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My question here is unlike other fields where law puts them to justice
My question here is unlike other fields where law puts them to justice
I am unfamiliar with other fields. Can you give some examples of the laws you're referring to?
Other fields as in working on simple stores, supermarkets, bakery etc. Some laws I'm referring to are working hours, and laws relating to payment to employees.
My question here is unlike other fields where law puts them to justice
I am unfamiliar with other fields. Can you give some examples of the laws you're referring to?
Other fields as in working on simple stores, supermarkets, bakery etc. Some laws I'm referring to are working hours, and laws relating to payment to employees.
While I can understand that deadlines are to be met, it shouldn't come to extremes such as working on double shifts and getting unpaid still.
The laws in question, at least in the United States, are geared towards hourly workers. There are exceptions for salaried workers, but for the most part, if you work salary, you work whatever hours are required for the same pay.
So far, I have worked for one and a half years and I seem to notice that for the game industry, crunching is impossible to avoid. While I can understand that deadlines are to be met, it shouldn't come to extremes such as working on double shifts and getting unpaid still.
My question here is unlike other fields where law puts them to justice, why is it that law can't do the same for the game industry as a whole?
Crunching is definately possible to avoid. Crunch is a result of management failure, but the front-line workers get the punishment (non-voluntary and/or unpaid overtime)... So why go along with that? It's not fair at all! So just say no, and don't do it.
There's plenty of games studios that Don't do crunch™ by the way.
It also depends what country you're in. Here in Australia, it's illegal to ask an employee to work more than 38 hours a week on average. If you need them to temporarily work more than 38 hours, then you have to pay them for those extra hours (at an increase overtime penalty rate), and give them enough time off in order for their average hours to drop back down to 38.
However, crunch still happens. People don't know their rights, people don't want to "rock the boat", the boss convinces people that he can't afford to pay them fair compensation, etc... which is a shame, because you don't have to put up with such abuse. Just say no.
If everyone says no, then crunch culture ends.
If everyone says no, then crunch culture ends.
It works both ways.
Come to work, work all day, and then go home. If the project is outside of scope it is the project management's fault. However, if people come to work, watch netflix and hulu and youtube, then at the end of the project discover the project it outside of scope, it is still management's fault for not firing the bad worker earlier, but also the worker's fault for not working when they were supposed to work.
Those who work all day every day can happily wave at management as they quietly leave on time, even during crunch requests. These people also tend to arrive bright and early in the morning and tend to appear quite productive relative to others on the team.
Then there are the others on the team. Those who arrive late, watch movies, or surf the web all day during the project might sheepishly leave with the others, or still be there late at night, and would generally be the ones at crunch where the steady workers ignore crunch requests.
Usually those same people who struggled to actually work were the ones hit by seasonal end-of-project layoffs.
If everyone actually works through the workday through the entire project, and if everyone agrees not to do crunch, then it ends and people are transformed into responsible adults. In that office everyone was quietly working by 9 am, and the office was a ghost town before the evening rush hour. Zero crunch yet the work got done.
If everyone says no, then crunch culture ends.
It works both ways.
Come to work, work all day, and then go home. If the project is outside of scope it is the project management's fault. However, if people come to work, watch netflix and hulu and youtube, then at the end of the project discover the project it outside of scope, it is still management's fault for not firing the bad worker earlier, but also the worker's fault for not working when they were supposed to work.
Those who work all day every day can happily wave at management as they quietly leave on time, even during crunch requests. These people also tend to arrive bright and early in the morning and tend to appear quite productive relative to others on the team.
Then there are the others on the team. Those who arrive late, watch movies, or surf the web all day during the project might sheepishly leave with the others, or still be there late at night, and would generally be the ones at crunch where the steady workers ignore crunch requests.
Usually those same people who struggled to actually work were the ones hit by seasonal end-of-project layoffs.
If everyone actually works through the workday through the entire project, and if everyone agrees not to do crunch, then it ends and people are transformed into responsible adults. In that office everyone was quietly working by 9 am, and the office was a ghost town before the evening rush hour. Zero crunch yet the work got done.
Ok then explain this...then why do majority of games in development have deadlines that are almost borderline impossible to accomplish?
How can a game like angry birds take about one week to complete if
1. Level design is to be done carefully
2. The physics/programming has to be done right and
3. The marketing has to be done proper?
I just don't understand this another aspect. Politics often claim gaming as a sort of a threat and ban certain games across various countries like how Mortal Kombat is banned in Australia and yet the law doesn't do any justice for the hard working staff who do honest work.
Like how isn't Konami in trouble knowing of their bad treatment to their employees? Its just ridiculous.
(citation needed)...why do majority of games in development have deadlines that are almost borderline impossible to accomplish?
How can a game like angry birds take about one week to complete...
