workplace culture

As organisations prepare for 2026, the South African Reward Association’s (SARA) October 30–31, 2025 conference produced a pragmatic, action‑oriented roadmap for talent, pay and governance: Dr. Mark Bussin’s twelve employment and remuneration trends crystallise how AI, analytics and shifting...

Stepping onto a reformer Pilates machine with my daughter, May Busch turned a simple fitness experiment into a concise playbook for moving beyond familiar limits — and packaged three practical lessons about guides, companions, and mindset that apply as neatly to leadership and careers as they do...

Satya Nadella’s blunt admission that Microsoft must “rebuild trust” with its workforce landed at the center of a turbulent week for the company, as months of large-scale workforce reductions and a newly tightened return-to-office policy collided with employee activism and questions about...

Satya Nadella’s blunt admission — “we can do better, and we will do better” — landed in the middle of a turbulent week for Microsoft, one in which leadership is publicly reinforcing an “AI‑first” execution tempo even as tens of thousands of employees and broad swathes of the tech press ask...

EY’s Simon Brown frames the challenge clearly: agentic AI is no longer an abstract tech trend — it’s a workforce engine that will rewire HR, L&D and organizational culture, and the time to prepare is now. Background Simon Brown, EY’s Global Learning & Development leader, has spent the last two...

Microsoft's recent moves to tighten controls on employee speech, restrict building access and cement a three‑day‑a‑week return‑to‑office requirement mark a decisive shift in how the company balances internal safety, operational control and employee expression — and they arrive at a moment when...

How AI is making companies sound, act, and even strategize the same — and what to do about it Note: I could not load the Fast Company page directly (site protections/paywall), so this piece synthesizes the Fast Company thesis as reported elsewhere, reporting on the academic literature, industry...

Microsoft’s vision of a future Windows where you “talk to your PC” is less a finished product than an aggressive bet on changing workplace culture — and whether that bet pays off depends as much on human behavior as on silicon and software. Background: what Microsoft is saying — and what PCWorld...

GitHub’s top executive has publicly defended a controversial Microsoft memo that urged managers to factor employee use of internal AI tools into performance reflections — a move that has reignited debate over workplace AI mandates, measurement, and culture at one of the industry’s most visible...

GitHub’s chief executive, Thomas Dohmke, has publicly backed a controversial internal Microsoft memo that urged managers to reflect on employees’ use of internal AI tools as part of performance conversations — calling the practice “totally fair game” and framing AI fluency as part of company...

In a bold move that underscores the intensifying competition in artificial intelligence, Microsoft has successfully recruited over two dozen AI experts from Google's DeepMind, including prominent figures like Amar Subramanya and Adam Sadovsky. This strategic talent acquisition is spearheaded by...

A wave of seismic change surged through Microsoft in 2025, reshaping not only its workforce but also the very fabric of how its employees work. The company’s decision to lay off more than 15,000 employees in a sweeping reorganization sent shockwaves across the tech world, underscoring...

Cracking the code to landing a coveted role at one of the world’s major technology companies is a dream for many aspiring software engineers. As hiring standards soar and competition intensifies amid economic uncertainty in the tech sector, actionable insights from insiders have never been more...

Few product launches have captured the collective nostalgia and eye-rolling amusement of the tech community quite like Microsoft's foray into limited edition XP-themed Crocs. Images surfacing from internal company channels fuel speculation that Microsoft, following its recent trend of quirky...

Microsoft Corporation remains one of the world’s most influential technology giants, not merely due to its software legacy but also because of its massive and dynamic global workforce. As of June 30, 2024, Microsoft employed 228,000 individuals worldwide—a 3.17% increase from the previous year...

Amid the rapidly shifting sands of the modern workplace, few forces have proven as continuously disruptive as the twin upheavals of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ascent of generative artificial intelligence. What began as an imposed experiment in remote work has, for many organizations, evolved...

The accelerating blend of professional duties and personal time has become one of the most hotly debated topics in the realm of work-life balance, driven by the ever-expanding reach of digital workplace tools. Amid calls for clearer boundaries and more time away from screens, Mercedes-Benz and...

The sun has barely begun to rise, but already millions of professionals are hunched over glowing screens—triaging relentless waves of email and chat notifications long before their first sip of coffee. This jarring start isn’t a rare exception: it’s quickly becoming the default rhythm of modern...

In a significant move within the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, Microsoft has successfully recruited Amar Subramanya, the former head of engineering for Google's Gemini chatbot, as its Corporate Vice President of AI. This transition is part of a broader strategy by Microsoft to enhance its...

The modern workplace is being reshaped by a relentless tide of digital tools, constant connectivity, and evolving expectations—often at the cost of personal well-being and effectiveness. A recent Microsoft report, titled “Breaking down the infinite workday,” puts numbers to a growing phenomenon...