Eighteen Months Without a Day Off

Worked in the game industry shipping a game that rather unexpectedly became a global phenomenon that absolutely none of us were prepared for. Solution? Have producers coordinate teams in time zones across the world so that devs get to sleep but work continues. Except... as the more junior producer, I had no bargaining rights for time off, even for just a weekend. After over 18 months without a day off and not getting more than 3 hours of sleep at a time (gotta meet with those global teams!), my body just gave up. I ignored the resting heart rate of 120, blood pressure through the roof, constant migraines (industry standard, they say), but then tremors, GI issues, memory & hair loss started to get me worried.

A game-industry producer describes shipping a wildly successful global game while coordinating teams across time zones. The joke is that a solution meant to let developers sleep instead created an exploitative schedule, leaving the junior producer severely sleep-deprived and suffering alarming health problems. It is shared as a darkly humorous reaction to burnout, crunch culture, and overwork. EN: A game-industry producer describes shipping a wildly successful global game while coordinating teams across time zones. The joke is that a solution meant to let developers sleep instead created an exploitative schedule, leaving the junior producer severely sleep-deprived and suffering alarming health problems. It is shared as a darkly humorous reaction to burnout, crunch culture, and overwork.

• @gentoomemes / 4991 2023-06-18