Work Life Philosophy (2024)

Taking Care of Yourself

Benefits at Netflix exist to support the needs of our employees during moments that matter by offering benefits that enhance productivity through the lens of inclusion, so our employees can focus on entertaining the world.

1. Parental Leave: We recognize that one of the most special events in an individual's life is the birth or adoption of a child. Our parental leave policy is: "take care of your baby and yourself." New parents generally take 4 - 8 months.

2. Time Away: Our vacation policy is “take vacation” and we actually do. Frankly, we intermix work and personal time quite a bit. Time away works differently at Netflix. We don’t have a prescribed 9-to-5 workday, so we don’t have prescribed time off policies for salaried employees, either. We don’t set a holiday and vacation schedule, so you can observe what’s important to you—including when your mind and body need a break. Full-time hourly employees accrue 35 days annually for paid time off to be used for vacation, holidays, and sick paid time off. We believe in working smarter, not harder.

3. Family Forming & Reproductive Support: Netflix offers a global family forming benefit to support employees during your fertility, surrogacy, or adoption journey. This benefit is available to employees and their spouse/domestic partner, regardless of marital status, gender, or sexual orientation. Globally, we cover costs for family forming services, including travel for these services, through Carrot.

4. Mental Health: At Netflix, we know you want to produce work you are proud of. In order to perform your best, you have to feel your best. Mental health is important to your overall health which is why Netflix offers various programs to support you and your dependents. Globally, we provide access to mindfulness and meditation as well as free counseling and coaching sessions.

5. Health Benefits: Medical benefits work differently based on the country you live in. So you may have medical coverage offered through Netflix only, a supplemental plan through Netflix that compliments your local insurance scheme, or you may have a monthly allowance to purchase benefits on your own. No matter what the case is, we make sure that you’re covered.

Finances

Living our culture of (almost) no rules rule gives employees the freedom to exercise their judgment, we don’t want to make the decisions for you around your finances.

1. Stock Option Program: Each employee chooses each year how much of their compensation they want in salary versus stock options. You can choose all cash, all options, or whatever combination suits you. You choose how much risk and upside (down) you want. These 10-year stock options are fully-vested and you keep them even if you leave Netflix.

2. Personal Top of Market: To help us attract and retain stunning colleagues, we pay employees at the top of their personal market. We do not think of these as “raises” and there is no raise pool to divide up. The market for talent is what it is and is not defined by set bands and grades. If your market adjusts, we do not have to wait for an annual compensation event to make changes. We hope through this compensation approach, we can dismantle pay disparities across gender and race.

3. Employee Giving Program: At Netflix, you have the ability to impact the world through the work you do, revolutizing internet entertainment and sharing great storytelling globally. We realize you may also want to make an impact in a more personal way by giving to charitable organizations you care about. We want to do our part to support you and the organizations important to you through match contributions up to $20,000.

Convenience to Do Your Best Work

Living our culture of freedom and responsibility, we treat you like an adult and trust you. Everyone has the ability to make an impact, a seat at the table, and is expected to contribute, create, and share. See below on our philosophies around allowing you to do your best work possible and not being held down by unnecessary process.

1. Expenses and Work-Related Travel: Our policy for travel, entertainment, gifts, and other expenses is 5 words long: “act in Netflix’s best interest.” We do not have a set travel policy at Netflix. Using our guiding principles of context, not control - you can use judgement to make decisions that are effective to the business and set you up for success. If in doubt, seek to understand.

2. Work, Not Drive: When it comes to your work schedule, commuting doesn’t always sync up and rush hour can be stressful. Work, not drive partners with a rideshare service that provides you the flexibility and focus on work while you commute.

3. Relocation Benefits: We are not bound by policies and restrictions of where great talent is located. When Netflix moves you for your new role, from one city, country, to another, we have a Talent Mobility team dedicated to supporting you and your family. We understand that relocating can be multi-faceted and that there is a lot to consider. Our goal is to remove distractions by providing inclusive, fair, and meaningful benefits, which allow our stunning colleagues to settle quickly and focus on their role at Netflix.