Forget radical honesty — Big Tech revisits its corporate culture

Tech bosses love to talk about the philosophies that underpin their companies. In place of stodgy HR rules, Silicon Valley has championed radical candour, bringing your whole self to work and leaning in. But not any more. 

As the sector ages, markers of traditional hierarchy are creeping in. Netflix’s latest culture memo has an eye-catching line that notes “not all opinions are equal”. It has already told employees that Netflix may not be the place for them if they disagree with content. Three years ago, some staged a walkout in protest at a comedy special by Dave Chappelle that included jokes made at the expense of transgender women.

You can see why employees might have felt comfortable expressing their opinions. In 2009, founder and then chief executive Reed Hastings produced the company’s first culture memo, a 125 page PowerPoint presentation now famous in tech circles, that explained the qualities he wanted to see in the workforce. On page 15, he described courage as the ability to “question actions inconsistent with our values”. Under honesty he wrote: “You are known for candour and directness.” 

This has translated into a corporate culture known for frankness. Employees at Netflix engage in 360 degree reviews. When your boss gives you feedback, you can give it right back. They have been encouraged to publicly own up to mistakes in a practice known as sunshining. Sensitive souls will shudder but the biggest streaming company in the world has changed the way that millions of people watch TV and films. That lends its corporate culture credibility. 

Still, a lot can change in 15 years. It is easier to ask employees to question your actions when your workforce is relatively small. The New York Times, which first reported the new memo, notes that Netflix has more than 13,000 employees. In 2009 it had less than 1,900. It has also always been easier for people in charge to request honest feedback than to hear it.

Elon Musk, for example, preaches direct communication but can sometimes appears thin-skinned. In 2017, he sent a memo telling Tesla employees they should speak freely with whoever could help solve a problem. “You can talk to your manager’s manager without his permission, you can talk directly to a VP in another dept, you can talk to me,” he wrote. But when a Twitter engineer contradicted Musk in public following the company’s takeover, he was fired.

Similarly Google, once a vocal proponent of bringing your whole self to work, this year fired more than 20 workers following sit-in protests over the company’s contract with the Israeli government. Google would like the political parts of employees’ whole selves to remain at home.

A rebalancing of power is under way between tech companies and their employees. Over-hiring in the pandemic has led to job cuts, meaning workers feel less secure. Some bosses are also rethinking the latitude they have traditionally offered to their workforce.

Two decades ago, companies like Google were still the new kids on the block. To lure the sort of talent that might otherwise seek lucrative, more stable careers elsewhere, they needed to show they were different. Hence the casual clothes, nonstop snacks, flat management structures and declaration that employees should voice their opinions freely. 

Now that tech is an established, desirable sector it does not need to work so hard to get the best workers. It is becoming like any other well paid corporate sector. And like any other well paid sector it would like its employees to take the money and keep their opinions to themselves.

elaine.moore@ft.com