Published: 13:16 BST, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 13:16 BST, 15 August 2026<\/p>\n
It was the tech company that partied hard – 'one of the best places in Sydney to work'. A big, friendly corporate giant where the 'beer bicycle' wheeled by your desk on Friday afternoons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the office where your bosses played games with you even as they raked in\u00a0 billions and everyone, it seemed, had fun – that was until it turned toxic and the 'open culture, no bulls**' became just that: bulls***.<\/p>\n
Atlassian became so toxic that employees would quit simply to preserve their mental health. It was an environment where female top brass were reportedly choosing sides in the co-founders' falling-out, and, according to a new book, one staffer allegedly suggested a colleague make the boss's wife jealous by wearing a 'f***able' dress.<\/p>\n
That was in about 2021, according to a new book, Tech Bros, about Atlassian's rise and its friends-turned-rivals co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the years that followed, Atlassian's mega-successful run as the jewel in Australia's tech industry – one that earned its creators untold wealth, mansions, yachts and luxury cars – all but imploded with the disruptive advent of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
But back in the day, or at least by the mid-2000s, Atlassian, which struck gold with its essential project-management software for IT developers, was as free-spirited a firm as could be found anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
While the company was on the rise, its envied staff were playing games like the spy-themed 'Mission: Atlassian' adventure race around the city to promote team-building and bonding.<\/p>\n
Three times a year, Atlassian held big parties: Melbourne Cup Day at Doyles on Watsons Bay, the Christmas bash on a yacht in Sydney Harbour, and the pub gathering known for its risqu\u00e9 drag performances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mike Cannon-Brookes' marriage to fashion designer Annie (pictured together) ended in 2023<\/p>\n
Chief of staff\u00a0Amy Glancey was one of the female executives dubbed the 'velvet vixens' by sources quoted in the book Tech Bros. They were said to be Cannon-Brookes' confidantes<\/p>\n
Scott Farquhar (above with his wife, Kim Jackson) left Atlassian in 2024, leaving Mike Cannon-Brookes as the sole CEO, but Farquhar remains as a board adviser<\/p>\n
Then there was the go-kart racing, the paintballing, the whitewater rafting – all part of a culture to reward creativity and fire anyone who was an 'a***hole'.<\/p>\n
At Atlassian's headquarters on George Street, in Sydney's Central Business District, four beer taps were installed, and from 1pm on a Friday, a chef prepared meals as staff played poker, lunchtime sports or board games to ease into the weekend.<\/p>\n
Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar 'thrashed out' the core values for Atlassian, journalists John Stensholt and Perry Williams write in Tech Bros, which included keeping 'your customers happy'.<\/p>\n