Ubisoft Montreal in Turmoil Amid What Developers are Calling Broken Promises

IGN writes: "On September 11, most of the over 4,000 employees at Ubisoft Montreal returned to office in Montreal’s Mile End for the first time in three years. But hardly anyone seems happy about it, and many are furious at what they’re calling broken promises from Ubisoft leadership."

[Jin_Sakai]

All this over working 2 days a week in the Office? Doesn’t surprise me coming from western developers.

“Montreal employees are expected to work a minimum of two days a week out of the office. "

[lodossrage]

Well 2 days a week or not, a broken promise is a broken promise.

According to the article, management told these workers they would be allowed to be 100% remote. 2 days a week is still lax sure, but it doesn't change the fact these workers were told one thing yet given something different.

[Jin_Sakai]

I guess they’ll learn to keep their mouth shut next time. They brought this on themselves.

[Crows90]

Right and I'm sure it was a promise made without any conditions...

There's a reason companies are trying tk get people back into the office. If performance across the board was the same or better then they wouldn't want to go back to the office....however, performance across the board is not at 100% it's less. Working from home is a privilege for the team.

[MrCrimson]

circumstances change. They were promised 0 remote at one point. They can quit and go somewhere else- the reason they are complaining on IGN instead of doing that is that there is nothing better.

[abstractel]

@MrCrimson Ah, yes, the old "If you don't like it, leave" argument. The same used when if you don't like the politics in your country you should just move. Consider what they are doing instead to be fair act of standing up to broken promises. They have a right to voice their concerns if this is true. Maybe quite a few people will leave, but that doesn't mean they should just leave quietly. There are also many reason you might not want to leave and hope management changes their minds so it's worth it to speak out.

[isarai]

Pfft hahaha 🤣, yeah you go ahead and let people walk all over you Jin, as if that'll earn you some favor in their eyes. You're just as disposable to them as pair of cheap shoes. Licking their boots won't change that.

[Jin_Sakai]

I know corporate don’t give a shit about you but do tell how working at home is better for game development?

[fsfsxii]

jin sakai is only concerned about worker's rights if their rights will affect the development of his favorite vidya gaem

[Shiore2u]

@Jin_Sakai
Not every white collar job requires you to occupy empty space in an archaic office setting. I can speak as someone that's been working from home since covid started. I do VFX for a living, which can fall within game development among other things.

No commute. I don't need to wake up an hour in advance. No traffic making me late. No traffic coming back taking up my free time. Save on gas. Which in a recession is a godsend. I can focus on what needs to get done for the day without being pestered by others for unrelated work things because my domicile isn't a rotating door. Meetings are cut and dry. I save on time cooking lunches for myself in the kitchen. No need to overpay at an overpriced restaurant in the area. If family needs me I'm closer since my place of work is further out. Overall It's far more relaxing, better for my mental and financial health and has allowed me to improve on my craft.

[DaReapa]

@Shiore2u

"No commute. I don't need to wake up an hour in advance. No traffic making me late. No traffic coming back taking up my free time. Save on gas. Which in a recession is a godsend. I can focus on what needs to get done for the day without being pestered by others for unrelated work things because my domicile isn't a rotating door. Meetings are cut and dry. I save on time cooking lunches for myself in the kitchen. No need to overpay at an overpriced restaurant in the area. If family needs me I'm closer since my place of work is further out. Overall It's far more relaxing, better for my mental and financial health and has allowed me to improve on my craft."

1000% on everything stated here! My company tried implementing the exact same return to office policy as Ubisoft, but fortunately for me, I have an immediate supervisor that went against the grain and allowed us to continue work from home permanently. That's a hard custom to break once you've become accustomed to it for 3+ years.

[crazyCoconuts]

Not if your have actual skills. You'd find companies bending over backwards to retain you. When it's working well it's a mutually beneficial relationship.

