Microsoft has had a very tense, serious culture since its founding. When I say uptight, I don't mean that you have to wear a shirt to go to work. The developers usually just wear jeans, shirts and sneakers to work. But the managers are the no-nonsense types. They hold meetings and make sure that you know what you're talking about. It's not rare that they yell at you if they ask you questions and you don't know the answers. I'm relatively new here, but heard that it's the management style of Gates and Ballmer, and the middle managers pretty much have inherited that. My team doesn't get together often, though we have office parties occasionally. Heard that things look a bit different in other sites, such as the Silicon Valley office. Would like to hear somebody there speak.
