Another day,another strikein the game industry as employees try to exercise their leverage against their companies' work conditions. This time, it is the ZeniMax team that istaking a standagainst the remote working policies implemented by parent company Microsoft.
The ZeniMax Workers United-CWA has been recognized by Microsoft since last year, and it remains the largest video game union in the US today.
Although the ZeniMax name is not familiar to everyone,the company owns industry heavy-hitters Bethesda, id Software, and MachineGames, among others.
Workers are taking industrial action in Maryland and Texas today, and will return to the office tomorrow.
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The ZeniMax union has put two issues on the table that concern its workers.
The first issue ZeniMax has brought up is the company’s decision to outsource testing and quality assurance work, which the union argues puts its members at risk as the gaming industry faces the worst wave of layoffs since its inception.
The second problem is the remote working policy being enforced by parent company, Microsoft. In its current format,the Microsoft return-to-office order is completely unflexible.
Workers argue that remote work should not be seen as a perk but as a tool, and sometimes an essential one.
Microsoft is currently dismissing serious medical conditions and medical recommendations for remote work as valid reasons to have access to this.
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This is not the first strike caused by the Microsoft return-to-office policy. Two weeks ago, Activision workers in Texas, Minnesota and Californiarallied outside the company’s officesto support disabled colleagues against the new rules.
A similar directive issued by Ubisofttriggered a strike in September, organized by the the French Video Game Workers Union (STJV).
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The strong response to Microsoft comes in a context ofmajor job instabilityin the gaming industry.
Due towaves of layoffs, new positions are few and far between, and these are now much more competitive due to the amount of talented personnel that suddenly found themselves searching for a job again.
Most workers under the Microsoft umbrella do not have the option to quit and immediately jump to a companythat can accommodate their remote work needs.
It is more than likely that Microsoft factored this in when pushing a policy that was never going to be popular.
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