[shadowknight203]

Shiore is 10000% right. I'm not a remote worker, but the facts speak for themselves here. If a job isn't necessary to work in an office, than why put undue hardship on your employees for the facts stated here, I can argue undue hardship is being done. Remember lockdowns, just 15 days to curve the virus? Then it was 30, then it was 30 more, this same can apply to 2 days a week, then its 2 days a week, turns to 3, then it'll be back to the normal 5 day system for everyone involved. Just because it doesn't effect me, or you, doesn't mean it shouldn't. The reason why we as a global society are in such turmoil across the globe financially (recession) has alot to do with every one of us complying. Doesn't matter what the topic is, if we see facts that stand to reason, and in order to comply those facts go against that reason, we need to stop complying. Plain and simple. There's a reason here in America the movement of "we will not comply" is taking form, and I'm seeing it in other parts of the world too. We as a human species need to stand for our rights together, if it affects 1 of us, then we need to see it as it affects all of us. This isn't 2010 anymore, alots changed in a short amount of time. Imagine what'll happen if we keep on letting these corporations boss us around.

[thecodingart]

Why are you talking towards something you clearly haven’t experienced or know almost nothing about?

GTFO

[jwillj2k4]

2 days turns to 3 turns to 4 etc. Learn to read between the lines.

[shadowknight203]

Someone here knows and speaks sense. And reason. 3 disagrees. Shows u how many sheep continue to be herded here.

[Binarycode]

Are you Japanese, where they work you to the bone, social status, looked down on if you don't earn a certain amount.

No employer gives a toss about it's workers unless they are high-end and pulling in big money. All people are replaceable.

But a Promise is a Promise. Don't give them out if you can't keep them.

[shinoff2183]

That's not completly true. Some employers actually care.

Couple instances.

I was on my way to work one day decided to hit up peach street(street with the mall and numerous other plazas, best buy, etc It goes on for 2 miles of stores and fast food) I broke down in the middle of the road 4 to 6 lane traffic. One of the owners sons towed me to the part store paid for my part and put it in. I went to pay it back when I got paid and they wouldn't let me.

Another, we have a guy thats about to retire next spring, he's slipping(in the head) they are letting this guy finish it out so he doesn't have to go find another job until then.

I've been there for 12 years and they legit seem to care. Now I've worked at a few bigger corporate type places and those type of places don't seem to give two fks about anyone and anyone is replaceable.

[sadraiden]

Go worship your corporate overlords justifying their real estate investments somewhere else.

We call your behavior "bootlicking".

[crazyCoconuts]

Oversimplification that demonstrates you've never had the responsibility of building an effective team. The world is too complicated to just go around and call people derogatory terms to shut down their opinion and think you're right to do so

[shadowknight203]

Sorry about antongonizing you in previous comments Raiden. You have my respect now. 🙏

[StarkR3ality]

The thing is, I have a very similar set up for my staff, but the workplace have every right to call you into the office full time if needs be. But then they better be prepared to have people leaving and being unhappy if there was a promise that was broken.

Broken trust = Unhappy staff looking for other employmant.

[-Foxtrot]

If people can work from home they should be able to, I wish I could, I literally wish I had a job that allowed me to do that because getting to work when you don't drive is a bitch including the travel costs

Companies all over the world are scared because COVID has shown people that this was always a possibility and now these companies are paying for massive offices that they don't really need, thus loosing money including the landlords who most of them rent off.

[crazyCoconuts]

If companies thought that their work force would be just as effective working from home, they would sell their office space. Why would they pay unnecessary expenses?

[shadowknight203]

The only thing I'm concerned about is the idea that corporations will push for office use again, only to reason with the idea that "okay we will 'allow' you to work from home, but we require surveillance in your home from all hours of working" and that just reminds me of a dystopia Orwell's 1984. I mean, even moreso than what it is today.

[-Foxtrot]

@crazyCoconuts

I always assumed it was something to do with landlords and upsetting that kind of ecosystem.

