EA: The Human Story

If you do a good job while working 24-7 then you enable who ever came up with this idea. Next time a crisis happens don't do such a good job. Behave like tired people behave - make mistakes. You guys just dig your own grave.

you said this is illegal right? Why can't you guys just get a group together with some pay stubs or just basically something that proves you have been working those insane hours and go to court. I find it hard to believe that there is nothing you can do besides writing this article. There must be some legal form of action you can take to get the money you deserve isn't there?

The problem is more complicated than that.

1) None of these extra hours are really documented, specifically to make this more difficult.

2) If this were a cut-and-dry legal situation, it would've already been resolved - Game developers fall into a legal gray area - software engineers don't get much in the way of protections, but entertainment people do. Our contention is that our jobs are virtually identical to some protected entertainment positions, but these don't apply because the end-result of our efforts is software.

3) People are scared. It sounds lame, but there is a lot of fear of losing one's job, and many companies cultivate this fear to keep people in line.

can you give us any information about when you think it is likely that you will have a court date? Do you think it will take several years? Have conditions there improved at all due to the media attention you have attracted?

oh dude, are you familiar with the legal system in this country? Most cases, if they ever do get a hearing (which can take years), are settled before they ever go to trial. For the most part, years pass by and legal teams send back and forth pounds of depositions, correspondences, pleadings etc. All the while, the attorney fees escalate, time marches by on the calendar, and some magical date looms on the horizon - one that you never can seem to reach because some pleading gets in the way. The legal system in this country is a broken, miserable process and the individual,the plaintiff, rarely sees justice. This case, I can assure you, will probably settle some day in the future, just when the XBOX 4 is debuted at some E3 party with booth babes wearing g-strings that double-down as fiber optic cable. IF you have enough money, and the right kind of legal counsel, you can burry any case in that fragmented, corrupted american legal system. Good fucking luck.

Tax free cigarettes at bargain prices.

sweet, i was reading all this thinking 'i could really use an ad for cheap cigarettes. i don't want one on the side of the page or even a pop-up. i want one right in the responses!'

programmers, marketing associates, developers, script writers, these are the people who make our games. Our worlds of adventure and entertainment come from hours of solidly plugging along on a computer, with a development engine, to create the pixelated worlds we so covet.
Shame on EA. Running these men and women ragged. I like my video games, but not at the cost of someone going home to a cooked dinner, and loving family. No man, no matter what work he does should ever have to tell his wife, he can't come home tonight, theres just too much work to do. I have honestly, never been a supporter of big game firms, simply becasue of the sweatshop like environment there programmers have to live with. I tip my hat and heart to all those men and women toiling in front of a computer for my video game wonderment, thank you, for you folks have given me some great times. Shame on EA.

Someone on /. suggested this, and I just couldn't resist;

http://www.cafepress.com/eaemployee

:)

*ahem*...actually, we generally do get t-shirts.

For my 90 hour weeks at EA, I get a decent-to-excellent annual bonus, comp time, and reasonably valuable stock options as well.

You can look it up. All public companies are required by law to post what they pay their executives. You can find Larry's 2003 and 2004 salary here.

This article was so full of ill-informed, naive, melodrama that I'm honestly shocked it has gotten as much press as it has. You can't swing a stick without whacking 3 or 4 rhetorical fallacies in every paragraph.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, ea_spouse, but this is how the free enterprise system works. Corporations exist to make money. Their sole mission in life is to maximize shareholder wealth. Your comment about EA being a "money farm" made me just scratch my head. Of course EA is a money farm. All companies are. Is this news to you?

It may hurt your feelings to know this, but EA doesn't give a toss about your husband's physical health or his relationship with you. They care about getting a game out on time and making as much money as they possibly can from said product. If your husband is able to contribute to that effort and bring value to the project he is working on while working 80 hours a week, guess what? He's going to work 80 hours a week. If his working 80 hours a week was a problem and his productivity dropped to an unacceptable level, he would be fired. I feel like I'm lecturing a schoolchild, but I honestly don't think you understand this stuff.

If it helps you to visualize, think of your husband as a widget. To EA, your widget-husband has one input and one output. The input is his hours worked and the output is his creative contribution to the project. If they don't get the proper ratio of hours to performance, he will be replaced. And guess what? EA knows the exact expense of finding, hiring and training a new widget to replace him. They would just as soon have the next widget in the box as your husband. He is merely a means to and end, and that end is maximizing shareholder wealth.

My point is this: If EA can work your husband for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for months on end, one of two things is true.

1. The opportunity cost of replacing him is very low. Which means either a) his skill set is widely available or b) people really want to work for EA and are willing to endure whatever abuse they are burdened with.

2. Perhaps the experience of working for EA is worth so much at subsequent jobs that the 80 hour weeks are worth it.

In any event, no one is holding a gun to his head and forcing him to work there. That's the beauty of a free market economy. When the benefits of working for EA are outweighed by the long hours, people will leave on their own. The fact that EA is able to treat people like this means the market supports their actions. Evidently the employees are getting some sort of benefit from EA, otherwise they wouldn't continue to be employees, would they?


--Christopher
admin: lurid.org

Since when do we live in a free market economy? From the wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market):

A free market economy is an idealized form of market economy in which buyers and sellers only carry out transactions to which they mutually agree without interventionism in the form of taxes, subsidies, regulation, or government provision of goods or services beyond simply the protection of property rights and enforcement of contracts..

