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.
What would Dogbert say?
Auren
Don’t be silly – it is purely driven by potential liability.
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. …
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.