# 310.  Workplace Nostalgia, Stalling Careers and Leaked Microsoft Data. PLUS! How to Praise Introverts

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/truth-lies-and-work-5599780/310-workplace-nostalgia-stalling-careers-and-leaked-microsoft-data-plus-how-to-praise-introverts.md
Podcast: [Truth, Lies and Work](https://stenobird.com/podcast/truth-lies-and-work-5599780)
Published: 2026-06-16T18:19:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/HS2775610285.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/HS2775610285.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/truth-lies-and-work-5599780/episodes/310-workplace-nostalgia-stalling-careers-and-leaked-microsoft-data-plus-how-to-praise-introverts
Duration seconds: 3434

## Resource

Welcome to Truth, Lies and Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture, brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. In this episode of This Week in Work, Al and Leanne dive into a massive career longevity study, a leaked corporate memo from Microsoft, the sudden collapse of a 50-year-old hiring ritual, and the surprising psychological impact of the "good old days." 📰 The News Round-Up The Rise of "Stalling Out" in Mid-CareerInside New research from the Burning Glass Institute and NYU reveals a hidden crisis: stalling out. This happens when a professional goes five or more years without a meaningful promotion and experiences little to no wage growth. The study analyzed over 1.3 million career histories and found that nearly 1 in 4 mid-career professionals (24.2%) are completely stuck. Read the full study in the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/white-collar-workers-career-nyu-study-a81a7d9c Microsoft’s Leaked Employee Engagement Survey Thanks to an internal memo leaked to Business Insider, we get a rare sneak peek into employee sentiment at Microsoft. While their overall "Thriving" score hit a healthy 79%, critical management metrics took a significant hit. The score for managers coaching employees fell five points to 76%, and giving clear feedback fell four points to 79%. Read the leaked memo details on Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-surveys-employees-sentiment-memo-2026-6 The Death of the Technical Interview For 35 years, tech giants like Google and Amazon have relied on grueling, whiteboard-based technical interviews. Now, Steve Yegge—the legendary senior engineer who helped build these systems—declares them completely broken. Internal data showed interview scores had almos…

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