This has been the exact opposite of my experience, as a current MSFT employee. Every single policy in the past 3-4 years has been geared towards INCREASING time off, work/life balance, job satisfaction, etc.. You could definitely take a cynical view towards this change, and I definitely did towards most policies when I first started. However, MSFT has shown me time and time again that they are standing behind their policies to improve our overall satisfaction.
And why the hell wouldn't they? In a job market with a global shortage of talented developers, not to mention in a sector that can take 3-6 months to get a worker "productive", it's in their every interest to retain talent. It's a mutually beneficial relationship, imo.
I find it amusing how everyone in software keeps touting a shortage of "talented" developers when there is no evidence. There's an army of experienced engineers in developing countries and each year millions of software engineers enter the job market each year.
And why the hell wouldn't they? In a job market with a global shortage of talented developers, not to mention in a sector that can take 3-6 months to get a worker "productive", it's in their every interest to retain talent. It's a mutually beneficial relationship, imo.