How to achieve better work/life balance as a games developer?
October 21, 2010 6:32 PM Subscribe
How can I improve my work/life balance when my job makes extreme demands on my time?
I work for a medium size, independently owned game development studio of around 250 people. On my team it is not uncommon for people to work multiple weekends in a row, with working days varying from 9-15 hours, with 12 being about the norm during our busy periods. As we approach release, our busy periods are getting longer, and closer together.
When I only work 40 to 50 hours a week, my job is enjoyable - even in the higher stress times, I enjoy the extra pressure to a point.
Overall, though, I feel like the company ( a startup with 3 years and a single, critically successful release under its belt ) is now firmly entrenched in the "crunch culture" mindset, and is unlikely to change to more sustainable working practices that would lead to me being happy working there in the long term.
They pay me well, the benefits are good, the people I work with are smart, creative and driven...I just don't get to have as much of a life outside of work as I would like.
Should I try and change the company? Move on before the project is complete? Move on after the project is complete?
The project is due to finish in around six months - but if the team is going to be driven as hard as predict they will for the next six months, I am not entirely sure I can cope with the toll it will take on my personal life.
I work for a medium size, independently owned game development studio of around 250 people. On my team it is not uncommon for people to work multiple weekends in a row, with working days varying from 9-15 hours, with 12 being about the norm during our busy periods. As we approach release, our busy periods are getting longer, and closer together.
When I only work 40 to 50 hours a week, my job is enjoyable - even in the higher stress times, I enjoy the extra pressure to a point.
Overall, though, I feel like the company ( a startup with 3 years and a single, critically successful release under its belt ) is now firmly entrenched in the "crunch culture" mindset, and is unlikely to change to more sustainable working practices that would lead to me being happy working there in the long term.
They pay me well, the benefits are good, the people I work with are smart, creative and driven...I just don't get to have as much of a life outside of work as I would like.
Should I try and change the company? Move on before the project is complete? Move on after the project is complete?
The project is due to finish in around six months - but if the team is going to be driven as hard as predict they will for the next six months, I am not entirely sure I can cope with the toll it will take on my personal life.
I'm in a different industry that has the same mindset, and know that it's almost impossible to change a corporate culture alone if it's above a certain size. I personally would recommend staying until after the project is delivered just to have it on your resume, but work-life balance is a pretty key component in your happiness, and it might be saner to forego the better pay for something that's better for your spirit. Knowing the game development industry, if it's 50 hours a week before launch, it won't be long until you're doing overnight shifts.
posted by Darke at 6:55 PM on October 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Darke at 6:55 PM on October 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
I wish I had a good answer for you. I will say this: I have 12 years experience in the game industry, have sacrificed many a personal lamb at the altar of game development, and I have tried (and failed) to change crunch culture at certain companies at significant professional cost. I now work for a company that works on exciting projects and is devoted to giving their employees a true, crunch-free work/life balance. So there is hope out there, but probably not at the company you're currently working for.
Feel free to memail me if you'd like more in-depth survival advice. :)
posted by pazazygeek at 9:01 PM on October 21, 2010
Feel free to memail me if you'd like more in-depth survival advice. :)
posted by pazazygeek at 9:01 PM on October 21, 2010
You have to leave. I don't necessarily mean leave the company; I mean just. . . go home. My husband worked for 11 years at a famously crunch-time oriented company, and he worked 42 hours a week on average. When other people would ask him how this was possible, he said "At 6:00 PM? I go HOME." With some decent time management, you might even get nearly as much work done as the overnighters, because you'll be better rested and your focus will be better.
If your management team pushes back on you for it, ask if the issue is the amount of work you're getting done or the perception of your face time, and then ask them for a commitment in writing of how much time they expect you to spend in the office. It's possible that forcing them to confront their expectations will lead to some change, but realistically, by the time it gets to that point, you should probably be looking for another job.
posted by KathrynT at 9:09 PM on October 21, 2010 [4 favorites]
If your management team pushes back on you for it, ask if the issue is the amount of work you're getting done or the perception of your face time, and then ask them for a commitment in writing of how much time they expect you to spend in the office. It's possible that forcing them to confront their expectations will lead to some change, but realistically, by the time it gets to that point, you should probably be looking for another job.
posted by KathrynT at 9:09 PM on October 21, 2010 [4 favorites]
My take is that you either want to deal with the hours or you don't; there's really no changing these kinds of places. I work in a different industry, but I've gone a couple of months this year without a day off. After a while you just need to ask yourself whether the job is something that's worth all the sacrifices either because 1) they pay you so much, 2) there's no other jobs, 3) you love it so damn much, or 4) because you don't have a life you want to go home to.
