Netflix reviews

4.1

80% would recommend to a friend

(2,515 total reviews)

Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters

84% approve of CEO

78% positive business outlook

Netflix has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,515 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Netflix employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
2.0
Dec 13, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Forward thinking office culture, catered lunches and snacks, nice vacation/maternity/paternity leave policies. You get to work on a product that everyone consumes and is passionate about. Peers are smart and talented (for the most part). People are interested in your job and want to talk about it.

Cons

Culture of fear, office politics and weak leadership make for a stressful experience. Turnover is high, so expect to say goodbye to colleagues frequently. Firings (in my experience) have been trivial and never a true reflection of overall performance- after all, we work everyday with these people. Brain drain since nobody stays longer than a couple years. I have witnessed multiple people leave (without being fired) for better opportunities. In my opinion, with all the optimization and automation, the department will need to be scaled down in the upcoming future. Not the place if you want job security. Very little to zero potential to grow or advance your role.

1.0
Feb 11, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. Pay is good, and for some tough to fill roles, pay is very good. 2. The stock option plan is a good deal. 3. A number of policies treat people like adults (dress code, attendance, and vacation/holidays). You can take as much time off as you want, as long as you get your job done. 4. A number of smart people get hired. 5. The industry is growing very fast. 6. Well known brand with instant street recognition. 7. Facilities are pretty good.

Cons

1. Look at the comments on this site around turnover, treating people poorly, sick culture, and weak senior leadership. These are all very accurate. 2. No training, management training, or development. The philosophy is if you don’t have what we need, we will replace you (i.e., fire you for not being a “good fit”) with someone from the outside who has that. 3. Hourly jobs in particular have stagnant pay. 4. There are no bonuses or incentives. 5. The culture has serious problems. a. You will see countless references on this site to a “culture of fear”. This is widespread in every department and division. Even executives laugh that their time is numbered. A company that functions on fear is not a place for the long term. When everyone in a room is asked do they fear being fired and everyone says yes, that is a big problem. b. A culture of watching your back and stabbing others in the back. Many employees, including C level people, participate and have learned that tossing others under the bus, keeps them safe. They see this as a way to protect themselves from scrutiny from above. Employees and managers are all too comfortable talking about what is not working with a person. The 360 review process reinforces this. Those who have been there the longest are almost soulless with regard to firings. They have fired or seen so many people let go that they don’t really care anymore. 6. You can be fired without warning, feedback, or any coaching. Most employees don’t bring any personal belongings to work as they could be let go at any moment. It is often a surprise. 7. Do not move for a job with Netflix. If your partner or spouse doesn’t work, you could be risking your families financial health. There is no job security regardless of how good you are. Performance does not equal security at Netflix. 8. Managers have a 1 year shelf life before they get shown the door. Directors and VPs are constantly evaluating managers, so anytime you make a mistake, are perceived not to be cutting edge, it could be your turn. 9. HR’s job is to hire and show people the door. HR brags about how good they are at firing people. They don’t help employees, nor are they there to help employees become better. Their role is simply to ensure the company doesn’t get sued and headhunt for all the people that are turning over. 10. Managers main role is making their team better through constrantly looking for their weaker employees. Leaders are asked could they hire someone better. Of course the answer will always be yes. 11. No severance package is enough to compensate you for disruption in your career, moving, or the stress that comes without having a job. 12. The recruiting function will hire you fast. The idea is to keep you excited, but if you are reading this don’t get caught up in the Netflix product of movies—look at whether this is actually a place you want to work. 13. It’s incredibly stressful and life-shortening for you and your loved ones. Why work at a place where people, including your hiring managers, treat you as completely disposable?

1.0
May 2, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The pay is above market. Not a lot above market, but a bit above market. The drawback is there are absolutely no benefits to speak of (no health benefits, no training, no daycare) so that above market pay gets eaten up pretty fast by real world needs.

Cons

A total fear of failure permeates the ranks. Netflix basically gives you a warning on your first mistake, and then fires you after your second mistake. This is why the annual turnover rate is well over 20%. Since there is an entirely new set of employees every few years, nobody knows what process to follow, and everything is chaotic. HR solves this by saying "there is no process for anything! Make it up as you go along!" Sure, if I fired all the employees every few years I'd stay away from process too. The key problem is that with all the firings most employees spend the day simply trying to find cover. The ass covering at Netflix is legendary. Nobody wants to innovate. Nobody wants to reach outside their comfort zone. Netflix has created a culture of fear, and the way in which they manage terminations reinforces the culture of fear (they immediately demonize the terminated employee, and try to make the termination serve as a lesson to others). The culture of fear is so ingrained in Netflix that many managers only have one tool for managing their directs, and that is to threaten to fire them. There simply is no other process for managing poor performance (remember, there is no process - they will admit this to you if you ask). And finally, the last thing you should be warned about is their "high performance" culture. Their justification for all the firings is that the fired employees weren't high performers. But since there is no process, no record-keeping, there is no objective measurement of performance. So "high performers" end up being the employees that get along with the boss and keep a low profile. "High performers" at Netflix are not employees that take risks, interact with outside groups, or produce a high volume of work. Netflix loves to talk about high performance but they have the lowest standard for high performance that I've ever seen. They are completely happy to manage with fear, however. If you put those two insane concepts together you end up with a rather hysterical environment.

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