Does your remote team really need an in-person offsite?

Introducing: Work Check: Is your company working as well as it could be? This new podcast from Atlassian brings you fun and fiery debates over today's trendiest workplace practices, from dogfooding to agile at scale, asynchronous collaboration to ERGs. Join host Christine Dela Rosa and a pair of debaters each week, as they argue if and how you should add these practices to your work life. New episodes out September 7th. by Work Check

2 min listen

Can agile methods actually scale?: “Agile” is one of the buzziest workplace practices today - all about moving fast and breaking things, and iterating to perfection. The practice has picked up fans and detractors, as more and more companies have left waterfall methodologies in their wake. But is agile the way to go for all teams, and can it actually scale? Host Christine Dela Rosa moderates a fiery debate between Kelvin Yap and Dominique Ward over the limitations and opportunities of agile at scale. by Work Check

25 min listen

Should you get your team in sync, async?: Should that meeting have been an email? We all know what it's like to sit through a long and pointless meeting, but a good live gathering can be more inspiring than any async exchange. So whether you’re working remotely or in the office, what should be the default way of collaborating – asynchronous, or live? Join host Christine Dela Rosa and debaters Marshall Walker Lee and Dominique Ward for a meeting of the minds and see what they discover. by Work Check

23 min listen

Should companies eat their own dogfood?: The name is hard to defend, but the practice of “dogfooding” is a staple in product development. But should every company be product testing this way...or should we leave this practice behind? Join host Christine Dela Rosa and debaters Marshall Walker Lee and Shannon Winter to learn if you really need to “eat your own dogfood” to make products that work. For the transcript and takeaways, visit https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/work-check. by Work Check

21 min listen

Are internal hackathons really good for business?: Is there a shortcut to innovative ideas? Some say hackathons are a pressure cooker for out-of-the-box thinking, and others say they’re just a recipe for half-baked prototypes. Join host Christine Dela Rosa and debaters Shannon Winter and Kelvin Yap as they argue whether hackathons really are good for business. by Work Check

19 min listen

Does your remote team really need an in-person offsite?: The offsite is a staple – for individual teams, departments or even entire companies. A chance for everyone to get OOO, bond and get some deep work done. But today, as more and more teams are moving to hybrid or remote working, are they really necessary? Join host, Christine Dela Rosa and debaters Marshall Walker Lee and Shannon Winter and find out if your distributed team really needs to meet IRL. by Work Check

24 min listen

Do operating rhythms drive company culture?: Operating rhythms – the reoccurring processes you do with your team, like daily stand-ups or project retros – are a proven way to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your team. But can they also help scale your company culture? Join host Christine Dela Rosa and debaters Marshall Walker Lee and Kelvin Yap as they debate if you can operationalize something as complex as culture. by Work Check

25 min listen

Should you really wear pajamas to a Zoom meeting?: Have you worn PJs to a Zoom call? Now what about on the bottom half of you, that’s outside the video frame? Today’s debate might make you think a little more deeply about what you’re wearing to WFH, how it’s affecting your performance, and what the history of dress codes can tell us about where workwear is going next. by Work Check

24 min listen

Should senior leadership drive employee resource groups?: So many companies are reworking their relationship with diversity, equity and inclusion actions this year, as they should. But for affinity groups within companies, like ERGs or BRGs, developed to support underrepresented groups - what is the best role for leadership to play? Should they be the driving force, or take a backseat role? Join host Christine Dela Rosa and debaters Dominique Ward and Shannon Winter, as they consider the best ways management can support these internal groups. by Work Check

24 min listen

Is it time to get rid of annual planning?: A lot of people think of annual planning as a necessary evil – but after the past few years of unpredictability and torn-up plans...is it still serving its purpose? Alternative planning methods are out there, but are they really any better? Join host Christine Dela Rosa and debaters Dominique Ward and Kelvin Yap, as they determine the best ways to forecast for the future. by Work Check

