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Netflix employee fired for sharing personal details in retreat trust exercise

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

#381

Post by ajb »

not-kinsale-joe wrote: post #279
ionwake wrote: post #271

I know some of the younger folk may not realise reality is stranger than fiction, but I too have been on a "work mandated drink alchohol bus" where I remember even though I was young, I was terrified the whole time wondering why we were being forced to drink infront of C suite; forced on a hell ride through the black country ( Thats a region in England). One might think it was naive and odd for me as a young autistic…

UK had the most unhinged work drinking culture I had ever seen.

While the alcohol consumption can be a bit nuts, the UK has a relatively strong cultural tradition that what happens in the pub stays in the pub. That makes it a useful low-risk way to air work issues that would not be raised in a work meeting, either because criticism would be taken as an offense, or just because the person raising them would not get to speak to the person that needs to hear.

Of course, there's nothing enforcing that managers respect it. The main mechanism is that many managers realise it's in their interests to be able to hear unvarnished truths, and for their team to be able to relieve their feelings outside work instead of inside. And for them to be able to get to know their team better. But not all have the integrity or humility to do so.

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

#382

Post by 72deluxe »

piguin wrote: post #378
72deluxe wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps, but if they wanted any of their 6 million lines of COM-laden C++ to continue working into the future, they'd need those sort of people.

No, that's a bit reverse prejudice and also a bit wrong on assumptions. If you bring in people who are levels above they aren't inherently on the spectrum and it's once you bring them in that you have a dependence on finding more instead of working at a complexity and expertise level that might be more maintainable.

Of course, you don't have to be on the spectrum to be skilled. I was counteracting the argument that a company of developers who love chatting whilst eating pizza is the ideal for programming ability and maintenance of decades of code output.

Assuming that a love of social interaction equates to programming skill would be a mistake, as would assuming that lack of love of social interactions equates to programming skill. The two sets of skills are unrelated, but in a company of people who don't enjoy socialising, forcing a social interaction is counterproductive.

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

#383

Post by softwaredoug »

Loughla wrote: post #51
softwaredoug wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, ketamine treatment for depression isn't that weird.

Announcing your medications at a public work function is kind of weird though, regardless of what they are. Is that just me?

Why stigmatize what should be routine?

Mental health discussions, especially among men, should be less fraught. Like “I have a cold”

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

#385

Post by sillyfluke »

72deluxe wrote: post #370
alibarber wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this sounds awful - but perhaps hiring people that would turn their workplace into what you just described was exactly what they (as an organisation, not necessarily individually) wanted to avoid, just, perhaps not by overtly saying it.

Perhaps, but if they wanted any of their 6 million lines of COM-laden C++ to continue working into the future, they'd need those sort of people.

Their numbers might be dwindling, but I would wager there are still some devs out there burning the candle from both ends.

To be fair, I find US forced company events like this way more unbearable than UK/European ones. In the US, the incessant combination of excessive alcohol with neurotic self-awareness gets you to another level of hell.

In another FAANG, the L7s were complaining that the level of office machinations that were occuring stateside was off the charts compared to the offices overseas.

UK afterwork pub culture should be under UNESCO cultural protection at this point, I'm always surprised it's lasted this long. One would have to admit it's fended off the decreasing consumption of alcohol in the new generation impressively even though they may despise the tradition.

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

#386

Post by kibwen »

reactordev wrote: post #334
alpineman wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I were so terrified I couldn't share anything personal at work, I would be happy to be fired as it sounds like a miserable place to work

You can share all you want, and you will be judged for it.

They're already being judged for it by their bosses and coworkers, they just don't realize it yet.

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

#387

Post by lelanthran »

ksenzee wrote: post #185
8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't bring your whole self to work, the rest of us don't need that from you. Be polite, congenial and professional. You have the rest of your day to let it rip however you'd like.

Maybe not your whole self, but I'd like the people I work with to feel safe talking about their family, their disabilities, their religion, their culture or subculture, the things they love doing, whatever makes them human.

> Maybe not your whole self, but I'd like the people I work with to feel safe talking about their family, their disabilities, their religion, their culture or subculture, the things they love doing, whatever makes them human.

Work is not a safe space. The people who say they want everyone to feel safe in their speech usually (actually, almost always) want people who agree with them on

> family, their disabilities, their religion, their culture or subculture, the things they love doing,

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

#388

Post by eamag »

arjie wrote: post #36
strictnein wrote: post #8

" including one incident where Baillie performed a Guinness-related party trick after colleagues asked him to show it off." Is this just splitting the G? If so, it's the most mundane thing in the history of alcohol related party tricks.

> It goes on to say that at the same retreat Baillie drank a Guinness standing on his head, after sharing that he had learned the trick from his former father in law during a conversation inspired by the trust session. From another article: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/netflix-exec... Honestly, the whole thing seems sort of innocuous. He had some particular medical treatment and then drank a Guinne…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=648pLkS0AE0

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

#389

Post by oliwarner »

psd1 wrote: post #319
not-kinsale-joe wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK had the most unhinged work drinking culture I had ever seen.

Amen. I only got my first job in tech because i put away 6 pints in the pub after the interview. We conducted interviews after lunch, for this exact purpose. I saw good candidates interview but decline the pub afterwards - they did not get offers. That company had at least two pub sessions a week, typically running to six rounds or more. We hit our medically-recommended maximum weekly intake by Tuesday; Fridays were…

> good candidates interview but decline the pub afterwards - they did not get offers

That's one hell of a lawsuit you're opening yourself up to there. People who don't drink have significant overlap with protected classes.

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

#390

Post by vel0city »

solatic wrote: post #313
vel0city wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 comm…

I don't think you're fundamentally disagreeing. Your work community can be a source of friendships (and sometimes but more rarely, more than friendship), but you shouldn't confuse the two. Finding out your colleague also plays chess can segue into an invitation to play chess outside of work, and launchpad that into building a friendship. But that's not the same as playing chess together at work (get back to work?), l…

> Finding out your colleague also plays chess can segue into an invitation to play chess outside of work, and launchpad that into building a friendship.

Yeah, but if you make a point of never shooting the shit with your coworkers how will you ever really come across this kind of info?

I do ultimately agree forcing this kind of thing isn't usually good, and it definitely sounds like this retreat went sideways due to poor management. People probably shouldn't be doing things like keg stands at a company retreat, management should have stopped things well before people were pressured into such activities. And yeah, a company-wide forced "tell everyone your darkest secrets for trust" thing, forget that you're only going to get a watered down example. Management shouldn't be putting people in that kind of position.

Goes back to my point, things need to be balanced. It's good and healthy for a workplace to help people form these kinds of friendships in small nudges, but overly forcing connections that aren't forming naturally just isn't good. And excessive drinking at company events just leads to issues, that's for sure.

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