Epic Games Is No Longer Giving Staff Time Off On Alternating Fridays
A survey revealed 93% of asked employees thought the policy was “extremely beneficial.”
You Are Reading :Epic Games Is No Longer Giving Staff Time Off On Alternating Fridays
Epic Games has ended a policy it introduced during the pandemic that gave employees time off on alternating Fridays, a policy which employees claim improved their mental health, led to better family lives, and allowed them to be more productive. Epic argues that the policy was always temporary and that many people weren’t benefitting “equally.”
This news comes from an article by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, whose report revealed an internal Slack channel full to the brim with pleading employees, desperate to have Epic reverse its decision. According to a survey of 581 employees reviewed by Bloomberg, 93% felt that the policy was “extremely beneficial” while 90% wanted to keep the current policy.
The argument to justify the end of this policy is flimsy, to say the least. Chief Operating Officer Daniel Vogel allegedly explained in an email to staff that the publisher is “seeing lots of Fridays off for deep work and lots of people who must work Fridays anyway.” Vogel then claims that “many people were not benefitting from this policy equally.”
Epic’s decision to make its staff work longer hours comes shortly after Eidos-Montreal announced that its staff would be moving to four-day workweeks, much to the delight of the developer’s staff and gaming community. Bugsnax developer Young Horses also implemented a similar policy back in September, claiming that it was done to ensure a “healthy, creatively fulfilling business that supports our lifestyles.”
Four-day workweeks certainly aren’t the norm just yet, but Epic’s decision to end this policy despite so many employees claiming it increased productivity and had positive effects on their mental health makes it look all the more callous. Furthermore, Epic has been criticized in the past for its crunch culture when Fortnite exploded in popularity, and the publisher’s work ethic will now be under more scrutiny than ever.
In similarly out-of-touch news regarding Epic Games, the publisher also recently welcomed blockchain games onto the Epic Games Store after Valve banned the use of NFTs and blockchain technology on Steam. Between this and today’s news, Epic seems pretty keen to tank its reputation amongst the gaming community.
Source: gamesindustry.biz
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/epic-games-staff-time-off/