Work Should Not Be An Abusive Relationship.

I’ve spoken here on the blog about things you should do for your video game company (or for the company you want to be your video game company) but there are things your video game company should do for you.  You should enjoy your work and be able to do it until you decide you don’t want to do it any more.  You shouldn’t burn out in five years and need to quit and wander the world with a guitar and the clothes on your back to try and find serenity.

If you manage to get an interview and they mention that 12-hour-days are mandatory, run. You do not want to work for a company that will throw you into extended crunch time right from the beginning.  This is a sign of a company that does not care about its employees and they will throw you to the wolves (or the unemployment line) if it becomes more profitable for them to do that then keep you employed.  Many people think that 12-hour-days are just a part of the industry and it’s to be expected.  They think that if they don’t work 12-hour-days they won’t get hired, or be able to do what they love.  This attitude is what allows companies to get away with this kind of bullshit.  If everyone at a studio stood up and said, “We are not working these inhumane hours any longer,” the studio would have to budge.  Yes, there are people waiting in the wings who would take those jobs in an instant, but then the studio would lose tons of time and money trying to get the entirely new team up to speed.  That’s not profitable.

Work should not be abusive or take advantage of the employee.  There are studios that care about their employees and try to keep them from having to crunch on projects.  Sometimes long hours are inevitable–something went wrong with this build and it needs to go out tomorrow, so people are going to stay late to make sure that gets done.  Expecting to work long hours every once in a while is completely different from being forced to work long hours every day, for weeks and months and years.  That is the kind of working environment that causes people to burn out after a short time in the industry, people who might have been able to make great contributions if their hours hadn’t nearly killed them.

Remember, you want a job that you’ll like.  Just because it’s in the industry doesn’t make it a good job.  You can’t afford to be picky about things like art style or the game you’re working on, but you can’t afford not to be picky about things that are going to seriously effect your mental and physical health.  Work should not be an abusive relationship.