Quality of life for game developers has been a hot topic in this industry over the last several years, especially since the "EA Spouse" controversy. There's been a lot of anecdotal evidence among developers and publishers about improvements to work life, but now the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is looking to get some real information on the matter with a new survey.
IGDA is encouraging all developers to take the survey here. It does not ask for name or company and all information remains confidential. IGDA said it "will provide useful data on the current state of work/life balance in game development so the IGDA can ensure it is meeting the priorities and needs of its members in terms of Quality of Life issues."
The survey actually is a follow-up to a 2004 survey on the subject, and the IGDA will compare the results with those from 2004 to answer questions like: "How have the experiences and priorities of developers changed over the past five years, related to work/life balance? Is the loss of talent to the industry revealed in the first survey continuing? Have the priorities of a maturing industry and workforce changed?"
"Surveys like this one are designed by the volunteer membership to find real data as opposed to anecdotes and stories," said Quality of Life Special Interest Group (SIG) chair Judy Tyrer. “After seeing the results and getting a better picture of where we stand, the Quality of Life SIG will pick some top areas to focus on when championing work/life balance.”
"The IGDA has long been an advocate on the quality of life issues game developers face,” said Joshua Caulfield, executive director of the IGDA. "In a challenging economy, where many studios are faced with difficult decisions about staffing, this data will help developers and managers choose where to focus limited resources. The dialog coming out of the survey will be as important as the data collected."
