Nokia

It's a prestige to work at Nokia in Vancouver, as there aren't many major technology corporations in this town. In an era when mobile devices are gaining popularity and consumers are always looking for the next most powerful mobile device, it is a great feeling to be working on products that mean so much to a lot of people.

Nokia does have a relatively flexible and enjoyable work environment where people are generally very friendly and helpful. There isn't a feeling of competition within the company, and everyone seems to be very happy with their roles and responsibilities. Thus, office politics are very minimal.

The managers, for the most part, are very understanding and treat everyone fairly. There isn't a lot of "no" from managers when you make a request.

Nokia doesn't possess the talent base that could be found in Microsoft and/or Google, but there are bright people there for sure.

I got a feeling that some people there do their job, and that's it. There isn't much of a sense of innovative spirit across the teams that work on a product. People seem to be satisfied by getting the job done, and aren't really looking to make it the best in the market.

When we were making a new product, an engineer told me that he hopes this sells well enough to cover the cost, so that this development site doesn't get shut down.

Um...that doesn't sound very optimistic.

Hire a younger workforce to do technology, and hire experienced people with energy and ambition to lead others.

Ultimately, work morale is dictated by how motivated your manager is.