Reed Hastings calls working from home “a pure negative” for employees and that the Netflix workforce will return to its offices once a vaccine is approved

Co-CEO of streaming giant discusses company's culture of candor and how working from home is harder

Wall Street Journal 2020-09-08 Joe Flint

Context & Ripple Effects

Hastings' remarks land mid-book-tour: across back-to-back interviews on Netflix's future and its aggressive culture, he is framing the company's in-office, high-candor model as a feature rather than a cost. The stance is consistent with what employees have described since [[a:934925|the 2018 portrait of Netflix's candor-and-transparency culture that some found ruthless and demoralizing]].

First-order effects

Netflix employees get no long-term remote option: per Hastings, the workforce returns to offices once a vaccine is approved, making Netflix an early definitive voice among streaming-era employers against permanent hybrid work.

Second-order effects

Talent competing with Netflix gains a recruiting wedge — candidates weighing the candor-heavy culture Hastings is publicly promoting must now also weigh mandatory office attendance, sharpening the retention tensions the 2018 employee accounts already exposed.

Third-order effects

Read alongside reporting that Netflix has walked back its parental-leave benefits as priorities shifted from growth to profitability, the office-return stance points toward Netflix treating employee-flexibility perks as expendable — an employer-brand trajectory that persisted even after Hastings handed the co-CEO role to Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos.

The trend: Major employers are converting pandemic-era remote work from a default into a deliberate cultural choice, with Netflix staking out the most explicitly anti-remote position.

Discussion

@wsj @wsj on x
Netflix's Reed Hastings sees nothing positive about remote work and is eager to have staff back in the office once a coronavirus vaccine is available https://www.wsj.com/...
@ccm_ryan Ryan Henderson on x
Reed's take is going to be viewed as controversial, but I personally agree. Feels like most great ideas/innovations are cultivated through constant collaboration. Hard to do that virtually imo https://twitter.com/...
@iamchasemaher Chase on x
This is the mid range of the pendulum swing Though I think the smaller the company the more likely its fully remote https://twitter.com/...
@perezhilton Perez Hilton on x
“I doubt [we'd do] news, but sports, video gaming, user-generated content — if you think of the other big categories, someday it could make sense [for Netflix]. But ... at least for the next couple of years, every content dollar is spoken for.” 👀 https://variety.com/...
@austen Austen Allred on x
I don't think companies should mimic the way Netflix is run, but I think companies should do more to be as opinionated as Netflix is about the way a company is run https://variety.com/...
@karrisaarinen Karri Saarinen on x
In other words: The past 23 years we've been building a company culture that operates with debating stuff in meetings at the office. I see no benefit in changing things up. https://www.wsj.com/...
@jyarow Jay Yarow on x
WSJ: Do you have a date in mind for when your workforce returns to the office? Mr. Hastings: Twelve hours after a vaccine is approved. https://www.wsj.com/...
@melissadaimler Melissa Daimler on x
“If I had to guess, the five-day workweek will become four days in the office while one day is virtual from home. I'd bet that's where a lot of companies end up”—Reed Hastings @netflix https://www.wsj.com/...
@romeensheth Romeen Sheth on x
“WSJ: You recently chose to share the CEO title with Ted Sarandos. The corporate world is littered with examples of co-CEO structures that haven't worked out well. Mr. Hastings: It's littered with examples of single CEOs not working out also.” https://www.wsj.com/...
@ldrogen Leigh Drogen on x
Na, this is an excellent example of how intelligent humans recognize that a set of technology has made something possible, but then refuse to accept the inevitable rational change to human behavior because it's hard to accept change like that as likely https://twitter.com/...
@newley Newley Purnell on x
Netflix Co-CEO @reedhastings on working from home: “I don't see any positives. Not being able to get together in person, particularly internationally, is a pure negative.” From a Q&A with @JBFlint on his new book and more: https://www.wsj.com/...
@alexjamesfitz Alex Fitzpatrick on x
feels like the Netflix guy should be in favor of remotes imo https://twitter.com/...
@jbflint Joe Flint on x
Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings is not a fan of remote work. While other companies may pivot to have more employees work from home post-Covid, he is eager to have staff back in the office once a coronavirus vaccine is available https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
@jbflint Joe Flint on x
Enough chill. Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings wants everyone back in the office ASAP! https://www.wsj.com/...
@mattriva @mattriva on x
The sad thing is that the pandemic has disproven all the excuses companies made before about why remote work could never be effective and so now some managers are just going to act like a child and say 'well I don't care I want us back in the office anyway' https://twitter.com/..…
@mjasay Matt Asay on x
I disagree with Netflix CEO Hastings that WFH is “a pure negative,” but agree with him that being overly *busy* kills innovation/thoughtfulness https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@claudferraz Claudio Ferraz on x
The interesting thing about this piece is how Netflix has been able to adjust much faster than Hollywood to the demand for diversity on the screen with respect to gender, race, local culture, etc. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@forbes @forbes on x
Netflix upended show business long before the pandemic hit. But with a highly unusual management style, its billionaire founder has now positioned his entertainment juggernaut to prosper like few companies in the world https://on.forbes.com/... by @DawnC331 https://twitter.com/..…
@forbes @forbes on x
Here's how Netflix's billionaire founder has positioned his entertainment juggernaut to prosper like few companies in the world: https://www.forbes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@nytimes @nytimes on x
Maureen Dowd talks to Reed Hastings, who helped grow Netflix into the Godzilla of the entertainment world. Her first question: Does it feel good to be the man who killed Hollywood? https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimesbusiness @nytimesbusiness on x
Elon Musk is “100 times more interesting a person” than Reed Hastings, he tells Maureen Dowd. “I'll, like, do the basic core, traditional stuff very well,” Mr. Hastings said. “And he is a maverick in every dimension. He's just, like, amazing.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@harper4nc Harper Peterson on x
When I asked him where Hollywood will be in 15 years, Mr. Hastings said: “I see producing stories and sharing them as bigger than ever. But those stories will be produced in Atlanta, in Vancouver, in London, all over the world...” #ncpol https://www.nytimes.com/...
@sub8u Subrahmanyam Kvj on x
Two interviews with Reed Hastings in two days. NYT - https://www.nytimes.com/... FT - https://www.ft.com/... Yea, Reed has a new book out 😂 - https://www.norulesrules.com/
@shannon_liao Shannon Liao on x
Does it feel good to be the man who killed Hollywood? “No,” said Reed Hastings, who nurtured Netflix into the Godzilla of the entertainment world. “But, of course, we haven't killed Hollywood.” From: https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nuitseracalme La nuit sera calme on x
“They were all asleep to it during the early ascendance of Netflix. Now they've woken up to it, and it has slipped away from them and is never to be regained. They lost hegemony over an entire industry.” Great piece on Netflix's Reed https://www.nytimes.com/...
@mbrandolph Marc Randolph on x
Wonderful portrait in today's #NYT of my friend and co-founder @reedhastings (by one of my favorite writers, @maureendowd). Honest, insightful, and I'm still learning things about Reed. Almost joined the Marines? Who knew? https://www.nytimes.com/...
@maureendowd Maureen Dowd on x
I told Reed Hastings why I could never work for Netflix. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@ericliptonnyt Eric Lipton on x
Another @maureendowd gem: You won't find Netflix's Hastings hanging with stars at the San Vicente Bungalows. He doesn't bellow at the pool at the Hotel du Cap or swan around at premieres. He may show up in line at Sundance, but he's not cutting the line. https://www.nytimes.com/.…

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