It's a gut check, for sure. I've never seen anyone draw a particularly good line in the sand. Stay (and learn to accept the hours) or go.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:16 PM on October 21, 2010
It's a gut check, for sure. I've never seen anyone draw a particularly good line in the sand. Stay (and learn to accept the hours) or go.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:16 PM on October 21, 2010
If you feel like fighting the battle and you've got anyone in management's ear, consider pointing them towards this article.
Also, seconding KathrynT - very often these things are an obnoxious nexus of what you think is expected, what your colleagues think is expected and what management thinks demonstrates commitment and engagement. You can't win at this game. There will always be someone who thinks they're working harder because they stayed til 10pm and there will always be managers who agree. This is also rife in consulting companies and law firms.
The 'secret' if you want to call it that is to get your work done to the required quality (or better) and then go home. If you're in one of those places where all the management is dreadfully passive-aggressive and 'Uh, Peter, I think we need to have a little talk about your, uh, commitment', that's when you start asking for non-time based metrics for your work and commensurate rewards. Unless you're a shift worker in a factory (and arguably not even then) it shouldn't be about time worked. It should be about results achieved.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:58 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also, seconding KathrynT - very often these things are an obnoxious nexus of what you think is expected, what your colleagues think is expected and what management thinks demonstrates commitment and engagement. You can't win at this game. There will always be someone who thinks they're working harder because they stayed til 10pm and there will always be managers who agree. This is also rife in consulting companies and law firms.
The 'secret' if you want to call it that is to get your work done to the required quality (or better) and then go home. If you're in one of those places where all the management is dreadfully passive-aggressive and 'Uh, Peter, I think we need to have a little talk about your, uh, commitment', that's when you start asking for non-time based metrics for your work and commensurate rewards. Unless you're a shift worker in a factory (and arguably not even then) it shouldn't be about time worked. It should be about results achieved.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:58 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
The only thing that worked at my most recent employer was to say, "I will work as many hours as you want Sunday - Friday. I will not be working on Saturdays as that is the one day I consider to be sacrosanct to spend time with my husband, and I will NOT be working Saturdays." My husband, who also works in the game industry, has said the same to his bosses. Could you institute something similar, where no matter how many hours you're working in the week, you have a commitment to preserve a specific period of time for your personal life?
And just for full disclosure: I quit that old job on Monday and got a job offer for another place that doesn't require weekends, holidays, or overtime. For the same amount of money.
posted by santojulieta at 7:18 AM on October 22, 2010
And just for full disclosure: I quit that old job on Monday and got a job offer for another place that doesn't require weekends, holidays, or overtime. For the same amount of money.
posted by santojulieta at 7:18 AM on October 22, 2010
I lasted about 1 year at an Essentially Analogous studio. The company culture was such that Essentially All of the people there took a lot pride in the ridiculous hours they worked. The company also made it understood that they had Expectations Around (ok, enough of that) how much time you spent in the office by providing a cafeteria and coffee bar that were both open early to late, on-site dry cleaning, a full gym, game room, etc.
I was never able to find a way to manage my workload and still have anything resembling a life outside of the office. Asking around the office and other friends and contacts in the industry showed me that this is just par for the course in game development. I left for greener pastures and am much happier for it.
posted by bluejayway at 9:08 AM on October 22, 2010
I was never able to find a way to manage my workload and still have anything resembling a life outside of the office. Asking around the office and other friends and contacts in the industry showed me that this is just par for the course in game development. I left for greener pastures and am much happier for it.
posted by bluejayway at 9:08 AM on October 22, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'd start looking for someplace else immediately. While it'd certainly be preferable to get another shipped product to your name, six months is a pretty long time to be suffering these conditions. Not to mention that it could easily take you six months to find a comparable job with a more balanced culture--you wanna be there another year?
You could work to fix the company's culture. But, unless you get senior management behind you, it probably won't work. Most people in gamedev are so enamored with the fact that they're working in the industry that they'll put up with whatever shit gets heaped upon them. And the old-timers will all just shrug and say, "That's the way the business is. You either cope or you move on."
If you can get senior management buying into the idea, then you might gain some traction. But, I have yet to meet any software executive who is willing to say, "You know what, y'all are killing yourselves... we can totally delay launch by a month so y'all can go home on the weekends." Most of them have no concept of any style of management but the death march. And, it works out okay for them, since there are always a zillion hackers trying to break into gamedev who'll do whatever it takes, endure whatever atrocious conditions, in order to work in the industry.
posted by Netzapper at 6:44 PM on October 21, 2010 [1 favorite]