The horror of working for EA

[Erwin_Br]

I knew working in the games industry can be tough; long working hours, crunch mode and such. But Electronic Arts seems to take it a bit too far according to this blog:

A brief excerpt:

The current mandatory hours are 9am to 10pm -- seven days a week -- with the occasional Saturday evening off for good behavior (at 6:30pm). This averages out to an eighty-five hour work week. Complaints that these once more extended hours combined with the team's existing fatigue would result in a greater number of mistakes made and an even greater amount of wasted energy were ignored.

The stress is taking its toll. After a certain number of hours spent working the eyes start to lose focus; after a certain number of weeks with only one day off fatigue starts to accrue and accumulate exponentially. There is a reason why there are two days in a weekend -- bad things happen to one's physical, emotional, and mental health if these days are cut short. The team is rapidly beginning to introduce as many flaws as they are removing.

And the kicker: for the honor of this treatment EA salaried employees receive a) no overtime; no compensation time! ('comp' time is the equalization of time off for overtime -- any hours spent during a crunch accrue into days off after the product has shipped); c) no additional sick or vacation leave.

Full article (read and shiver): http://www.westcoastpirate.com/weblog/archives/2004/11/electronic_arts.html

--Erwin

[Bc9b]

Ummmmmm...

http://forums.idlethumbs.net/showthread.php?p=19199

Sorry man, you've been beat.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

You have to remember, however, that those employees chose to work for EA. Nobody forces them to stay, they can leave any time they want. EA are obviously fascist c&%#s who don't give a damn about the general well being and morale of their people, so why stay?

[Erkki]

Apparently a lot of them are quitting. EA's turnover rate is about 50% I read (don't know exactly how that's calculated though).

[Chris]

  Intrepid Homoludens said:

You have to remember, however, that those employees chose to work for EA. Nobody forces them to stay, they can leave any time they want. EA are obviously fascist c&%#s who don't give a damn about the general well being and morale of their people, so why stay?

I suspect that a lot of people harbor long (sometimes even lifelong) dreams of working in the games industry, and they'll take what they can get, even if that means working for EA. They stay because they're hoping it will get better. I'm not saying they should, but leaving a shitty job in the industry you idolize is probably easier said than done.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Go in for a year, then leave. Personally that's what I would do, stay for the experience, then leave for my mental and physical health. Besides, everyone in the industry by now knows EA abuses its people. There's no excuse for staying if it fooks up your life, or your decided excuse for a life.

[Chris]

Yeah, it's clearly not worth any perceived benefits, but I suspect some people just sort of give themselves up. I agree with you of course, though.

[spaceship789]

There may be a legal problem with not paying the overtime, but I see no ethical problem with it if they mentioned it in your job description. Its common knowedge that to ship a game you have to work long hours. If you don't want to work ridiculous hours - don't work there.

When you are young, you can work the hours no probs, you get to brag to your friends, and you get the self satisfaction of shipping a product. Its much better to be doing it tough on a winning team, than doing it easy on a team that misses deadlines, gets dropped by their publisher, gets a bad reputation, and is just not good to have on your CV.

Its definitely not the job to have when you're trying to bring up a family. But if you want a job straight out of uni that will increase your work ethic, get your confidence up, and look great on your CV, then the games industry is a great job!

[MrHoatzin]

As everybody knows, people in creative fileds are at their most dedicated when their superiors are incompetent, megalomaniacal and vicious.

[Erwin_Br]

  Bc9b said:

Ummmmmm...

http://forums.idlethumbs.net/showthread.php?p=19199

Sorry man, you've been beat.

I blame the Thumb's layout, for I never read the news on the front page. Not that I'm too lazy to scroll down, mind you. It's a psychological thing.

--Erwin

[Bc9b]

They could pay a consultant a million dollars to take away the psychological barrier and get you to read the news page, or they could just do it like most small sites and put the news first and make the news show the new articles. Or they could pretend that they are a big site that actually updates more than once a week.

