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

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 almost zero correlation with actual on-the-job performance. 🧠 Truth or Lie: Can Nostalgia Make Teams Stronger? Is looking back holding your company back, or is it a secret leadership superpower? Leanne puts "organisational nostalgia" under the psychological microscope. The Case For: Peer-reviewed research from 2024 tracking over 3,800 employees found that during massive organizational change, employees who felt higher workplace nostalgia became better colleagues. The Case Against: When nostalgia occurs naturally during the workday, it can make employees distracted, reduce daily task performance, and trigger lower daily well-being. The Verdict: It's a conditional truth. Nostalgia is a powerful tool for resilience during major organisational shakeups, but leaders must use it intentionally. 🏥 The Workplace Surgery Question 1 (Introverted Recognition): Most of my team are introverted. If I praise them publicly, they look like they want the ground to swallow them up. How do you make people feel valued without making it awkward? Question 2 (Financial Anxiety): I get the feeling my team are carrying a lot of anxiety about the economy and layoffs. Should managers acknowledge that sort of thing, or is it better not to open a conversation you can't really solve? Question 3 (Handling Unpopular Corporate Mandates): Our company has just mandated more days in the office and my team are not happy. How do you handle that as a manager when you end up being the face of a decision you had no say in? 📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines https://findahelpline.com