by Activision Blizzard employees face long and expensive travel as they are instructed to return to the office with little notice.
Activision Blizzard employees are speaking out, claiming they are being forced to return to the office with little notice. This comes as the company apparently ends its remote work scheme, despite some developers stepping away from the office under the assumption that they could continue working from home.
This is also because the cost of living crisis has many worried that they will not be able to afford commuting and will have to pay for more expensive housing closer to the office. Of course, some are also concerned that this will put them at greater risk of contracting Covid-19, particularly if they have specifically sought a remote work position because they are medically vulnerable.
A section of an email allegedly sent by the heads of Activision Blizzard has been shared on Reddit (thanks, VGC). This sees workers being told they will be required to work in the office from April 10th, giving them less than two months of preparation after nearly three years of working remotely.
The Reddit user who initially shared this email, DrHilarious_PHD, says bosses are “denying” requests for disabled workers to continue working from home as they may be more vulnerable to Covid, or simply struggling to get to the office and move on. short term. They also say that workers have started to protest and leave because of this development, so we could see renewed interest in unionizing at Activision Blizzard.
“Unfortunately, the executive branch of Activision-Blizzard-King doesn’t understand how we work in QA, nor do I think it matters to them,” says DrHilarious_PHD. They also say that this April 10th date is “non-negotiable”.
This was supported on Twitter by user @LeastMyHairIsOk, who wrote a thread detailing the situation. They say that “most ABK employees have no interest in returning to their jobs”, but apparently have no say in the matter.
Others are responding to this thread, agreeing that this will have disastrous consequences for employees. Someone even says your commute could take 14 hours, assuming your remote job would stay remote.
Activision Blizzard has not responded to these reports at the time of writing.