If suddenly a lot of offices started to close down or downsize then these big greedy landlords would be f***** and a lot of these office blocks in your city will just be empty. That kind of ecosystem being disrupted is NOT a problem the Governments we have today want to deal with because it means changing things and I really don't think they can be arsed to put in the work. It's why a lot of things in the world stay the same even though new systems would be better for us because the excuse always seems to be "that's how it's always been".

Also companies want people back in the office because its easier for them to keep tabs on us, they want to know exactly what we are up to. I know some people who work places where they literally time how long you've went for a bathroom break and if you are a minute over or something they'll have a word with you. That kind of shit is just petty to me.

[crazyCoconuts]

@fox yes landlords would be f'ed but leasing would be cheaper as a result. Unless the company was into real estate it should be happy to downsize.
In regards to tracking what you're doing while they're paying you, yeah, they tend to do that. It's kinda their prerogative don't you think?

[ChasterMies]

Let’s put to rest the myth that the Western work is lazier than the Eastern worker or that killing yourself for your corporate masters is virtuous behavior.

[DarXyde]

Jin_Sakai,

As others have said, it is a broken promise. They even stated the longevity of this policy was contingent upon productivity, among other things. Productivity was not cited as an issue, but it was made apparent that the Montreal office is terrible and allegations about company culture have not been addressed. They went on to say this might just be Ubisoft trying to get people to quit to forgo giving severance pay. Just seems like a way to inconvenience people when you can get rid of the office, save money, and let people work remotely.

I will also make an extremely important point here: they said that employees have centered their lives and schedules around remote with. That means transportation costs, child care, family time, important errands, etc etc etc were focused around not having to go to the office. Single parents exist, mate.

If you have server access, needed software, and reliable internet, I don't see why this is necessary. More than anything, it feels like a culture of mistrust by Ubisoft.

[senorfartcushion]

Western?

Where are you from? A lot of eastern countries have an overwork problem that even affects people's dating profile ratings 😅

What if half of this Dev team lives on the othe side of th country and can't make it to the office?

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Many people changed their lifestyle during covid. Many people left big cities for smaller cities. So 100% remote is essential in that case.

[zeuanimals]

The only reason companies want people to come back to the office is cause they paid a bunch of money on offices not expecting a global pandemic to mess it up for them. They need to justify paying for office space and they can't do that if people are WFH. Also, it's easier to hold needless power over workers when they're in the office, even if it's entirely unnecessary for them to be. That's all it is, MBAs wanna feel like they matter to how their business operates so they demand people come in so they can manage people who were showing how they were completely capable of working without big brother watching them.

[kickerz]

I hate this working from home all week nonsense. Maybe half the week is fine but all week. They just want to water the garden, goto hardware store, play with the dog, do a few reno's, watch some netflix, then maybe after that some actual office work. It's just laziness.

[zeuanimals]

Imagine that, you just described people who want a life outside of their careers. Americans are among the most overworked people in the world, with the least amount of vacation, the worst hours, and the worst pay. The whole point of our insanely increased productivity thanks to all of the advancements in tech was supposed to make people work less and get the same amount of pay, not work more and still somehow get less pay. All that's done is make the CEOs at the top rich as fuck. And the majority of them sit on their asses not doing anything, or it's often better if they just sit on their ass cause they know nothing about the business they're running and will only destroy it if they get their hands on it. You're a gamer. Don Mattrick ring a bell? Why do people complain about normal folk who make crumbs next to these giants of industry that just gobble up other people's pay.

Wage theft is the biggest form of theft, bar none. Studies on it are low, but that's cause people with money don't want people snooping. All other forms of theft in the US, meaning car jackings, muggings, bank robberies, etc. amounted to roughly $500 million in the years of 2015 and 2016. $2 Billion of stolen wages was recovered in those same years, but it's estimated the total amount stolen is in the $50 billion range. We've got police dealing with petty crimes that might be harmful, yes sure. But nobody is going after these white collar crimes that destroy entire communities. And would we even be having so many petty crimes if the common folk had $50 billion circulating between us and not sitting in billionaires' offshore accounts? You getting mad at the wrong people.

https://www.epi.org/publica...

