Microsoft Nice Flattening: Why a Veteran Worker Resigned

Phil Coachman liked working at Microsoft for many of his almost decadelong tenure. However because the tradition started to shift and layoffs piled up, he determined it was time to maneuver on.

He began in search of a brand new function in July 2024 when he was nonetheless at Microsoft, however struggled to get a lot traction. In January, he resigned from his function as a senior cloud answer architect to give attention to his job search.

“I simply did not really feel pleased there anymore,” stated the 44-year-old, who lives in Pennsylvania. “I needed to only proceed making cool stuff and never have this fixed worry of dropping my job each week.”

Coachman stated firm layoffs — together with the elimination of about 10,000 roles in 2023 — took a toll on his morale and that of his co-workers. He stated he knew a number of individuals who have been let go, together with one teammate he thought to be a “prime performer.”

“Each crew that I labored with was simply down,” he stated. “So now you go to work and all people’s depressed every single day.”

Coachman is among the many present and former Microsoft staff who’ve been affected by workforce reductions — both by dropping a job or being left to regulate to coworker departures. After reducing about 6,000 jobs in Might, the corporate laid off roughly 9,000 extra in July. A Microsoft spokesperson beforehand instructed Enterprise Insider that the corporate was targeted on decreasing administration layers and streamlining processes. The cuts have additionally included many particular person contributor roles.

Microsoft is not alone. Google, Intel, Amazon, and Walmart are among the many corporations which have additionally introduced plans to cut back the variety of managers in a pattern dubbed the “Nice Flattening.” Layoffs stay low by historic requirements, however tech employees have been hit onerous — simply as white-collar hiring has slowed. That is made it harder for employees like Coachman to modify jobs — or discover new ones after they resign or are laid off.

“It simply bought to a degree the place morale was now not as much as par,” Coachman stated, “and in the end it bought to a spot the place it was time to make a change.”

The ‘Nice Flattening’ and different strategic shifts affected firm tradition

After working as a Microsoft contractor for a number of years, Coachman joined the corporate full-time in 2015. He stated he is extraordinarily grateful for his time on the firm, and that earlier than becoming a member of, he was incomes far much less and simply attempting to get by. He’d be open to returning sooner or later, he stated, if he noticed indicators of a constructive tradition shift.

Throughout his ultimate years at Microsoft, Coachman stated there gave the impression to be a push to cut back the variety of managers in an effort to extend what the corporate calls “span of management” — or the variety of staff who report to every supervisor.

Whereas his personal supervisor’s variety of direct stories did not change throughout his time on the crew, he stated they’re now working in a person contributor function. He additionally stated he noticed the variety of stories per supervisor enhance on different groups.

“I noticed managers depart and different managers take in that head depend, so that you go from managing 10 folks to now possibly 18 folks, which while you discuss to these managers, turns into actually onerous,” he stated. “The good flattening was positively occurring.”

Past layoffs and shifts in administration construction, Coachman stated he additionally started being requested to focus extra on efficiency metrics, which he felt got here at the price of flexibility and significant buyer work. Lately, Large Tech companies, together with Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon, have revamped their efficiency assessment and compensation constructions to raised reward prime performers and weed out underperformers in pursuit of smaller, higher-performing groups.

One other key consider his choice to resign was the uptick in enterprise journey. He stated he was on the street about thrice a month — a return to pre-pandemic norms.

“It simply bought to a degree the place I used to be lacking an excessive amount of of my children’ lives,” he stated, including that his work frustrations made journey much less tolerable. “It was completely different once I was touring and the job was superior.”

Taking the chance of resigning with no new job

When Coachman began his job search in July 2024, he thought it was going to be pretty straightforward.

There gave the impression to be loads of job postings on platforms like LinkedIn and Certainly, so after pinpointing a couple of roles he felt certified for, he figured he’d have the ability to get interviews and ultimately land a suggestion. However he rapidly realized it would not be that straightforward. In any case, US companies have been hiring at almost the slowest tempo in additional than a decade.

“It was six months of mainly simply being ghosted,” he stated. “It was a very completely different world than once I had utilized to a job many years in the past.”

Coachman stated he went by means of a number of rounds of résumé tweaks — pondering the format is likely to be the problem — however nonetheless bought little response.

As his job search dragged on, Coachman stated he was hesitant to resign from his Microsoft job earlier than having one other function lined up as a result of it could imply giving up a gradual paycheck and unvested firm inventory. Nevertheless, he stated the “wet day fund” he’d constructed over time helped him really feel extra snug.

“I had sufficient financial savings that even when it could take me a 12 months to discover a job, I’d be effective,” he stated. “So it was simply getting the braveness to take that bounce.”

In early 2024, Coachman stated he employed a life coach — partially to assist him navigate the adjustments he was experiencing at work. He stated the life coach helped him get assured in his choice to resign, including that hiring them was possibly the “greatest funding” he’d ever made.

His community made the distinction

After resigning, Coachman stated he adjusted his job search technique. Fairly than merely making use of for jobs, he spent extra time tapping into the community he’d constructed over time. He focused roles at corporations the place he knew somebody, then reached out to ask whether or not they thought he’d be a very good match — and in the event that they’d be keen to refer him.

In a single occasion, he noticed a couple of open roles on the knowledge analytics and AI startup Databricks, the place a former Microsoft colleague of his labored. After reaching out, Coachman stated they beneficial he give attention to one particular function that they’d be keen to refer him for. The subsequent day, Coachman acquired a name from an organization recruiter. After the interview course of, he acquired a suggestion and began working for the corporate in April.

“Discovering my subsequent gig was 100% by means of my community,” he stated.

Coachman stated his pay is similar to what he earned at Microsoft, and that the signing bonus helped make up for what he left behind in unvested inventory. He stated his journey can be now restricted to not more than as soon as a month, which was a giant consider his choice to just accept the provide.

Over the course of his roughly nine-month job search, Coachman stated he utilized to a whole bunch of jobs and acquired two affords — one for his present function and one other from a startup he turned down attributable to considerations about job safety.

His prime recommendation for job seekers: construct your community and lean on it. Fairly than simply connecting on LinkedIn, he stated, it is higher to have actual conversations that assist foster relationships. He stated this might increase your possibilities of touchdown a referral down the street — giving your software the “private contact” it would must get previous applicant monitoring system scanners.

“It is actual connections with folks that I feel make all of the distinction,” he stated.