Empowering our employees

At Microsoft, we’re focused on bringing out the best in people, supporting their goals, and allowing them to find deep meaning in their work.

Our commitment and approach

At Microsoft, we strive to create a respectful, rewarding, diverse, and inclusive work environment that enables our employees to create products and services that help others achieve more.

Our culture

At its core, Microsoft’s strength lies in our talented people and a culture grounded in growth mindset. This means anyone can change, learn, and grow. We believe potential can be nurtured and is not pre-determined, and we should always be learning and curious - trying new things without fear of failure. We identified four attributes that allow growth mindset to flourish. Obsessing over what matters to our customers, becoming more diverse and inclusive in everything we do, operating as one company instead of multiple siloed businesses and lastly, making a difference in the lives of each other, our customers and the world around us.

Learn more about our mission and culture

Respecting human rights

Our Global Human Rights Statement, and participation as a signatory to the UN Global Compact, demonstrate our commitment to respecting the following human rights covenants and declarations:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work*

Total rewards

We develop dynamic, sustainable, and strategic programs that together provide a highly differentiated portfolio to attract, reward and retain top talent and enable our employees to do their best work. These programs reinforce our culture and values. The result is a global performance and development approach that fosters our culture, competitive compensation that ensures equitable pay by role while supporting pay for performance, and distinctive benefits that delight our employees.

Learn more about our benefits

Diversity and inclusion

At Microsoft we have an inherently inclusive mission – empower everyone on the planet. We think of diversity and inclusion as core to our business model, something which informs our actions and can impact economies and people around the world. There are billions of people who want to achieve more, but have a different set of circumstances, abilities, and backgrounds that often limit access to opportunity and achievement. The better we represent that diversity inside Microsoft, the better we’re able to innovate for those we seek to empower.

At Microsoft we each strive to include others by holding ourselves accountable for diversity, driving global systemic change in our workplace and workforce, and creating an inclusive work environment. Through this commitment we can allow everyone the chance to be their authentic selves and do their best work every day.

Learn more about global diversity and inclusion at Microsoft

Training and development

Our growth mindset culture begins with valuing learning over knowing—seeking out new ideas, embracing challenges, learning from failure, and improving over time. To support this culture, we offer a diverse range of learning and development opportunities. We believe training can be more than formal instruction, and our philosophy focuses on providing the right learning, at the right time, in the right way. Opportunities include:
  • Personalized, integrated, and relevant views of all learning opportunities on Microsoft Learning and LinkedIn Learning.
  • In-the-classroom learning and sharing with learner boards.
  • On-the-job “stretch” opportunities for advancement.
  • Frequent promotion opportunities.
  • Coaching on career development through ongoing manager connections.
  • Customized manager training to enhance coaching and mentoring skills.
  • New employee orientation covering a range of topics including company values, culture, and Standards of Business Conduct.

Wellness and safety

Microsoft is committed to supporting our employees’ well-being and safety while they are at work and in their personal lives.
In addition to our comprehensive benefits package, our Occupational Health and Safety program helps ensure employees can stay safe while they are working. As part of this commitment:
  • Professionals assess the safety risks of work activities and engage with workers and management to implement safe work practices, hazard controls, and training to minimize safety risks and to provide continual improvement for employee health and safety.
  • New and existing workspaces are periodically assessed to ensure they are constructed with sound design-for-safety principles and that controls are implemented effectively.
  • Microsoft involves employees and managers in Health and Safety Committees specific to our datacenters, retail operations, and office locations where required.
Learn more about our commitment to safe and productive workplaces.
 

*Those ILO principles are freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; effective abolition of child labor; and elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

 

Reporting resources

Workforce demographics

The demographics of our workforce will continue to serve as a measure of our progress toward a more diverse and inclusive Microsoft, and our contribution to the diversity of the tech industry at large.
 
 
 

Reports Hub

Microsoft provides disclosures to help stakeholders evaluate how we’re meeting our commitments. We collect and share these reports in one place for easy reference and download.

  

Get the bigger picture

Explore additional resources to gain a more comprehensive understanding of our commitment to empowering our employees.