Title
Do game developers want a union?
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
3-2015
Abstract
Since game developers are skilled knowledge workers in project-based environments, it is assumed that they seek individual solutions to their employment challenges. However, recent data shows that many game developers are interested in workplace or industry representation and collective action. In a 2014 survey, 43.5% of the sample agreed or strongly agreed that they would rather raise workplace problems through an employee organization than as an individual. The same survey found that 36.3% of the sample would vote for a union at their studio and 55.7% would vote "yes" for an industry-wide union like the actors' or writers' unions. This talk will present data from surveys and interviews with game developers over a 10-year span to document trends in quality of life and working conditions. It will present attitudes towards collective representation to elicit debate about the viability of more robust collective action among game developers.
Notes
Presented at the Game Developers Conference, San Francisco and accessible at https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1021936/Do-Game-Developers-Want-a