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- Hacker News
- I have witnessed this happen before. This was approximately ten years ago, but we had a similar thing, a new hire team building exercise. And during it, one of the new hires told a story about how they saved money by taking loads of reams of paper and stuff home from their old office in order to save money. And they were let go during the lunch break. I still feel a bit sorry for them, but I guess saying out loud you were happy to steal stationery didn't go down very well, so it makes sense, but still, it was such a tiny mistake for a 20-year-old. I wasn't in charge of management at the time, but I think I'd have just taken him aside and explained how bad it sounded.by idk1
- I cannot see this ending up well for Netflix. It sounds like it personally offended someone's sensibility and they decided to fire the guy. I expect Netflix to lose this lawsuit, but more importantly, settle it before it ever goes anywhere.by johndubchak
- And don't forget the effect on employee morale, retention and hiring. They have now made the international news cycle for firing an employee for sharing after being encouraged to share, and doing a party trick after being encouraged by coworkers to do soby wongarsu
- So he was fired for sharing he had ketamine based therapy for depression? Why? Like is it promoting drug use or something?by ab71e5
- If HR policy says no drugs then that’s a wrap. Allowing an employee to violate HR policy probably puts the company in all sorts of legal risks.by chasd00
- It's buried in the article but this is the way I read it.
1) Get invited to a trust exercise retreat.
2) Share that you have done ketamine in a controlled therapy environment.
3) Share a bunch of other things not in article <speculation>
4) Get fired for having a drug addiction.
We are to assume that #2 caused #4 ... but without all the facts it could have been something in #3 + #2 , again speculation.
by mlrtime - isn't this highly illegal, since it is used for medical purpose (mental health) ?
its like firing a person who was sedated by professional Anesthesiologist with Fentanyl during surgery (A friend of mine had a surgery and was administered fentanyl)
by bijowo1676 - We can only speculate, but it would not be surprising if someone was hunting for a reason to get rid of them and thought this was a good excuse. Personally, I don’t think this is a good excuse and while we don’t have all the facts, it sounds like Netflix conceding the therapy factored into the dismissal is probably something they will very much regret admitting to on the record.by Zafira
- Source article: https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/netflix-exec-goes-ball...
This is probably the first time I've ever said that a NY Post article was a useful source of information on a story.
by otterley - Thanks, we've switched to that from https://www.inc.com/amaya-nichole/netflix-company-retreat-sp... above.by dang
- Last retreat I went on the CFO drove drunk around 350 miles to get there. The CEO insisted on heavy drinking for everyone. Then he ordered one of everything on the menu the next morning at a Cracker Barrel for himself and wasted a ton of food. I found out he had a cocaine addiction about a month before the company was acquired. They also had orgies in the office break rooms and gave out a machete to everyone as a Christmas gift. Amongst the many crazy times…
My fraternity was more tame and we used to have guys gazing each other in the main room during parties.
by riddlemethat - Reminds me of the tik tok of the guy who just starts giving out new machetes in packages to homeless people.by Der_Einzige
- Dude, that company sounds awesome!by clemailacct1
- > My fraternity was more tame and we used to have guys gazing each other in the main room during parties.
Joining a fraternity makes you jointly and severally liable for anything your frat brothers do. It's the very opposite of working or investing in a limited liability company. Makes sense for a fraternity to be more tame...
by ocschwar - >They also had orgies in the office break rooms
Bring your hole self to work
by jrflowers - >They also had orgies in the office break rooms and gave out a machete to everyone as a Christmas gift
Hopefully not at the same time, otherwise there would be opportunity for many kinds of unfortunate mishaps.
by waste_monk - Remember this story the next time someone says "join our mission" or "bring your whole self to work". They all come with asterisks.by tchalla
- " 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.
by strictnein - what is splitting the G? I'm not a big drinkerby hmokiguess
- > 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 Guinness upside down. Maybe there was something else to it but if you're a big corp then you probably should just give a safe answer.
by arjie - > He had been warned during his performance review that he should “drop one or two less f-bombs but don’t stop entirely.”
> 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.
> “His colleague immediately asked for a demonstration, rather than withhold the openness that the session had encouraged, he performed the trick,” the papers say.
This reads like a sitcom.
by wxw - This guy rocks. Fired for being fun
- 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".by reactordev
- Is this your life? Quit.by trismus
- The workplace is one of the best places to find your spouse. It's where you spend most of your time and where you're most likely to meet someone with similar interests to you in the same location. It's anti-human to treat the workplace as this clinical saferoom with no relationships.by energy123
- Sounds like a fate worse than getting fired.
Do people not know how to make friends and develop trust. The solution is the same judgment process any human should go through.
Only an idiot would automatically assume coworkers are friends.
Only an idiot would assume coworkers can't become friends.
- 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.
by shimman - Exactly this. No matter how they dress it up, HR is there to protect the company, not you.by anderber
- 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 "he is a work life balance kind of person". I was not hired. Also, my two co-workers there didn't know each other really and didn't know they both had worked with me in the past until that meeting. Company had connected those dots on LinkedIn.
- This is so sad. I have made amazing friends with my colleagues in the past. My days are made better when they can be funny, we can share moments, and we can support each other in hard times. Even remotely I have managed to stay in touch with them. It is a real friendship, built from a decade of learning just how this other person ticks.
Really hope I didn't have to ever give that up.