Ballmer -> Nadella shows that it is possible.

Yeah, in 2021, employees increasingly expect this from their employers. Of course this could just be for optics and to claim "see, we care", but I think interpretation misses the broader context.

In light of "The Great Resignation", and increasing awareness and activism around work/life balance, socially conscious employers, etc. this kind of move is required. At worst, it's a survival mechanism. A more charitable take is that leadership actually wants to change things.

In either case, if they actually implement this, it's good for employees even if leadership was forced to do this by the current climate.

The culture will slowly rot as the company gets larger and as the real visionaries (good or bad) become increasingly disconnected from the boots on the ground.

We're already seeing things like people getting hired and then PIPed within months so that their managers can avoid firing the reports they like...