Gates goes, but Microsoft workers cool

It has been widely speculated that Microsoft8217;s announcement was tailored to offset investors8217; jitters over this, and reports this week that the US Department of Justice was poised to break up the giant software company. But Microsoft officials deny that.

8220;The timing was purely coincidental,8221; company spokesman Mark Thomas told AFP.Most analysts agree the headline-grabbing changes will have little effect on the company. 8220;Other than timing no real surprise,8221; Lehman Brothers analyst Michael Stanek said. 8220;Ballmer has been CEO-in-waiting, while Gates has indicated a preference to focus on technology leadership within the company,8221; Stanek said.

Whatever the changes in leadership, life appears to go on unchanged at the company8217;s Washington headquarters, partly because Gates and Ballmer are so much alike in their views that the change is unlikely to alter the eventual outcome of the case or the culture of the company. The Microsoft headquarters is an unusual workplace, more like a college campus with only 22 per cent of employees over 40. Green-haired, nose-pierced 20-somethings in t-shirts seem comfortable in this easy-going, dress code-free environment that values creativity and teamwork over traditional corporate hierarchy.

Executives are indistinguishable from anyone else. Anyone wearing a tie is probably a visitor. Even Gatesand Ballmer known to all as Bill and Steve wear blue jeans and plaid shirts on most workdays. Also indistinguishable are the many millionaires, made wealthy by generous company stock options.

Free soft drink machines, video games and company dining rooms offering a wide variety of inexpensive catered gourmet meal choices are among the creature comforts provided. There are no punch clocks or scheduled work hours.

8220;We8217;re managed by our objectives,8221; says Thomas. 8220;This creates a climate that is known for self-inflicted 14-hour days and legendary workaholism.8221;There is little or no paperwork. Faces are glued to computer screens, and even the most pedestrian employer-employee communications are carried out via e-mail.

In fact, some four and a half million e-mail messages are sent each day among Microsoft8217;s 30,000 employees worldwide. Microsoft values the laid-back atmosphere, where flexibility is encouraged. Offices are mostly identical in size and shape, regardless of an employee8217;s title.

Because ofthe fast-changing and fluid nature of the extremely competitive high-tech industry, the average Microsoft worker changes offices twice a year, as their work groups come and go with new projects or challenges.

8220;You can be packed, moved and set up in a new office in another building in an hour or so,8221; says Thomas. 8220;It happens everyday.8221; Microsoft is arguably the most successful corporation in the world and employee turnover 8212; 13 per cent industry-wide is only eight per cent here. 8220;Microsoft wants happy employees and the policy obviously works,8221; says Thomas.

In some respects, the change moved Gates out of the Justice Department8217;s line of fire, but some insiders insisted it was not the cause of the move. The change of command 8220;would have happened even if the Justice Department hadn8217;t acted8221;, said Mike Maples, a retired Microsoft vice-president who consults for the company from time to time.

8212; Agence France Presse