When Andrew Brenner interviewed for a lawyer’s job at Microsoft a couple of years ago, he was troubled by the experience. "All the lawyers seemed to think it was a forgone conclusion Microsoft would take over the world," says Brenner. Ultimately, Brenner decided not to pursue the job. "It’s a very strong culture. Too strong for me."

While many writers seem to celebrate organizations with strong cultures, a few are worried that some firms are becoming corporate cults. A recent book on the subject suggests that employees are victims of corporate cults when they work crushingly long hours, have few friends outside the workplace, develop emotional attitudes about their job, and have difficulty distinguishing "who I am" from "what I do."

Microsoft has been accused of being a corporate cult. Some employees practically live at the software giant’s campus in Redmond, Washington. "There’s people working here 24 hours a day," says a Microsoft manager. "It’s set up so you never have to go home." Microsoft employees also develop a strong belief system that is difficult to distinguish from their life away from work. "The Microsoft corporate culture can be broken down into four key parts," explains said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner Group Inc. "A tremendous work ethic; Bill Gates is always right; an us-versus-them mentality; and Bill Gates is always right."

Razorfish, an Internet professional services organization, also has the characteristics of a corporate cult. "We've been accused of creating a cult-like atmosphere here, but to us there's Razorfish and not-Razorfish," says Len Sellers, managing director of Razorfish's San Francisco office.

Sellers defends the strong culture at Razorfish, but he also describes how it has taken over his life. "I used to be an avid sailor, but haven't been on a boat in a year," he admits. "I used to have girlfriends, but they left out of boredom and frustration. I used to have a cat, but it moved in with a neighbor. It's one thing when a girlfriend leaves, but it's another when a cat goes."

Sources: T. C. Doyle, "New Economy, New Culture," VarBusiness, July 10, 2000, p. 26; J. Useem, "Welcome to the New Company Town," Fortune, January 10, 2000, pp. 62-70; D. Arnott, Corporate Cults (NY: AMACOM, 1999).