Netflix says the best and worst thing about working there are the same

Netflix says its employees have the freedom to do
whatever they deem necessary to help the business. Netflix CEO
Reed Hastings is pictured.
Getty
Images

• Netflix invited people to
  ask their questions about working at the company in a LinkedIn thread.
• One person asked about the best and worst things about
  working at the company.
• A spokesperson for Netflix responded that the answer to both
  is the same: “the freedom to do whatever you think is necessary
  to move the business forward.”
• They added that it can be sometimes be tricky to figure out
  which projects will actually be impactful. 

 

Netflix opened itself up to questions about working at the
company in a LinkedIn thread — and people jumped at the
opportunity.

At the time of publication, there were more than 1,000 comments on the
thread, with questions ranging from “Are Netflix employees
allowed to watch Netflix during work hours?” to
“What do you look for in an ideal
candidate?” Many were curious about what it’s
actually like to work at the company.

One
commenter asked: “What’s the best thing about working at
Netflix? What about the worst?” 

Netflix responded that the answer to both is the
same thing. The
representative wrote:

“The best thing is the freedom to do whatever you think is
necessary to move the business forward,” a
spokesperson wrote. “The worst thing is that nobody will tell
you how to spend your time or what exactly you should be working
on (outside of setting larger goals for your role). Determining
which projects will truly be impactful is up to you, and
sometimes that is really hard.”

The company is known for having an unusual culture.

Netflix actively encourages its employees to interview at other
companies, the company’s former chief talent officer, Patty
McCord,
told Business Insider. She said this practice helps employees
clarify their professional goals, learn how much they’re worth,
and realize the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

At the same time, Netflix has no problem letting go of employees.
The company makes it clear it only keeps those who are “highly
effective.” 

The “culture”
section of the company’s website reads: “Succeeding on a dream
team is about being effective, not about working hard. Sustained
‘B’ performance, despite an ‘A’ for effort, gets a respectful
generous severance package.”