Why Netflix co-founder leaves work at 5 pm on Tuesdays

Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph with his wife. (Image credit: Marc Randolph/LinkedIn)

It’s the first week of the new year and several business leaders have shared their resolutions for 2023, their goals and how they plan to achieve them. Marc Randolph, co-founder of streaming giant Netflix, shared what he does to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

For over three decades, Randolph made sure to not miss his Tuesday date nights with his wife.

Describing how he achieved this, the Netflix boss writes in a LinkedIn post, “Rain or shine, I left at exactly 5 pm and spent the evening with my best friend. We would go to a movie, have dinner, or just go window-shopping downtown together.”

Randolph would not entertain meetings, conference calls, or last-minute question or requests on Tuesday evenings.

“If you had something to say to me on Tuesday afternoon at 4:55, you had better say it on the way to the parking lot. If there was a crisis, we are going to wrap it up by 5:00,” he says.
He said taking time out for his wife for their quality time is what kept him sane and put the rest of his work in perspective.

“I resolved a long time ago to not be one of those entrepreneurs on their 7th startup and their 7th wife.”

Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph co-founded Netflix in August 1997. The company, headquartered in Los Gatos, California, began as DVD rental service.