Culture Wars Hit Corporate America

Like many long-term Microsoft (MSFT ) employees, Jeff Koertzen toyed with the idea of leaving the company. But the event that prompted the human-resources manager to bolt for good was not a get-rich opportunity at a promising tech startup. Rather, it was the software giant's withdrawal of support for gay rights legislation in the state of Washington in mid-April after criticism from a local evangelical preacher. "This stupid move affected my decision," says Koertzen, a gay, six-year Microsoft employee who submitted his resignation on May 4. "I decided that now was time to go."

Plenty of co-workers shared his outrage. Idealistic techies who believed that Microsoft was more than just an ordinary profit-driven company, that it stood for a set of progressive values, were crestfallen. "One of the reasons I came to Microsoft is because of its very strong stance on human rights," complained Robert Scoble, on his popular employee blog, Scobleizer, a few days after the company's position became public. By May 10 an internal petition urging the company to support the anti-discrimination bill had 1,741 signatures -- compared with 197 for a petition asking it to remain neutral.