Microsoft employees are experiencing increased job satisfaction and engagement, with the company's 'Thriving' score rising three points to 79 according to recent internal surveys. As reported by Business Insider, this metric measures whether employees feel energised, empowered, and engaged in meaningful work. The company identified its strongest areas as addressing security challenges, fostering inclusion within teams, and ensuring teams work in ways that reflect Microsoft's culture. Employee comments highlighted empowerment, teamwork, communication, culture, and customer focus as factors that help them perform at their best.
Despite rising satisfaction levels, employees are seeking more opportunities for career advancement and better resources to maintain productivity. According to the survey results, workers want more opportunities to gain new experiences in their roles, clearer links between their work and broader organisational goals, and better tools and resources to remain productive. Feedback also cited concerns around strategy, communication, processes, customer focus, and speed of execution. The survey comes as Microsoft has increased performance expectations for employees in recent quarters and restructured parts of its human resources organisation.
In a separate annual Manager and Leader Signals survey, 85% of employees responded favourably when asked whether they were confident in their manager's overall effectiveness, remaining unchanged from the previous survey. As reported by Business Insider, employees rated managers most positively for embracing new challenges to drive innovative solutions, creating inclusive work environments, and encouraging diverse perspectives within teams. However, the survey identified coaching and employee development as key areas for improvement, with the lowest-rated responses linked to managers coaching employees through day-to-day challenges, providing clear feedback to support improvement, and motivating employees to do their best work.
Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman acknowledged the feedback in a memo to employees, noting that while much of the feedback is encouraging, many workers shared feelings of uncertainty and pressure amid ongoing changes. According to the memo, Microsoft received nearly 265,000 comments through its Employee Signals survey and around 368,000 comments through its Manager and Leader Signals survey, with 71% of employees participating in the feedback exercise. Coleman committed to being more transparent, communicating more frequently, and providing context wherever possible to address employee concerns.
