While you may not have a say in your organization’s RTO plans, you do have agency in how you work as teams and individuals. Think of it as another “reset” moment.
The first came just a few short years ago, when most of us knowledge workers traded cubicles for closets rigged up as home offices, water cooler chats for Slack messages, and tedious commutes for a few quick steps down the hall to our desk. Atlassian embraced this change from day one and has steadfastly championed flexible work, even after offices could open again. Every day, employees get to choose where they work, be it the office, home, or a coffee shop. We firmly believe in this approach.
Nonetheless, companies like Amazon and U.S. federal agencies are mandating a return to office (RTO), leaving millions of workers to navigate yet another transition. Whether you welcome the challenge or not, it’s an opportunity to reset how you work – a chance to bring practices designed for distributed teamwork back to your newly mandated office environment.
Because here’s the thing: in 2025, nearly all work happens on the internet. You’ll still use Slack with your co-located teammates. You’ll still create Confluence pages, Google Sheets, and Jira boards. Not because you’re physically separated, but because that’s simply how work happens now. That means many of the teamwork practices optimized for digital-first work will help you thrive in the office.
Digital-first practices that tackle the real problem with work
Mandating office attendance is a major boon for face-time, no doubt. But breathing the same air has never been the key to high performance. Nor is physical separation itself the root problem. (Consider the fact that mid- and large-sized companies have distributed their workforce across multiple cities since approximately the dawn of time.)
The real problem is what Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky calls “fake work.” These are activities that don’t add value even though they feel like work. Think about meetings that could’ve been an email. Or endless review → revision → approval cycles. Case in point: 55% of knowledge workers say merely tracking down the information they need is a heavy lift, despite knowing a lot of people in their organization.
Fake work wears you down and eats up your time. And the kicker is that fake work doesn’t care where you work. It was actually invented in the office and feels very much at home there.
So how do you get rid of fake work, regardless of where you’re working? According to Annie Dean, who oversees Atlassian’s distributed work program Team Anywhere, “Rigorously adopted working norms that increase coordination and improve communication are what fix fake work.“
Let’s take a look at three such practices that became an indispensable part of distributed work during pandemic lockdowns, and happen to be equally beneficial to today’s co-located teams.
1. Go on record
In 2020, writing quickly supplanted speaking as the default form of communication. Desk drive-bys became chat messages. Brainstorming sessions moved from the conference room to virtual whiteboards. Consequently, information became more easily discoverable (and sharable!). Hang onto that digital-first mentality as you re-enter the office. It might seem silly to Slack the person sitting two desks over, but creating digital records of your decisions, progress, and potential risks helps keep everyone on the same page.
Putting ideas down in writing also forces you to clarify your thinking, especially when it comes to goal setting and change management. People will want to understand your rationale, and they’ll want to refer back to a source of truth at some point to make sure they’re moving in the right direction.
Plus, with AI now deployed across enterprise systems, artifacts like meeting transcripts, project plans, and company policies are even more valuable. They provide rich, structured data to analyze and put to use making you more effective. AI can’t index your watercooler conversation, but it can scan your files and start drafting that report due next Tuesday. In fact, Atlassian’s research found that strategic AI users get double the ROI on their efforts and save nearly two hours a day. Take that, fake work.
2. Share information async, discuss it in real time
Synchronous meeting time is precious when teammates are distributed across time zones because finding a time during everyone’s working hours can be so challenging. Co-located teams should still treat that time as precious. Status updates, routine information-sharing, and feedback on work in progress is just as effective using asynchronous channels. Moving them to chat, email, and short-form videos like Loom frees up time for more meaningful synchronous collaboration.
AI can’t index your watercooler conversation, but it can scan your files and start drafting that report due next Tuesday.
Meetings should be reserved for discussing possible solutions and driving toward a decision. To make them as efficient and effective as possible, we recommend trying page-led meetings:
- Create a short document summarizing the context, goals for the meeting, and points to discuss.
- Start the meeting by giving everyone about five minutes to digest and comment on the page.
- Dive in for a productive discussion.
Once you get the hang of it, creating that page typically takes less than a half hour and allows everyone in the group to hit the ground running with ideas already churning. In an internal experiment, Atlassian found that 85% of page-led meetings met their goals, compared to just 69% of the control group.
And if you find yourself in meetings where you’re talking about project work, but not actually moving it forward, try what we call “Get Sh!t Done” sessions. These are dedicated one- to two-hour blocks for sharing work in progress, getting immediate feedback, and solving problems on the spot. You might meet for 10 minutes to set the context, then work independently for 30 minutes, then regroup to check in and resolve blockers. Or, set it up study hall-style where everyone is working heads-down but also free to ask for help or share ideas spontaneously.
3. Take control of your calendar
For 54% of knowledge workers, meetings dictate each day’s schedule and “real work” has to take a back seat. It’s time to flip the script.
First, block off focus time and guard it jealously. On my own calendar, no fewer than two hours each day are cordoned off for deep work. They’re typically in the mornings (I’m a few time zones ahead of most of my colleagues) which leaves a solid majority of my day open for collaborative work. Some people even schedule short blocks for checking and responding to messages so they aren’t tempted to interrupt themselves during focus time.
Also, look for standing meetings that might not be needed in a co-located context. For example, the casual catch-ups with colleagues to trade notes and get a heads-up on incoming work: maybe those don’t have to be scheduled weekly meetings anymore. Maybe they can become ad-hoc coffees and lunches. At least get together in person as long as you’ll be in the same building anyway. Strong relationships don’t require face-time all the time, but if face-time is available, why not take advantage? Our research shows that even a little bit of togetherness goes a long way.
Embrace “factory reset” mode
Shifting back to the office is a good moment to take stock of all your work habits and refresh a few things. Atlassian teams run the Ritual Reset and Working Agreements plays when they experience a significant change (e.g., new leadership or a re-org) to help them adapt to their new reality faster. For example, “headphones on = please don’t disturb me” might be a useful agreement now that you share physical space.
Teams thrive when they can depend on predictable rituals that power their progress.
Annie Dean, Head of Team Anywhere at Atlassian
Other nooks n’ crannies to examine include your inbox. You know you’ve been meaning to hit unsubscribe on roughly half the newsletters and promotional emails you get every day – go do it! Don’t forget to examine and update your work wardrobe and desk decor situations as well. Retail therapy, anyone?
And if, after all that, working in the office five days a week just doesn’t work, remember that Atlassian is hiring. (Just sayin’.) Stay awesome out there, wherever your “there” may be.