Live data from Hacker News

Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

nypost.com

161–170 of 527 posts

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#161
post #106

From https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/netflix-exec-goes-ball... > Baillie claims he explained the reason why he had taken the drug but was investigated by Netflix. On March 18, 2026 a company investigator brought the incident up, “in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use,” the suit reads. So the nominal issue is recreational drug use rather than ketamine therapy. It's also not clear that he was…

Given he made $1 million+ per year as an executive, it's possible they needed a pretense to fire him "for cause" under a contract that otherwise stipulated some sizeable severance greater than the cost of litigation and settlement.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#162
post #106

From https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/netflix-exec-goes-ball... > Baillie claims he explained the reason why he had taken the drug but was investigated by Netflix. On March 18, 2026 a company investigator brought the incident up, “in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use,” the suit reads. So the nominal issue is recreational drug use rather than ketamine therapy. It's also not clear that he was…

Did you miss he received the therapy under medical supervision and Netflix’s attorney flat out admitted “the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination”.

Did you miss that that's according to the one sided exceprt from a lawsuit an ex-employee filed?

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#163

Your company, your coworkers, are not your friends. HR is not there for you, it's to protect the company from you. Do not disclose personal information to those who control your livelihood. Once you leave or if you build up a personal relationship with a coworker, outside of work, then maybe. Even still. I will never divulge what I have been through simply because corporate wants to be "inclusive".

This is a recipe for a sad life. It's avoiding friendship for the fear of betrayal. You get a lot of benefits by being good friends with colleagues. There are, however important things to be aware of:

1- "Though shall not" limit their social life to their colleagues (or any single group that can disappear with a divorce, change of jobs, or hobby, maybe because of an incident).

2- "Though shall not" blindly help people with the hope of being helped in return. Help with generosity, but know the limits: don't sacrifice yourself, and certainly, don't count on people returning the favor as your main plan. It's incredible how much happier we can be just by helping people, if we fire and forget, rather than cling onto.

3- Do not define yourself with your job, your success in there, or with your colleagues' approvals. This is extremely hard, yet extremely important. Diversify what defines you. Be able to mentally afford being bad at some of them. Don't let any of them define who you are. This lets you act with true confidence (not insecurity disguised as overconfidence), which is extremely pleasant for yourself and others.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#164

Your company, your coworkers, are not your friends. HR is not there for you, it's to protect the company from you. Do not disclose personal information to those who control your livelihood. Once you leave or if you build up a personal relationship with a coworker, outside of work, then maybe. Even still. I will never divulge what I have been through simply because corporate wants to be "inclusive".

Never been in an office where there wasn't some solidarity amongst workers and not the owners. I can't imagine how alienating it must be to work somewhere you feel you can't trust anyone except yourself, sounds like a self made hell.

At least you get paid I suppose.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#165

Your company, your coworkers, are not your friends. HR is not there for you, it's to protect the company from you. Do not disclose personal information to those who control your livelihood. Once you leave or if you build up a personal relationship with a coworker, outside of work, then maybe. Even still. I will never divulge what I have been through simply because corporate wants to be "inclusive".

I was rejected in a hiring process because a co-worker worked there. They asked him for feedback in the final hiring decision. I was being considered for a senior staff role. The meeting room had two of my ex-co-workers. One was the person who had referred me and was my tech lead at a previous work place. This (feedback giver) co-worker (my peer; from yet another work place) told them all was great and hunky dory but…

Sounds like you dodged a bullet and the coworker did you a favor.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a huge difference between learning that your colleague also happens to play chess, and sharing the vulnerability of how you handled personal grief in your life. Your workplace is a community, not a friendship circle, and not a family. Community life has always had a certain level of formality to help paper over the differences between people in the community while still fostering a positive, inclusive environ…

I think that's something people have increasingly forgotten. My grandparents were active in their church for decades. They didn't talk about my grandmother's serious mental health struggles with the other parishioners. People in the past had stronger community institutions, and I think a part of that was that nobody expected to bring their whole self to bowling club or the neighborhood potluck.

It's a balance though, isn't it? Like, sure, don't bring your whole self to every single bowling game, you're there to bowl so focus at the task at hand. Nobody is going to have a good time if every bowling game devolves into every little emotional issue anyone in the group is having.

But that doesn't mean those relationships originally started at the bowling club need to stay purely about bowling, a big part of community is to then open up when the context is right and when the other person is open to the sharing. It's how you grow your community, how you grow your circle. Don't expect every person in your bowling league wants to become your best friend ever, but it's also not healthy to assume that everyone there only ever wants to just bowl and only cares about bowling.

I've had a lot of people from work relationships that stayed purely work relationships. I've had some become friends. I've had several become important people in my life. If I forced myself to silo off work contacts are only ever work contacts, I don't think I'd be nearly as happy as I am today. I know I'd be a lot more lonely and probably a good bit less successful.

We talk about this huge loneliness epidemic and yet so many people are like "I would never talk to my fellow coworkers about anything personal, ever." Huh I wonder why we're so lonely. We're all convinced we shouldn't be personal with the people we spend a massive amount of our lives with.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#167

It always surprises me when people don't understand that the employee-employer relationship is an adversarial one. Unless you're in a democratic co-op or similar your employer is the enemy and you should never forget that. The correct move is to try to screw them in every legal way at every turn because that is what they are doing to you. Never divulge any information that increases your attack surface, always try to…

If it's adversarial then why are they willingly entering into a mutually beneficial arrangement?

A mutually beneficial agreement can still be adversarial? If you're getting shaken down by the mafia it's beneficial for you to pay them protection money.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#168

Your company, your coworkers, are not your friends. HR is not there for you, it's to protect the company from you. Do not disclose personal information to those who control your livelihood. Once you leave or if you build up a personal relationship with a coworker, outside of work, then maybe. Even still. I will never divulge what I have been through simply because corporate wants to be "inclusive".

Is this your life? Quit.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firing someone for taking a prescribed therapeutic medication for a medical condition? Yeah, that’s illegal.

What if no medication history and perfect health was a precondition of that position, with equivalent disability position with the same task except to those with heavy disability offered separately in the same entity?

Is this an actual situation or a weird hypothetical?

Perfect health is only really a requirement for the military, pilots, and a couple other niche roles. No medication history would constitute illegal discrimination for 99% of jobs in the US, and the company even asking for it on hiring would lead to a HIPPA mess.

Nobody in America requires no medication history for office jobs, not even the CIA.

Re: Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you miss he received the therapy under medical supervision and Netflix’s attorney flat out admitted “the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination”.

Did you miss that that's according to the one sided exceprt from a lawsuit an ex-employee filed?

I notice you’re not calling them a liar.
Post reply on HN