EA: The Human Story

EA Workers Readying Lawsuit:

http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?comments=34477
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11/11/news_6112998.html

Looks like you are not alone.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11/11/news_6112998.html

http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&threadid=52808

The issue of executive pay always piques my interest. Since EA is a publicly traded company, executive pay is no secret. So here's Probst's 2003 compensation:

http://tinyurl.com/4xkek (http://tinyurl.com/4xkek)

With a base salary of nearly $700k plus a million in bonuses, I'd ask him how many hours a week he works...

If you or your husband are victims of this abuse it is only because you have given permission to EA to abuse you. Step away from it and do something else. You can quit, you can sue, or you can put up with it. It seems that since your husbands employment still continues with EA it is because you either need the money or things are not as grim as they are presented. Remember no one can take advantage of you unless you give them permission to do so. Walk away money is not everything. Furthermore, if your husband is as good as you say he is he might find better employment somewhere else. I am sorry for you but complaining isn’t going to fix anything, it only shows that you are weak and passive. It is your life take charge and quit whining.

We all are a minority of one, if you are not you are common.

"complaining isn’t going to fix anything"

Hello? Look at what it's doing right now. People are realizing that there is a problem in the industry, and mobilizing to do something about it. The point of "whining" like this is to find other people with a common interest, and use it as a jumping off point to do something.

I worked in the game industry for seven years before coming to my senses and doing sensible things with my time like art work for my pleasure with no compensation.
There are only two choices in this situation: leave the game industry or form a union to prevent those kinds of abuses. These stories are far too common...

Unionizing has been attempted at least 3 times at the studio in question. The results are people get fired and when do they have time right now a good chunk of the employees are working 9AM to 2AM they only have time to sleep.

I couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, I made the same complaints the entire time my husband worked for EA. I joked that I was going to start an "Angry Wives" or "EA Widow" club for the other women who spent more time e-mailing or phoning their significant others than seeing them face-to-face. The sad thing is, it's not really funny, is it? Thankfully my husband decided the resume boost and golden noose (ah yes, the "vesting shares" trap) of EA was not worth his health or our marriage. He quit this summer and is starting his own company. Someplace where quality games can be made while people still live creative, content, and quality lives.

If this "cruch-time" did not produce any measurable results, what would be the actual point of having it? I see no benefits to the company.

"crunch-time" is usually a panic measure introduced by incompetent management.

In small doses, like when there's a specific deadline to meet and tasks that need doing by then, it can be benefitial. However, when management see this benefit, their idiot over-simplifying brains think "hey, why not force the staff to be in constant crunch-time, that way we'll get the thing done for half the price".

Of course this overlooks the fact that people are subjected to extended crunch time generally work at well below 50% of their capacity, and end up totally burnt out, with the attitude, ulcers and headaches to prove it.

After years of this, I stopped working for EA.

There is nothing wrong with working hard. Sometimes things happen and you have to fix them. Sometimes you want to add something extra to the effort because you are very proud of what you are working on.

THIS IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING AT EA. They indirectly forcing people to be at the office around the clock because they wear this as a badge of honor. It is in fact a disgrace. Some people are highly compensated for making this happen. Most however just have to look back many years later and ask... what happened to my life, possibly my health.

This does NOT need to occur. EA has creates thousands of games. The are on their 15th version of Madden. This is not putting a man on the moon for the first time.

Most people at EA confuse long hours with working hard. Most are afraid to say the Emperor has no cloths. Those there now are wasting much of their life but will not realize this from many years.

At Industrial Light and Magic we are union. I.A.T.S.E. Call F.X. Crowley at the union 415-441-6400 and unionize.

Except that ILM is not very competitive in terms of pay. Most non-union competitors to ILM pay OT AND better salaries. A union isn't always the answer.. if you can get the same result without a union, even better.

I came here via a link from GameSpot.

I'm very sorry to hear about your So's problems and hope that s/he will be in a better company soon.

