[Business Insider] Microsoft Still Hasn't Cleaned Up Its Toxic Culture Issues, Employees Worried About Activision Blizzard Acquisition

[Gizmo_Duck]

A Microsoft exec allegedly watched 'VR porn' in the office and behaved inappropriately toward women employees, sources say

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella promised to end the company's tolerance for "talented jerks." But dozens of insiders say misconduct remains rampant.

www.businessinsider.com

Alex Kipman, head of mixed-reality, one of MS's most powerful executives and one of the 'golden boys' watching VR porn in office in front of women with no repercussion.

The Microsoft executive walked into the small, windowless room in Studio C at about 8 o'clock that evening. A half dozen staffers on the company's "mixed reality" team were working late, tinkering with prototypes of virtual-reality headsets. When the boss arrived, an employee murmured, "I've got the thing working."

The executive slipped on a pair of VR goggles and hit play. As the executive gazed into the VR headset, a nearby monitor — which mirrored everything on the headset's display — flickered to life. Everyone in the room could see what the boss had chosen for his virtual-reality experience.

In the video that filled the screen, several young women in skimpy clothing frolicked on a bed; an overtly sexualized pillow fight ensued. An employee who was present, speaking with Insider later, described the scene as "VR porn." The assembled staffers exchanged confused glances, and a couple of them walked out.

"It was in the office, in front of women," the person recalled. "Incredibly uncomfortable."

Perhaps most stunning, the executive wearing the headset was not some low-level manager gone rogue. He was Alex Kipman, one of Microsoft's most powerful executives and the leader of its mixed-reality business. With his shoulder-length hair, leather jacket, and fluctuating degrees of stubble, Kipman looks as much like the frontman of a rock band as he does a tech executive.

Nadella's near-unlimited tolerance for 'talented jerks' and dislike of making hard decisions to resolve conflict regarding toxic behaviour

Yet interviews with dozens of current and former employees suggest theincident involving Kipman is part of a widespread pattern of executive misconduct — including verbal abuse and sexual harassment — that continues to persist at Microsoft. (The sources requested anonymity out of fear of retribution, but their identities are known to
Insider.) Despite Nadella's public stance against those he has called "talented jerks," many inside the company say Microsoft retains a nearly unlimited tolerance for bad behavior by its top rainmakers and developers. Late last year, a group of employees contributed to a report detailing a litany of complaints against Kipman, according to two people familiar with the matter. Yet the dozens of allegations of misconduct resulted in no apparent consequences for Kipman, one of the people said.

A former executive who brought similar concerns to Nadella characterized his approach as: _What's something we can do to make it go away without making hard decisions? _"He doesn't like conflict," the person said. Misconduct is "not something he wants to hear about," said another executive who worked directly with Nadella. "If he does, he wants someone else to go fix it."

Employee outrage over Activision-Blizzard acquisition as MS themselves stayed silent on call to action to address internal sexual harassment and gender discrimination issues

Now, Nadella's carefully crafted narrative about a kinder, gentler Microsoft is in danger of unraveling. In November, shareholders pressured the company to stop concealing workplace misconduct, voting overwhelmingly to require the tech titan to report on the effectiveness of sexual-harassment policies and the results of investigations into executives. "The gilding on the reputation of the culture change has worn off," a woman who works directly with Nadella told Insider. "It's actually quite tarnished."

And in January, Microsoft sparked outrage among some employees when it announced it was acquiring Activision Blizzard, the scandal-ridden game developer being sued by the state of California over what the lawsuit describes as a "pervasive 'frat boy' workplace culture" that subjects female employees to sexual harassment and discrimination. In response to the announcement, one Microsoft employee called out Nadella on an internal message board for his "continuous silence" in the face of a years long effort by female employees to address sexual
harassment and gender discrimination.

"We can't even take care of our own house," one Microsoft employee told Insider. "And now we just bought one in worse condition."

Fear that Activision's Blizzard's (even worse) toxic culture will fester and spread into Microsoft, whose toxic culture remains constant & pervasive

But some feel that Nadella hasn't gone far enough to address internal concerns over the way Activision Blizzard's culture might reflect on Microsoft. "I'm really disappointed that we didn't hear from Satya what his plans are to make sure that the awful culture that has taken root in Activision Blizzard won't fester and spread within Microsoft," one employee wrote in an internal message-board comment viewed by Insider shortly after the deal was announced. "I personally would never entertain the idea of working for/with Blizzard or Activision for my own safety and welfare as a female engineer. I hope we hear concrete steps to make sure we aren't introducing a dangerous and unwelcome culture."

Microsoft initially said the longtime Activision boss Bobby Kotick would continue to serve as CEO. Kotick has come under scrutiny after he reportedly failed to report to the board that employees had been accused of sexual assault, including rape. But a recent Activision Blizzard filing revealed that Kotick's employment at the company, after the acquisition, hadn't been finalized.

Some at Microsoft are skeptical that removing Kotick would make much of a difference. One former executive said Microsoft liked to excuse its cultural issues by "blaming the boogeyman" — pinning responsibility for misconduct on past CEOs like Gates and Ballmer. But over the years, not much has changed. "A talented jerk always adapts," another executive said. "A new CEO shows up and they just learn to play the same game in a different way."

Company insiders say a culture of executive misconduct has remained constant and pervasive at Microsoft, from Gates to the present day. "From experience, I know that toxic culture at Microsoft doesn't just disappear when a toxic person disappears," one employee said. "Toxic culture spreads. It's like cancer. Just because you cut it out doesn't mean it won't grow back."

Pretty nasty stuff going on over there at Microsoft

 

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Sony stans

 

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VR Porn in front of co workers