Netflix reviews

Culture of fear. Indoctrination into a culture that is focused on intimidation and unattainable aspirations. The company grew so quickly that right-fit managers for a startup are now managing large numbers of people and they are incompetent. Due to this incompetence, the culture has become cut-throat where many people have been rapidly fired without justification. Often it’s political because their management fears the person being fired would replace them. Management is dishonest about the “transparency” of salaries and raises where favorites are rewarded rather than those who actually perform. The higher people are in levels of management, the greater the pressure to give up all personal life including family and children. Successful executives are dysfunctional with no personal lives. The culture memo or “deck” is a deceitful document now. It’s become weaponized and is used to humiliate people and fire them. There is no warning before being fired. It’s a surprise process where people are often told they are no longer employed and told to leave the building immediately. Management then communicates a fabricated version widespread to many employees by email or meetings, often stating that there were repeated coaching and warnings. There is none.

In a nutshell, your Netflix experience boils down to your direct manager. Managers are almighty dictators reinforcing a pervasive culture of fear at Netflix. I was originally hired by a different leader with whom I had the opportunity to connect and vet. But everything changed when I joined, my manager was someone I hadn't had a single conversation with during the hiring process. If your manager is an empathetic leader invested in your experience and growth, then read no further. But if your manager is anything like mine - a recently promoted IC with absolutely no training/experience in leadership, expect to be overly micromanaged. Expect to be humiliated and treated disrespectfully in the name of candidness over kindness. In a one-on-one conversation, my manager snapped at me when I was about to speak (I wasn't interrupting) and asked me to repeat what they just said. Expect to not have any communication for weeks on end and receive feedback out of the blue that takes you by complete surprise. Expect to have the culture memo weaponized against you. Expect to not have any allies - any attempts to move to a different team that could be a better fit will be thwarted by internal politics. Seeking help from HRBP is as futile as denying climate change. At this point my only hope is a major re-org, but I wouldn't wish this manager on anybody. Having worked in the industry for over a decade at different sized companies, I've had all kinds of managers. This is the first time I feel psychologically unsafe.