There is a Culture Club forming that cites culture as the reason people need to work in a building. I challenge every member of this club to find a definition of culture that refers to a location, a building, or an office. You won’t find one.

This will be a Culture Club series of newsletters as we explore what needs to be eradicated and replaced to build a thriving culture in a distributed workforce.

Last week, we examined strategy and guiding principles. This week, we will explore the aspect of location. A thriving culture can only be achieved when everyone is clear about the expectations regarding location and that places of work are suited to the work to be undertaken.

(Note: Based on the recent poll, this newsletter (and my associated videos)will now be delivered to you on a fortnightly basis.)

Work is what we do

There is much debate about where the workforce should be located. Unless achieving business goals requires a certain location, you should be able to work where you get your best work done.

Work is what we do, not where we go 

There are so many benefits to both the employer and the employee. This has been captured by Atlassian in their 2024 report, “Lessons Learned: 1000 Days of Distributed at Atlassian.”

Team Anywhere is Atlassian's approach to distributed work. Since 2020, employees have been able to choose where they work. The workforce has become highly distributed: it went from contained to 12 locations to spread across 10,000+.

Employees saved ten days per year in time they would have previously commuted. That’s nearly half a billion minutes of saved time for the entire workforce since 2020.

92% of employees say the distributed work policy allows them to do their best work, and 91% say it’s an important reason why they stay at Atlassian.

Atlassian jumped up 40 spots on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list (from #47 to #7) in one year for “leading the change when it comes to employee flexibility in the new era of work.”

There have been no dips in productivity.

Mike Cannon-Brookes – co-founder and co-CEO, said:

“People work about 40 minutes extra per day, and they commute 2 hours less per day. That’s a pretty good tradeoff. We get about a third of that time for us as a business. And Atlassians get all the lifestyle benefits that come with flexibility.”

Policy

Organisations must have policies regarding location and relocation. This ensures that everyone is clear about what is expected of them.

Zapier

Zapier, a leader in automation, has been fully remote since day one. It has over 800 people distributed across 40 countries. They are in all sorts of work arrangements: city dwellers, country folks, van lifers, country hoppers, digital nomads, and everything in between. Zapier created a policy to support global mobility on both a short- and long-term basis to enable those who want to move around while still working at Zapier.

The policy pushes remote work at Zapier to be more than just working from home and normalises employees' ability to decide where and when they work. It gives employees the information they need to move around comfortably while still meeting the expectations for their roles.

The Zapier website states:

“Our policy categorizes global mobility into three distinct categories: traveler, digital nomad, and long-term moves. Each category has a well-defined list of recommendations, norms, and procedures attached to planning and executing those moves. By making this a company-wide policy, guidelines are clear to everyone involved, and we ensure this opportunity is equally accessible to anyone who meets the criteria.”

Atlassian

Location policies at Atlassian include:

·       Atlassians can work in 13 countries where there are registered entities. 

·       Atlassians can choose to relocate within or between those 13 countries.

·       Atlassians can stay and work from somewhere else (i.e. not their home location) for up to 90 cumulative days in a rolling 365-day period. They must have working rights in their temporary location and gain manager approval before traveling. There are exceptions and limitations to this rule based on legal, tax, and security regulations.

The Lessons Learned report states:

“Because we’ve given Atlassians flexibility in where they work, we’ve had to be slightly prescriptive about when they work (e.g. a team whose members are spread across the US needs to be mindful of time zone differences) and fairly prescriptive on how they work.”

This, and the following research findings, hint at a new policy that may be introduced.

“Our research shows that highly distributed teams with well-designed time zone principles (members are spread across time zones but have at least four overlapping work hours per day) establish more productive ways of working.

Office

If you retain the office as a place of work, it must be fit for purpose. Whilst culture does not live in an office, an office space that meets the needs of the workforce gives employees a sense of value and belonging.

Each organisation must work out what is needed by their workforce, and the easiest way to do that is to ask them!

The new Atlassian Sydney headquarters to be opened in 2027 is described by Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO, in the Australian Financial Review:

“The way that space needs to happen isn’t going to be a row of desks next to each other. It’s going to be lounges and brainstorming areas and whiteboards and creative spaces with great natural light.”

Considerable thought needs to accompany this investment in office space and infrastructure.

For example, there are four types of collaboration space you can provide, according to Haworth.

Inform – To accommodate information sharing; a collaborative workspace is usually equipped with monitors and conference chairs oriented toward a presenter. 

