Activision Blizzard Contract Workers Allege Toxic Work Culture
Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.
In the wake of the recent lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, new stories are surfacing concerning working conditions at the publisher, including accounts of what contract workers like QA testers are experiencing. In the California state agency lawsuit against the company, Activision Blizzard employees are alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct and discrimination on a large scale.
Following the filing of the lawsuit in July, many workers have spoken of their experiences at the company, including their attempts to seek help and enact change when issues arose. However, employees tell of a “broken” HR department at Activision Blizzard that allegedly often left people who had been mistreated or harassed feeling hopeless and frustrated.
A new report from Polygon details how contract workers claim to have been “crushed” by systemic problems at Activision Blizzard, despite their original hopes of breaking into the industry by working with the company. Polygon spoke to multiple QA testers and customer service workers, all of whom work or worked with Activision Blizzard through contracts. One of the biggest complaints was a lack of job stability, even though many have allegedly been required to work long hours for little pay, sometimes “with rates as low as $12 an hour […] seven days a week for at least 10 hours a day.” However, contract workers feel compelled to tolerate these conditions because “Job security is so uncertain” in the industry; one worker said, “I just really want to be able to afford to live.”
These working conditions made securing a full-time job more appealing, creating a “rat race” that many struggle to escape. Some of those who spoke with Polygon accused Activision Blizzard of encouraging a “Use, dispose, repeat” system with its contract workers, where “New people are brought in each week” in order to keep labor cheap. One employee stated this structure is encouraged by game sales, especially when it comes to QA testers. Despite alleged grueling work hours - and “verbal abuse at the hands of angry players,” in the case of customer service representatives - the company is said to treat contract workers as “low-skilled” or “unskilled” because they’re not “real” developers or team members, leading to them often being shut out from other departments or teams.
Attempts have been made by Activision Blizzard leadership to show its problems are being or will be addressed, but many argue these haven't been enough. Company executives have issued multiple statements to employees, most of which have been met with negative responses by the gaming industry and community. Some point out the conflicting nature of Activision Blizzard's responses to the lawsuit. Time will tell how the company changes in response to these allegations.
Source: Polygon
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