[Huey_My_D_Long]

Kids don't be a bootlicker like mr sakai here, its bad.
The gaming industry needs a union.
Fuck, we all need them.

[HyperMoused]

Im sure a lot of them changed their lifestyle, they may have moved house as no longer needing to be in the office, they may have kids and now need daycare which is a heap of money every week, then there is travelling time and money, its not as simple as whhahhhhhh

[TriniOutsider]

Hmmm..I thought it was like this across Canada. My friends who work from home signed contracts saying that they would have to work two days in the office and rest from home. Guess not everyone is the same.

[rlow1]

Meanwhile why the rest of everybody else has to go to work the old fashion way and deal with it. Certain office workers, I guess are so privileged, that somehow I’m supposed to feel bad for them.

I get that certain concerns should be addressed but most people are back to their work environments and a majority have never left. When I hear about these workers, who possibly make much more than me, complaining about an office. Probably they should check out the environment that a majority of people have to work in. Hint, it’s not some beautiful, convenient space, that’s for sure. Why I’m sure their offices aren’t a bastion of delights. There are much worse working environments.

[anast]

I hear you, but It's all about contracts. They way we feel about something doesn't really matter in this case. If they signed a contract with full-time remote work, then the workers have something. If they are just going by the good 'ol gentleman's handshake, the workers are screwed.

[rlow1]

Question is, does their contract actually say that? From what I read in the article the company never actually promised permanent work from home. If they actually have a written signed contract that says they don’t have to work in office. Then that’s for lawyers to decide. If it was a verbal promise depends on who is doing the promise. If it was middle management, then whatever was promised won’t hold weight.

[StarkR3ality]

Some people will have specifically applied for and got this job for the remote working benefits, wether it be childcare/Location and travel costs. All these things need to come into consideration too.

I'm with you that post Covid Office workers are more privelged than ever, but then again if you're promising job perks and then taing them away, you have to be prepared for pissed off staff.

[Mr_cheese]

RLOW,

I don't really feel this is a "look what they're doing" situation. One should be able to disagree with a return to physical work environment policy without having to consider those from other companies that never got that choice.

If your job is 100% achievable from the comfort of your home, then that's all there is to know.

[raWfodog]

Take a page from Insomniac’s book and see how much more productive their staff has been, being able to work from home these past three years. Also, speaking from personal experience, working from home has definitely been a boon for me as it has allowed me to save time and money from having to commute 3 hours total daily. Amongst other personal mental benefits, I’m giving my employer more work hours per day and it doesn’t bother me in the least.

Working from home isn’t possible for everyone of course. But if you have a job that can 100% be done remotely, I don’t see why that should be an issue with employers in this day and age.

[crazyCoconuts]

Man I wish everyone was like you.

[Aaroncls7]

why is it anyone's business how Ubisoft carries out its business with its employees?
This does not concern games and it's a big nothingburger.

[OMGitzThatGuy]

Because usually management doesn't care until gamers hear about it and raise a stink. Just pray you never end up in a situation where you are getting screwed and never ask for help.

[mastershredder]

Seeing a bunch of mostly unemployed gamers argue about about game development workforce hours logistics is fucking hilarious.

Working from home is dope, but no, it is NOT good for all businesses especially large production (duh), and in Ubisoft’s case, it was a bad call because IT IS effecting them, and hopefully they adjust, so that it is far for everyone. I mean seriously, get your head out before beating your worker’s rights drums (how valiant!) Did you all read the same book? (Basic-ass and short-sighted conclusions for dummies) Apparently it’s good read

[RiseNShine]

First world problems, having to work 2 days at the office per week, the tragedy.

[Knightofelemia]

More like entitled they knew working from home wouldn't last long. You want to keep your pay cheque then you do what the company says. Remember a company can close doors any time and move their business else where. And Quebec should separate from Canada.