Three Ubisoft executives step down after workplace abuse allegations come to light

[WYP]

Ubisoft now seeks to "strengthen its workplace culture"



Read more about Ubisoft losing three of its top-level executives following workplace abuse allegations.

 

[Dicehunter]

I remember hearing a few years ago that working at Ubisoft was quite stressful, Needlessly so infact.

 

[NeverBackDown]

I remember hearing a few years ago that working at Ubisoft was quite stressful, Needlessly so infact.

That's just the nature of software development.

 

[grec]

Yeah the lack of unionisation within a lot of areas of software development, particularly game development, has meant that worker exploitation(Unpaid overtime is a particular issue, but generally high hours and low pay) is the norm even within multi billion dollar companies turning in huge yearly profits.

There's so many people willing to do that kind of work that until the industry unionises (Which is slowly getting underway at least, particularly in game development) there is no motive for the larger faceless profit-motivated companies to provide reasonable work conditions, as their workers are essentially expendable.

My friend who is leading the development of Cassette Beats ditched the non-indie game development scene for this reason(Spurred on by his good experiences working on Starbound), but they've ended up back with a large publisher all over again with this project, though at least they dictate the terms now.

 

[demonking]

Yeah the lack of unionisation within a lot of areas of software development, particularly game development, has meant that worker exploitation(Unpaid overtime is a particular issue, but generally high hours and low pay) is the norm even within multi billion dollar companies turning in huge yearly profits.

There's so many people willing to do that kind of work that until the industry unionises (Which is slowly getting underway at least, particularly in game development) there is no motive for the larger faceless profit-motivated companies to provide reasonable work conditions, as their workers are essentially expendable.

My friend who is leading the development of Cassette Beats ditched the non-indie game development scene for this reason(Spurred on by his good experiences working on Starbound), but they've ended up back with a large publisher all over again with this project, though at least they dictate the terms now.

Unfortunately, in this highly corporatized world we live in, you don't make billions by paying your staff a fair wage. Amazon, Apple or pretty much any company that supplies a physical product or service that requires human labour is extorting its employees and paying as little as they can get away with. Its all good though cos the share holders get to buy a new Ferrari and mansion whilst the guys at the bottom have to work 2 jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and feed their kids, Go capitalism

 

[NeverBackDown]

Unfortunately, in this highly corporatized world we live in, you don't make billions by paying your staff a fair wage. Amazon, Apple or pretty much any company that supplies a physical product or service that requires human labour is extorting its employees and paying as little as they can get away with. Its all good though cos the share holders get to buy a new Ferrari and mansion whilst the guys at the bottom have to work 2 jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and feed their kids, Go capitalism

While I agree that companies that large should do more, those people at the bottom of those large companies shouldn't be making enough to put a roof over their heads and feed kids. It's a low skill job. It shouldn't be a career job with a high paying salary. If that was the case, nobody would want to work harder just for a tiny bit more money.

If they were doing specialized work in the factory, like an electrician keeping all the electronics working smoothly, then that's different. But to move one Amazon box from point A to point B? A 12 year old could do that.

I feel like what I said above was a little vague and misled you both.

As for what I meant, this stress environment and harsher working conditions exist mostly in the Game Development industry and less so in normal software development. The reason is most game studios have an income of 0 and rely on investors to keep the game funded through development, often times not taking any personal income. Which means they are on a time limit to get the game out to make money. This is why it's more stressful, however you choose to be there. So it's not the companies fault.

Normal software jobs are much different. You're providing a constant service generally and have monthly customers or ads running 24/7 that can fund you. A more consistent income for the company means they can better treat their employees to free food, beer, gym, etc. Which is common in the US.

 

[grec]

Any form of manual labour has inherent value, a construction worker or care home worker might not need a degree to their jobs, but they are far more important to society than a lot of "skilled professionals", I think people should be paid for what they offer to society, not what the rest of society deems the "skill level" of their work (And I don't think requiring education really equals high skill, I genuinely and wholeheartedly believe that the job of say a carehome worker requires more skill and emotional strength than any banker(Or electrical engineer, yes) for example).

An Amazon worker is critical to the delivery of thousands of parcels a day each, they work at rates that are extremely physically demanding and within harsh and stressful environments, if they're one of the most critical parts of the sale of thousands of pounds worth of goods a day then they should at least earn enough money to be able to eat properly and put a roof over their head imo (No ones saying everyone should be on $50K a year or something, just a living wage). (ofc same goes for the textile workers that make our clothes, the factory workers that make our electronics, the delivery drivers, the fruit pickers, the cleaners, the ground maintenence men ect, none of these low paid "low skilled" jobs are unimportant or not physically demanding or emotionally intensive or draining)

But to be honest, given the shortage of skilled work in modern nations even pre-Covid, I think everyone should be entitled to a survivable income anyway. People arn't working 6 hour Amazon contracts because they want to, they're doing it because the job markets are saturated and even skilled workers can often no longer get jobs with enough contract hours to earn a steady income. Physics graduates working in McDonalds, Waterspoons, ect is way way more common than you'd think.

(Obviously, any kind of indie production or low scale production has inherent risks, but a company like Ubisoft, EA, Activision, ect? Why should the CEO get the bulk of the profit for the fruits of the labour of the worker on <£15/hour)

 

[The_Crapman]

A lot of people who work stupidly long hours do so because they love their job and they want the game/company to succeed. Some overtime may go unpaid, but that applied to a lot of other jobs too. I've worked over well into the evening to get a report finished because the deadline has been brought forward, not because i would get paid for it, not because I was told I had to (I was actually told to go home and not worry about it), but because I cared about my job. On the flip side I've gone and done overtime weekends in QA come crunch time and every one got double time, pizzas, pop, snacks etc.

Working in the game industry is amazing and if you get the chance it's just a dream come true (and broken at the same time. lol), but obviously in some places they've got it wrong and the people in charge of management and hr need to be accountable. But it can happen anywhere, happened with my manager at a call centre job I had. Got into an affair with someone, got messy, he was dismissed.

Ubisoft seem to be taking the right steps to resolve and prevent the abuse problems, but anyone who works in the games industry knows there will be times of 12 hour days, working at home on the weekends etc. But on the flip side it can also be extremely relaxed, potter off for a fryup in the canteen, hold meetings at the onsite pub, cut around and chat , play games etc, but people seem to forget about the good things.