Corporate HR gone awry … Microsoft bans photos of dogs

Poker
In the “another reason to work at a start-up” category, Microsoft has an official HR policy that no photos or paintings of dogs can be displayed in its office.   The reason?   Apparently, a small number of people (humans) are so sacred of dogs (canines) that they freak-out when they even see a photo of a dog.      

While I wasn’t able to confirm that this is a world-wide policy at Microsoft, it certainly is the policy of their Mountain View campus.   

In more corporate HR craziness: A person I met at IBM printed the hobbies of the members of his team on their business cards.   This was a huge hit among the employees and among the people they met … and it increased moral for no cost to the company.   A really great out-of-the-box idea … until corporate HR got a hold of it and made him shred all the business cards.

4 thoughts on “Corporate HR gone awry … Microsoft bans photos of dogs

  1. Steve Smith

    Auren
    Don’t be silly – it is purely driven by potential liability.

    Reply
  2. doggiemeow.com

    Are dogs pictures really banned at Microsoft

    According to this blog entry, it seems that they might be

    In the “another reason to work at a start-up” category, Microsoft has an official HR policy that no photos or paintings of dogs can be displayed in its office. …

    Reply
  3. Keith Casey

    This is ridiculous. If the current conjecture is to be believed – that it is spurred by concerns about offending devout Muslims – this seems even more absurd. What has happened to our society that prevents people from just talking to one another instead of instituting absurd policies?
    If I do something that offends someone, I hope that person is adult enough to let me know. Unless that action is vital to my survival, I’ll probably stop or do it elsewhere.

    Reply

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