LogIn80 Level Research surveyed 500+ gaming industry professionals to gain insights into workplace culture and different ways of supporting employees’ mental health.
Industry professionals from 56 countries shared their experiences on emotional well-being at work, burnout prevention, leadership, the hiring process, and layoffs.
Image credit: Joran Vergoessen
Beyond Exhaustion: Mental Health and Burnout in the Workplace
“In the game development industry where people work for really long hours, where a lack of managerial skill and the toxic idea that our passion is what keeps us employed, all make it harder to maintain ones’ well-being.” — From the podcast with Eve Crevoshay, Executive Director at Take This
In order to maintain employees’ mental health, the majority of companies offer flexible schedules and remote work options (63%) and strive to create an inclusive work culture (41%). However, not a lot of studios provide a 4-day work week (7%) or train their managers to support employees’ mental health (13%). Surprisingly, 19% of respondents said their companies don’t take any measures to improve the work environment and mental health.
Remote Work Is Here To Stay
After the pandemic, about half of respondents continue to work fully remotely (47%). 33% of specialists use a hybrid work format, and only 15% of respondents work fully in a physical office.
The majority of respondents would prefer working from home in order to take care of family and be able to save money on childcare and commuting. This applies especially to new employees who started their careers after the pandemic; professionals feel a sense of unfairness because those who worked for the company before the pandemic remained remote.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
One of the other efforts that is valued by employees is a company’s attention to diversity and inclusion. It’s worth noting that more than 50% of companies don’t take any actions to support diversity, equity, and inclusion among workers (52%). As for other studios, a quarter of them often use inclusive hiring practices (26%), and 18% implement training courses for employees. Besides that, not many industry players set up diversity and inclusion goals or conduct surveys among employees to monitor and assess the environment in the company.
“It’s important to bring successful practices from different sectors into a community with diverse demographics and aspirations. This requires active listening and going into the field to understand the unique dynamics and needs. The foundation of these efforts lies in effective communication and respect, fostering an environment of continuous change and adaptation.” — From the interview with Dr. Tan Chin Ike, Head of School & Associate Professor at Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU / APIIT).
Four Ultimate Components of Employees’ Loyalty
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is considered to be an important metric for measuring
employees’ loyalty to the company. The concept is widely popular and adopted in several established and emerging industries. 80 Level has executed factor and regression analysis aimed at spotting the factors influencing the eNPS of a company and the score rating from individuals.
Our survey revealed a negative eNPS score (-19%) that demonstrates a certain level of disloyalty among most professionals, from an emotional point of view. Respondents aren’t willing to recommend their companies to job seekers.
- All 5 of the test scores load onto the first factor (Managers’ Mindfulness), being integral for the eNPS score. All 5 of the manager component scores are higher than 0.85;
- The second factor (Company’s Care for Employees Wellbeing) also indicates that these 3 factors have a communal effect in determining the eNPS score. The component scores of 0.6 and higher among these 3 questions are included in the factor;
- The third factor (Remote Work Support) showed high component scores with the satisfaction of remote work policies with a component score of 0.725 and a negative component factor of 0.915 — the pandemic’s influence on remote work policy contributing to the overall eNPS;
- Last but not least, “The Experience” is one of the other major factors contributing to the eNPS score, with the compound score close to 1–0.758. This factor included 3 sub-factors, such as the level of specialty, number of years working at the company, and number of years in the video game industry in general.
Furthermore, the research team ran a regression analysis in order to help determine the impact of independent variables (the factors above) on the dependent variable (eNPS) and to make predictions or draw conclusions based on the observed data. The independent variables included the experience of the individuals, the management style/mindfulness, the remote work policy, and the level of care provided by the employers for employees' mental health. Independent variables collectively explain approximately 60% of the variability observed in the eNPS. This is indicated by the standard R square value of 0.6, which represents the proportion of the variance in the eNPS that can be accounted for by the independent variables.
Want to explore more? Check out the 80lv talk on Gamescom Asia 2023 where our Lead of Market Research Viktoria Steshina summarises key insights from the research and navigates the challenges of the game development industry, addressing the pressing issue of workplace culture's impact on mental health.
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