21 min listen

Should you only give your coworkers feedback to their face?: If a coworker had feedback for you, would you rather they say it to your face, or do you prefer to receive it anonymously? Today’s debate challenges you to think again about the best way to critique your colleagues. Debater Rani Shah defends direct feedback, with support from Know Your Team’s CEO Claire Lew, who unpacks the cultural consequences of anonymous feedback. And Marshall Walker Lee argues in favor of anonymous feedback, with help from HR pro Osasu Arigbe, who shares a story of direct feedback gone very wrong. by Work Check

24 min listen

Should you add your coworkers on social media?: Do you add your work friends on Facebook? Tweet at your teammates? Instagram DM other individual contributors? Turns out, most of us do … but should we? In today’s debate, we hear the promise and perils of connecting with colleagues on social media. Debater Rani Shah argues in favor of adding colleagues online, alongside her guest Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting. Maren Hotvedt comes out against the practice, supported by Dr. Casey S. Pierce, an assistant professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan, who shares the risks of merging your online and work selves. by Work Check

26 min listen

Season Two is Coming Soon!: Work Check is back for another season of debates, aimed to get you questioning the ways you’re working today. Join Christine Dela Rosa and a team of debaters as they dig into questions about how we collaborate, communicate, or even dress for work. by Work Check

1 min listen

Season Three is Coming Soon!: Season three of Work Check is on its way! This season is all about debating the way your remote or hybrid team is collaborating, with questions about the best ways to Zoom, ping, Slack, or DM your teammates. Join Christine Dela Rosa and a team of debaters for new episodes every other Tuesday. by Work Check

1 min listen

Should your manager be responsible for your emotional wellbeing?: The role of the manager has evolved dramatically since the days of barking orders and closed doors. But with modern managers being tasked with managing productivity, morale, development…are we asking too much? Today’s debate digs into how responsible managers should be for the emotional wellbeing of their team members. Arguing in favor of managers taking on this emotional labor is debater Eli Mishkin, joined by workplace wellness consultant Laura Putnam who shares just how much your manager already affects your wellbeing (…and even your heart health!). Debating against this responsibility is Marshall Walker Lee with support from Dr. Mahreen Khan, a Senior Researcher in the People Insights Team at Atlassian, who explains the risks of putting too much on managers. by Work Check

26 min listen

Bonus: Should your team move to a four-day workweek?: Do you dream of a four-day workweek? Fantasize on Friday afternoons about the luxury of a three-day weekend? Today’s debate digs into the potentials and pitfalls of the schedule that’s been generating buzz around the world, and asks - is the grass really greener? Debater Kelvin Yap argues in favor of the four-day workweek, supported by Kath Blackham, the CEO of VERSA, a Melbourne-based AI agency that’s been taking Wednesdays off since 2018. In opposition, we have Marshall Walker Lee, supported by Abigail Marks, a professor of the Future of Work at Newcastle University, who shares the dangers of recklessly jumping on the four-day week bandwagon. by Work Check

30 min listen

Should you send that message in a DM or a group channel?: Every team needs a chat tool – but it’s not easy to know who should be looped into different conversations, or how open team communication should be. We all know the feeling of being inundated with messages in shared channels, and we’ve also been that person left out of a decision that happened in direct messages. So today, we’re debating the merits and pitfalls of open channel communication. Debater Kelvin Yap argues in defense of open channel communication, supported by Matt Abrahams, a strategic communications expert and host of the podcast “Think Fast, Talk Smart”, who shares what we miss when we opt for DMs. Eli Mishkin argues against the distraction from open channels, with the expertise of former technology executive Linda Stone who coined the term “continuous partial attention”. by Work Check

27 min listen

Should you message your teammates after hours?: Are you the type to send Slack messages around the clock? Or are you more likely to close your laptop for the day at 5pm sharp? Today’s episode is all about setting boundaries with workplace communications — and it’s a bit more complicated than you might think. Debater Shannon Winter argues in favor of sending messages anytime – she’s backed up by Chase Warrington, head of remote at Doist who shares practical tips to set team-wide expectations. Kelvin Yap argues against after hours messaging, with support from organizational psychologist, Dr. Archana Tedone, who shares the unavoidable pressures of workplace chatter. by Work Check