As for the person that stated that Gamespot probably wouldn't post it. Surprise.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11/11/news_6112998.html

It appears that this is a rather common story of people being overused by companies. We no longer live in an age where companies care for their employees like family. People are viewed as expendable. So why not work them to death, if the employee will do it. Here is a link to the movement for "Take Back Your Time". Our society today puts little value on family time, time to maintain health, time for spirituality,or time for community.
http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday/

Just think if we all used our actions to show what we felt was important. If we were able to set fear of being unemployed aside to say, "I deserve to have things other than work in my life". Our actions would reflect what so many people are thinking and feeling. Companies WILL NOT stop until people refuse to work these crazy hours. Unions use to help protect the workers, with less unions being used, people need to ban together, make a statement that they want their lives to be different. Make a statement and say, "I choose to live life, rather than be a drone to help someone else retain their millionaire status!" Become involved in what you believe in! You are important. Let Big Corporations know that by talking to others, making a statement to leave after your 8 hours, take your lunch. Now more than ever, support a government that values people more than corporatations. The current administration just recently abolished mandatory overtime for MILLIONS! We can not continue to support an administration that does not value the people of this country, who are the main support for all functioning businesses.
Please express with your thoughts, words, and actions that you and all people are worth LIVING a life and not just merely existing! When we ban together we have strength to make change happen! TAKE BACK YOUR TI:ME!

Though I have never worked for a game development company, I do work in the Computer Information Technology field. I used to work for a Company called Nando Media, and when I first started it was you typical 9-5 job, with a rotating on-call shift. However, after time, the job was turned into 9am-9pm plus additional on-call, short announcments for travel, and NO OVER TIME PAY, NOR COMP TIME. What is funny, however the employee hand book I was given stated in BOLD that COMP TIME was given to all Full Time employee. Did that happen? No. My manager Joesph Overocker (at that time) said if one of his employees wanted COMP TIME, "...they could have all the time off they wanted, just don't expect to return back to work". I remember working 7 days a week, traveling to data centers working 12-14 hour days far away from home without no compensation. So I quit, I took up my issue with the Labor Board and Employment Security Commission, even had three hearings set up but lost. I appealed the Commission's ruling and took the matter all the way up to the state, and still lost. The defendant didn't even show up or show representation. I suppose the state choose to favor busniess over the little guy. The end result was... I was out of work for 7 months, but happy to finally find something else - where I am appreciated, and treated well.

just kinda curious... I mean the Construction Industry has been doing this for years... and it's an expected way of life... you go into that field thats what you expect... 85 hours a week... it's about standard... it amazes me how people expect a certain lifestyle and whine about having to work for it

Well, the construction workers get paid overtime, don't they? Therefore, they are being compensated for the extra work they do.

This breaks down into people wanting one of two things:

1) Honesty about expected hours (because EA is not truthful about crunch time to new hires), AND compensation (such as overtime and comp time) for said hours.

OR

2) Reasonable working hours. Occasional crunch time is okay -- doing it for months on end is not.

If u go to the bathroom, they see nobody is sitting on your chair, so they logout your computer, call another floor employee standing in the line along the wall to login to the computer (it takes between 3 to 15 minutes to login to the computer - not paid of course), also they throw your personal belongings on the floor, when you come back from the bathroom, just pick up your coat and the rest of your belongings and go to the waiting line along the wall and stand for a maximum waiting time 29 minutes).
If you need help about a customer issue, raise your and wait (I had to wait up to 15 minutes), and get a tendinitis. Now if you are waiting for help while you are in "after call" (customer is not on hold, because you respect the customer), then your productivity is reduced and there are punishments for that: 1) They tell you that you are doing very poorly, 2) you stay on the worst schedules (night shifts plus rotating tour bands, 3) you don t get promotions.
What can you do: get hired, go through their paid training (mine was 5 weeks+1 transition week, not good at all, they know nothing about professional training, their trainers are simply people "from the floor", when they interact with the corporate information system, they only know where to click on the screen but they have no idea of what they are doing (i had a trainer who did not know what is the difference between an operating system and a computer), and of course are totally unable to explain what they are doing, if you ask for explanation, they tell you on a disciplining tone: click here I am telling you), anyway, you will have some insight experience of 1) how a "call center" works, 2) the business itself (wireless business, other ...) 3) what a sweat shop is 4) the discrepancy between their glamorous websites and how at Convergys they treat their employees. AND LEAVE after the 7th week (one week on the floor is really an experience you will never forget, it is worth it, because after you really know for what type of company you want to work with). They want you to be parrot, a slave, you will loose your soul if you stay with them. Take their "training money" and run!, this is all they deserve, and maybe this will force companies like this slave trader to change their "staff management model"