Do – To accomplish tactical objectives, people need spaces that include a table, comfortable desk chairs, storage, video and interactive data-sharing technology, and whiteboards. 

Think - People need spaces for idea generation, brainstorming, and strategic thinking. Usually designed with an informal atmosphere, these spaces typically have comfortable seating—such as sofas or guest chairs—some privacy to avoid distracting others, a monitor, and a whiteboard area to take notes and work through ideas. 

Connect - Primarily created to foster spontaneous interaction and personal connection; ancillary spaces serve as the new "water cooler." These people-centred spaces are relaxed, informal, and cosy and may include lounge chairs, sofas, and rugs to bring warmth and comfort - indoors or out.

There also need to be focus spaces. These are intended for tasks that demand intense focus, critical thinking, and minimal distractions. These spaces are designed to reduce office noise and subconsciously encourage the employee to focus. These dedicated spaces must be equipped with features that promote concentration, such as soundproofing, comfortable seating, adjustable lighting, and ergonomic furniture.

Employers must also consider the provision of:

Social spaces – these spaces empower people to choose destinations to work, gather, socialise, or just recharge. It could be an in-house café setting with lounge furniture and tables or comfy sofas and warm décor.

Well-being spaces – these could include lounge areas, private conversation rooms, exercise facilities, meditation rooms, healthy food stations, and training and education rooms.

Activity-based spaces – these are designed around individual tasks to create efficiencies that other workspaces may not. Haworth describes this space as:

“Think of it like a type of circuit training, where you move from station to station doing different targeted exercises using varied fitness equipment at each station. All the tools you need for a given activity are ready and waiting for you to work in each space. In the end, it makes for a better holistic outcome. As some tasks require heavy focus, workstations for these activities would offer more individual privacy with moveable walls, panels, partitions, or booths. Group workspaces can be more open and include whiteboards, digital displays, and collaboration tools.”

Drop-in spaces – these spaces make it easy for an on-the-go employee to drop in and plug in wherever they need to work. They are unassigned workspaces in semi-private carrels or minimalistic spine-based workspaces with power and data connectivity.

Smart spaces – every organisation must invest in smart offices - a hi-tech workspace that uses analytics and connected technology to help people use collaboration tools more efficiently and productively. Analytics are used to understand how the environment can work most efficiently. Connected technology is used to enable connectivity and collaboration between in-office and remote individuals and teams.

Remote work

Provide employees with what they need to work from wherever they are happiest and most productive, and you are saying, ”We value you, and we care.”

Buffer, an internet and web services company, is fully remote and provides employees with a laptop and a $1,000 allowance to reimburse them for any costs to create a comfy work-from-home space. They also provide an annual $250 personal equipment stipend for ongoing work needs. They provide funds for the use of a coworking space or

spending time in a coffee shop.

At GitLab, new hires receive a laptop and a $1,500 USD stipend to spend toward setting up their home office in the first year. Existing employees get a yearly refresh of #500 USD to purchase upgrades, replacements, or enhancements to the home office setup. Employees get reimbursed if they need to rent a co-working space. Gitlab also cover monthly phone and internet service charges up to a defined limit,

GitLab also provides extensive guidance on creating the perfect home office setup in their handbook.

At Atlassian, employees are given a monthly remote work allowance to support a Team Anywhere environment and access to a comprehensive online ergonomic tool. 

A new kind of city

There is fascinating research putting a new perspective on where businesses should locate their offices and compete for talent.

Research by Richard Florida, Vladislav Boutenko, Antoine Vetrano, and Sara Saloo reveals the rise of a new type of city, the “Meta City.”

The Harvard Business Review (HBR) article “The Rise of the Meta City” explores the research and findings.

The findings defy the prediction that global cities will die post-pandemic and are reinventing themselves instead.

Through digital technology and remote work, many employees can participate in a city's economic life without living there. They can keep their jobs in one city whilst working most of the time in another. 

These employees live in the “Meta City” – a web of cities.

The researchers found clear patterns as workers spread out from major cities. They found clear ties between major hubs and smaller satellite cities. They also used LinkedIn data to map the talent flow across global cities.

Looking at the connections and the flows can inform location strategies. It aids employers in ensuring they have the virtual and physical presence that meets their needs. Tracking where talent comes from and where it goes can inform talent-sourcing strategies.

You can read more about this in my newsletter, “A New Kind of City.”

Next time

In the next newsletter, I will explore another aspect of the thriving distributed workforce culture.