23 min listen

Season wrap-up with Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Scott Farquhar: To wrap up season two of Work Check, we’re bringing in a special guest judge - Atlassian’s co-founder and co-CEO, Scott Farquhar. Debaters Maren Hotvedt, Kelvin Yap and Eli Mishkin join host Christine Dela Rosa to hear Scott’s takes, and reflect back on the season’s debates. by Work Check

27 min listen

Do emojis belong in the workplace? ??: Are your work chats filled with emojis? Or are they all text, all-the-time? In this episode, we debate if emojis belong in workplace communication at all. Debater Maren Hotvedt points out the problems with emoji, including cringe-worthy misinterpretations and accessibility challenges. She’s joined by accessibility researcher and assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology Dr. Garreth Tigwell, and qualitative user experience researcher Esha Shandilya. Emoji super-fan Shannon Winter advocates in favor of emojis as a culture builder and tool to express identity, with support from Tomoko Yokoi, entrepreneur and researcher on digital innovation at International Institute for Management Development and ETH Zurich. by Work Check

28 min listen

Is it time to ditch the remote daily stand up?: Maybe you call it a daily stand up. Maybe it’s a huddle, or even a status meeting. But has your team stopped to ask if these daily meetings are really working for them? Today’s episode digs into the benefits and pitfalls of the remote stand up – from aligning with your team, to leading with empathy, to meetings that really could have been an email. You’ll hear from Marshall Walker Lee in defence of daily stand ups, with support from Matan Talmi, the co-founder of Spinach.io, and Kate Sullivan, head of legal at EasyJet. New debater David Shaw says ditch the synced meetup, with support from corporate humor comedian and Supermeme.ai co-founder, Sanjeev Yencee. by Work Check

22 min listen

Should you turn your camera on in video calls?: Does turning your camera on during video meetings fill you with dread? Or do you look forward to seeing your colleagues' faces on calls? Today, we debate whether teams should default to having cameras on or off in virtual meetings. Get ready to dig into the surprising impacts that cameras can have on creativity, engagement, and even career advancement. Debater Maren Hotvedt argues in favor of keeping cameras on, supported by Juraj Holub, co-founder of Remote People and former chief meeting designer at Slido. Marshall Walker Lee comes out swinging against the practice, with help from industrial-organizational psychology professor, Dr. Kristen Shockley. by Work Check

27 min listen

LIVE: Should your team set aside time for virtual hangs?: Ever been to a cringey Zoom social hour at work, playing online trivia or doing awkward icebreakers with your colleagues? Sometimes virtual socializing at work is great…and sometimes it feels like a waste of time. But in workplaces where IRL hangs aren’t possible, should we really skip socializing altogether? For our first ever live show, recorded at Atlassian's Team '23 conference in Vegas, debaters Deb Lao and Marshall Walker Lee took to the stage to debate this thorny topic. Deb defended virtual socializing, citing the benefits of a workplace BFF and the value of dedicating work time to culture building. Marshall countered, making the case that so many of these Zoom hangs are so poorly executed, they should be canceled so more organic team bonding can flourish. by Work Check

30 min listen

Does your team need a regular No Meeting Day?: Does your calendar look like a game of Tetris, meetings on top of meetings from Monday to Friday? Or do you cringe when someone pops a meeting invite into the middle of your deep work afternoon? Now, how would you feel if you had a whole day of your schedule totally cleared? Today’s episode explores the promises and problems with implementing a No Meeting Day for your team. Debater Rani Shah is a superfan of the practice and has been doing No Meeting Days for years. She’s supported by Dr. Vijay Pereira, who shares his research on how No Meeting Days can boost autonomy and decrease feelings of micromanagement. New debater Deb Lao joins to argue against the practice, supported by meeting expert Mamie Kanfer Stewart who pitches some alternative ways to solve your meeting woes. by Work Check

24 min listen

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Does your remote team really need an in-person offsite?

Does your remote team really need an in-person offsite?

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