If you ever wondered what the workplace environment would be like if you worked for Microsoft, wonder no more.
If you want a glimpse into the types of colleagues and others you’d likely mix with in some Microsoft locations, what kinds of really cool equipment and gadgets employees can get their hands on, even what kind of office chairs people have, Robert Scoble has the details.
Robert’s lengthy post is in response to a swipe at Microsoft and its recruiting practices by Joel Spolsky.
A snippet from Robert’s post:
[…] Do you have a co-creator of XML down the hall that you can chat with about a hairy XML problem? I do.
How about time for a little Flight Simulator?
Do you buy your employees computers like Jeremy Collins and Scott Napolitan have to work on in the Enterprise Engineering Center? And check out their new Sun Microsystems’ Solaris machines. Multi-million-dollars worth.
Have you abused your employees for 20 years or more? Do they brag about it and still love coming to work? Even though they don’t need to anymore for financial reasons? Ask Jim Allchin. Or Larry Osterman. Or any of our old-time employees.
Do your employees work with the guy who came up with Borland’s TurboPascal, Delphi, and C#? How about Christopher Brumme?
Do you work with the guys who helped define what extreme programming is? Or, who invented the Wiki?
My wife just had very expensive surgery. What came out of our pocket? $0. I just picked up new cholesterol medicine. Out of my pocket? $0. Our medical plan rocks.
I guess much of what Robert describes relates to the workplace at the Redmond HQ (maybe that’s the place every Microsoft employee aspires to relocate to).
Not every company can offer such an open view to the world. Not many would have the confidence to. And probably Robert’s the one Microsoft employee who can really get away with this kind of public transparency about a company that is constantly in a very bright public spotlight.
In which case, more power to you, Robert!