I still love you guys though

[ThePope]

  Chris said:

I suspect that a lot of people harbor long (sometimes even lifelong) dreams of working in the games industry, and they'll take what they can get, even if that means working for EA. They stay because they're hoping it will get better. I'm not saying they should, but leaving a shitty job in the industry you idolize is probably easier said than done.

Not to mention working at EA (the largest, richest, and most powerful game development studio in the world, or so i believe) is to some the greatest thing they could do for their resume. Its just like Hollywood its all about what youve done.

[Roderick]

  Bc9b said:

They could pay a consultant a million dollars to take away the psychological barrer and get you to read the news page, or they could just do it like most small sites and put the news first and make the news show the new articles. Or they could pretend that they are a big site that actualy updates more than once a week.

I still love you guys though

"It's the dichotomy that keeps gamers coming back!"

[Bc9b]

I looked up dichotomy at Dictionary.com, I thought about it, pondered till my head exploded, and I still have no idea what the hell you are talking about.

I feel week. I'm going to lay down for a while. And finish my speach on Shrodinger’s Cat.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

  Bc9b said:

I looked up dichotomy at Dictionary.com, I thought about it, pondered till my head exploded, and I still have no idea what the hell you are talking about.

I know exactly what he's talking about. And you are a plebeian

[manny_c44]

I'm not sure the ganja smoking, sombrero wearing smilie was the best way to end that post...

[Intrepid Homoludens]

So what? I was dreaming of a freshly made ice cold margarita when I posted that.

[Erkki]

  Intrepid Homoludens said:

I know exactly what he's talking about.

Which dichotomy is that?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Both of them!

[Jaero]

I hope you like the good press, jerkoffs. The New York Times has a story which investigates Electronic Arts' formal policy of hiring young, naive people called, "When Long Hours at a Video Game Stop Being Fun". They describe EA's programmers as "toiling like galley slaves", and a comment from the former founder of the company says that EA is a corporate "Picture of Dorian Gray".

Retribution is at hand, pigs.

[manny_c44]

Here are some hilarious quotes just in case you guys don't want to read the whole thing:

"Jeff Brown, a company spokesman, declined to comment on E.A. Spouse's allegations. Mr. Brown did say that the company was interested in its employees' opinions, as illustrated by its employee survey, conducted every two years. This suggests that it needs to conduct a survey to learn whether a regular routine of 80-hour weeks is popular among the salaried rank and file."

"After Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, spent a sabbatical last spring as a researcher at the company, he wrote, "I am 43 and I felt absolutely ancient during my time there." He said the place felt to him like "Logan's Run," the 1976 science fiction movie in which no one is allowed to live past 30 - and he felt even older when he realized that the 20-somethings were too young to know the reference."

[DanJW]

80 hour weeks during crunch time are far from unheard of in the game industry (indeed, pity the poor, elite testers who have been known to pull the occasional 24+ hour shift). The difference seems to be that normally the time is volunteered. If an employee does not want the overtime they can go home as normal with no hassle or ill-will. The core team often care about their game so much that they want to stay and save the game. EA is the first I've heard of a company demanding these kind of hours from people.

[Jaero]

  Treesus said:

80 hour weeks during crunch time are far from unheard of in the game industry (indeed, pity the poor, elite testers who have been known to pull the occasional 24+ hour shift). The difference seems to be that normally the time is volunteered. If an employee does not want the overtime they can go home as normal with no hassle or ill-will. The core team often care about their game so much that they want to stay and save the game. EA is the first I've heard of a company demanding these kind of hours from people.

That, and most decent employers will pay you what you earn in overtime, and compensate you with off time, etc. Instead of being an individual, there you're an asset.

[Bc9b]

  Quote

And you are a plebeian

  Reveal hidden contents

I hope you are not polluting the air with all your smoking. The ozone layer will melt and THEY will have to cut off your cancerous skin.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

  Bc9b said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I hope you are not polluting the air with all your smoking. The ozone layer will melt and THEY will have to cut off your cancerous skin.