14 DAY TRIAL // Despite laying off thousands of people and controversial decisions impacting some of Microsoft’s top products, company CEO Satya Nadella has an excellent approval rating, according to one recent study from UBS and based on Glassdoor data.
Specifically, Microsoft’s employees gave an 88 percent rating to Satya Nadella, which is substantially bigger than in 2013 when Steve Ballmer was at the helm of the company. Ballmer had an approval rating of just 51 percent.
And it turns out that Satya Nadella actually turned Microsoft into one of the happiest workplaces out there, with the study now showing that Microsoft’s employees are “very happy,” a report from BI reveals. And what’s even more interesting is that the Microsofties are believed to be happier even than Apple employees.
“The overall results are supportive of our thesis that MSFT has once again become a destination for top tech talent, with annual ratings consistently improving and ahead of peers,” the study shows.
Growing CEO approval rating
Right now, GlassDoor lists Satya Nadella with a CEO approval rating of 94 percent, so his rating at the end of the year could actually increase even more from the average 88 percent included in the study.
Although Steve Ballmer was the one who started Microsoft’s transition from a software firm to a devices and services company, it was Satya Nadella who pushed it towards a mobile first, cloud first world. And it appears that his approach is working, despite the difficult times that the company is going through these days after the acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Services firm, which led to thousands of workers being laid off.
As far as Satya Nadella is concerned, everyone seems to be pleased with his performance, as the administration board has recently approved a $4.4 million bonus for achieving all company goals. Nadella thus made a total of $17,692,031 in the last fiscal year with his salary and bonuses.