requires a mindset shift away from where work happens to focus on how it happens.