Work Check – Details, episodes & analysis

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

Debater Maren Hotvedt argues in favor of PJs on Zoom calls, supported by fashion historian Deirdre Clemente, who shares the problematic history of controlling what we wear to work. Dominique Ward comes out against the practice, with help from clothing science researcher Regan Gurung, who explains the value of putting in a little more effort. 

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. 

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. 

In this episode, you'll hear Dr. Tina Shah talk about the power of strong operating rhythms in preventing burnout, and LaunchDarkly's Jonathan Nolen shares how operating rhythms allow his company to live their values in their day to day. You'll also hear from LinkedIn's People Science Team's Tom Nolan about why people trump process in shaping culture, and Indiana University's Dr. Erik Gonzalez-Mulé about the health risks when employees have low levels of autonomy at work. 

For the transcript and downloadable takeaways, visit https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/work-check.

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. 

In this episode, you'll also hear from Daydream's founder Nels Gilbreth on how annual planning provides alignment and purpose, and strategic advisor Lauren Bourke shares the cultural advantages annual planning provides. Finance director Robin Aitken offers some alternative planning methods that he finds to be more adaptive, allowing managers to be closer to the action. For the transcript and downloadable takeaways, visit https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/work-check.

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. 

In this episode, you'll hear from DEI consultant Frank Starling on the opportunities for accountability when leadership drives ERGs; and the Surdna Foundation's Mekaelia Davis shares why ERG members ultimately benefit more when they are in the driver's seat themselves. For the transcript and downloadable takeaways, visit https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast/work-check.