This is a people management issue as much as it is a business one. These workers are leaving Blizzard for a better deal, so it’s up to Blizzard to either adapt or learn to live with high turnover.
I can’t say I’ve ever run a billion-dollar corporation (nor would I want to). But I’ve done the manager/senior VP thing and the one consistent lesson I learned is that you have to treat your workers well. You don’t need to bend over backwards for them all the time (because that’s just silly), but you do have to make sure their work conditions are healthy and happy enough to maximise their output. If remote work will achieves that goal and potentially more, then why not?
You are free to find employment elsewhere. Thats your right.
And from my experience of knowing business owners and
managers of businesses, I can safely say no one wants to
work any more because they hate rules.
I know one office manager who deals with entitled kids all day. They are constantly on their phones when there is work that needs to be done. They call out constantly despite being paid quite well for their skill sets.
They complain about lack of money when they drive 60k dollar cars which they dont need but they feel entitled too.
Its everywhere and its not a good thing.
Just maybe not for Blizzard anymore when there are much more attractive companies with better conditions, a better reputation and better salary.
Back then Blizzard could afford to get people in with sh’tty conditions because working at Blizzard was a big glow up for the resumee. Today people might pity others for having worked at Blizzard. It’s not worth that much anymore.
Thats all probably true, and they may! It does not change the fact that they still moved outside of commuting distance on their own. If it was agreed to and contracted by ABK, they would have a leg to stand on. But if you choose to make that unilateral decision on half-information (believe the WFH would become standard), then they are the ones to blame.
ABK is definitely not in the best light by trying to force the workers back fast and without tact… it could have been handled better. That they are not absolved of. But ABK didnt put themselves in this position, a group of employees did.
So if they can’t find anyone to work for what they want to pay, while following the rules they want their employees to follow…
Should they:
A) Take a look at their “rules” to see if there is any wiggle room.
B) Pay more to acquire employees willing to follow these rules
C) Do neither and complain that none of these entitled kids want to work anymore.
I can attest to this. Literally been working on some code for 16 hours now and had like 2 mini naps where after I woke up I suddenly knew how to solve the problem. Can’t wait for Friday and to rest a little. It’s amazing what having control of my own time does.
My husband worked from home long before Covid. His whole department did. Some vp decided all employees must go into the office 3 days a week. Now he drives an hour each way to sit in an office using his own equipment that he has to lug in from home. He works less now because he clock watches to get out and on the road. He was more productive at home.
Seeing the same thing with my company: Employees walking out the door to take jobs with employers who only really have to do a little to make them happy.
That “little” can really be very little. WFH when you’re racking up $150-300 a month in tolls is more money in your pocket without getting a raise.
And all of those who wish to dismiss the WFH productivity of others, you’re on a video game forum during work hours. Get back to work! You need to look busy for your manager!
You must be a wizard then, knowing what other people you don’t even know did.
My husbando is a software developer and consultant in the field for customers and he has spent 2 1/2 years working from home at almost all times during Covid. It was very rare to see him go to the office for urgent stuff or meeting customers in person.
When he was working I couldn’t get near his office at home at all. Very often he had phone meetings or was busy instructing his customers and every ~2 hours he came by to have a short conversation with me for 2 minutes, while the coffee machine was running, and then went back to work and even when he was just programming, he didn’t want to be disturbed. He must’ve done something right, he was promoted a few months ago. His company even had record profits during Covid, so all the employees obviously worked a lot, otherwise they would’ve lost their customers.
A.) Predatory employer that has the mindset of “it is a PRIVILEGE to work for us so we will pay you less for the same work you’d get paid more for in most other places” where you’re just an expendable cog in the machine
B.) The woke agenda creating a design crisis where companies are too spineless to take any kind of remote risk in writing and design that might upset any one of the crybabies that have been manipulating society at large to cater to their mental delusions for the past decade-ish after desperately trying to reassure everyone that the “slippery slope” didn’t exist. “We need to pander to as many fringe demographics as possible!” and then a little while later they write themselves into holes where the higher ups say “No no no no no you absolutely CANNOT have ANYTHING remotely bad happen to X fringe demographic pandeering character because that will upset everyone” so the writers have to start desperately writing around all kinds of nonsense to make the cobbled together narrative make sense and then they have to just make every new story as simple and safe as possible to avoid those “writing into a wall bc bosses insane rules” moments in the future