Due to regulations for healthy working conditions, monopolies, emissions, etc. we do not live in a free market economy. Companies are required by law to pay taxes and ensure the health of their employees, as well as pay overtime to employees that work over 40 hours a week. Nor is "to make as much money as possible" the sole reason for EA (or any corporation) to exist; its an important part, but you would be hard pressed to find a mission statement that says "we want to make as much money as possible for our shareholders", EA's included.

Lets see.. make as much money as possible.. Work our employees 24 hours a day would make as much money as possible. Screw copyright law; lets steal and start selling our competitor's products. Heck, while we're at it, lets screw our customers too, by raising the price and selling them empty boxes!! You know, we're losing money by paying our suppliers; thats money that would go into our pocket..

We do not live in a "free market" economy. That is what makes this whole story atrocious. Just because the market supports their actions does not justify the actions themselves, nor absolve the market of wrong..

Sounds like ea_spouse's partner works in a sweatshop in a underdeveloped country. But wait, this is USA. You can leave your current job with or without reasons.

I was upset on politics of my own country, I came to US, spent several years in a minimal-wage job and attend night-schools.

Then I found a better job, then better job until I met a hairy manager. I quit, find another job with a paycut, but I'm happier.

I never complain, I just vote with my feet! You can choose your life, at least in this country.

When you've spent a few more years in the country, you'll figure out you can also vote with your mind by creating a public relations nightmare for the company in question.

You said "You can choose your life". Did you understand what you meant, or was it just some happy horseshit you've learned to mimic? You're watching people "choose their life" right in front of you.

Life is waaaay too short. I worked for Gremlin in Sheffield that was later taken over by Infogrames - it was never quite as bad as you describe but it was definately heading that way! Now do something much more interesting!

Perhaps you could tells us just how your "lifestyle" is threatened by ea_spouses actions? Or is working 90 hours a week an integral part of this lifestyle?

Many of us in the trenches (and those married/otherwise related to us) are right there with you and your spouse. Cheering you on, out loud or in private.

Keep up the good fight.

It is one well worth fighting.

EA_Spouse: Ignore the trolls and lurkers who now trying to spin your story. The problem is very real, and I really hope by talking about it, and taking action will lead the way into better working conditions.

I was at a coffee shop with my friend. While there, I overheard the conversation from a wide-eyed gal who was so excited to get on board with Blizzard (The word Blizzard cought my attention). She might be college (early 20's) who was so eager to work there because according to her words "hard work pays off." I didn't say much, but it made me think that part of the problem at ITt places is all the exploitation of fresh meat that comes in. And the worst part is that those people believe that the work they put in, will be acknowledge and recognize likewise. Unfortunatly it is not the truth.

Thing is that you husband and other talented workers is not as big pool, as unlimited college drones/wide-eyed kids. And like most of big industry in the past that got away with THE SAME ATTITUDE "Dont like it quit, there are 100 more people waiting at the door."EA seems to be taking the same route. For all the evil(corruption, extortion, mob, money grabbing whores) unions have, they created a great shift in improving the working conditions for most workers USA. Yes mediocrity sets it, but people who are talented and strive DO get rewarded and go further within a union. What is happening now in IT industry is what was going on in lesser degree in manufacturing in 20-30's. I hope major lawsuit will kick all those companies in the teeth.

Ohh and I stopped buying EA's game after buying one incomplete game after another after another, and get their lousy "new features" as patches when in reality the games were in their beta stages pushed to the public. And new features were nothing more then fixes for buggy games that should have never come out in the form it did. EA if you are reading this, most of the people in the gaming community knows your practices and shy away from the games you make. Your games have no soul in them.

Good luck EA-Spouse!

et see.

I work in a union. I started as apprentice, and was paid 24 dollars an hour. Have full benefits. Few years later, I took a test and I became a journeyman. I am more experienced, and I was getting paid more about 27. Five years later, I get paid 32 dollars and hour. Guess what I have to work overtime, and I get it 1.5x and on Sunday at 2x's. Swing/and night shift have bonuses. Also when we work over-time our boss has to be with us as well. The company I work for - STILL MAKES A GOOD PROFIT! (and I get dollar for dollar matching up to 3k on my 401k!) And even though we have inter-union infighting, and we still bitch and moan the work gets done, and most of us are fat, and have big butt cracks, the work gets done well, we offer people advencments and paying for their continual education. I am hitting 86~88k for this year. Unions are bad? Sure they are,but are they worse then h1B situation and all the outsourcing that is going on? And dont believe the load of crap people tell you unions kill companies. Yes, some companies will go down, yes unions USED to strong arm people, and contribute to the party I dont give a shit about, but it really does take care of the people! And because they do, bosses do get paid 100-200k of dollars a month. Why? Because unlike CEO of computer companies, they bring bacon on our table, and take care of our needs. And also because people afraid of being unionized (rightly or wrongly) they create conditions that would match those of union. So HOW IS THAT BAD? Maybe if you are a company and instead of 100 million you will make 50 million. Booo hOoo..

One thing, union is only good for big company...not small, I realize that.

Now ask yourself the same question. Does your company take care of you?


Take Care.

"And dont believe the load of crap people tell you unions kill companies."

Actully, Unions only further the inflation of the American dollar bill in this country, which makes living conditions more expensive, raises the national debt, etc. etc. Its a domino effect.

They dont kill companies; they kill the worth of the American dollar.