Atlassian, Originators of Fedex Day Concept, Highlights Six Feet Up

Atlassian, an Australian software company, recently did an in-depth blog post highlighting Six Feet Up's most recent Fedex Day, which is high praise coming from the company responsible for originating the concept.

FedEx Days give employees a chance to work on anything they want for 24 hours and deliver it overnight (hence the name). The FedEx Day concept was created by Atlassian and popularized by Daniel Pink in his book "Drive". Pink asserts the fact that external motivators such as money, praise, threats -- the carrot-and-stick approach -- aren't working. Instead, he unveils three elements of true intrinsic motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. As an example of an activity that helps boost morale, creativity, and productivity, he describes the concept of FedEx Days. FedEx Days typically begin on a Thursday afternoon at 2:00 pm and end with a spirited round of presentations delivered exactly 24 hours later. As a result, lots of useful and successful innovations are unveiled that would not have materialized if employees had been required to stick with their "day jobs."

In their extensive blog post, Atlassian unveils Six Feet Up's motivations in introducing the event and the key elements that have made them successful. Read on to learn more about how Six Feet Up has empowered its employees through FedEx Day: http://blogs.atlassian.com/2011/12/case-study-six-feet-up-fedex-day/