Activision Blizzard employees have to return to working onsite, according to some individuals who work for the company. Work-from-home arrangements have been the subject of much debate since companies were forced to allow remote work during the COVID-19 pandemicany. Workers found the arrangement to be beneficial to their work-life balance since they are not spending hours of the day commuting to and from work, while companies typically complained about a loss of productivity due to lack of supervision. The move may be in response to Activision Blizzard recently coming under fire for anti-whistleblowing practices, resulting in the company being hit with a $35 million fine.
According to the recent financial results reported by Activision Blizzard, the company is in a strong position and is looking to maintain the momentum it has built in the last quarter, having released hit titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which earned the company $1 billion in the first 10 days following release. Activision Blizzard still has a big year ahead with titles like Diablo 4 and a full annual premium release for the Call of Duty franchise, not to mention the Microsoft acquisition deal that seems to be growing more and more complicated by the day.
One outspoken Activision Blizzard employee, speaking in their personal capacity, revealed that an order had been issued by the company instructing the workforce to return to the office, going on to detail how complicated this would be for many workers who had moved further away and would now have to uproot themselves once again to comply. The employee, going by the handle LeastMyHairIsOk, went on to challenge the notion of "better collaboration," calling this a weak justification, and concluded by saying that Activision Blizzard leadership was either "maliciously aware" of how this decision would affect employees or "actively incompetent."
This news comes amid massive layoffs in the tech industry and could potentially be viewed as a form of mass constructive dismissal. Activision Blizzard employees who have to return to the office may need to uproot themselves or their entire families in order to comply, with the burden of increased transport costs and exhausting commutes arguably offsetting any potential benefit that may be derived from working in an office environment. It will likely be a chaotic transition, possibly causing delays for upcoming titles like Diablo 4.
There has been no official word from Activision Blizzard on the matter. News surrounding the company has been dominated by talk around the ongoing multi-billion-dollar Microsoft acquisition deal that has been hampered by various regulatory bodies. One can only hope that sanity prevails and that the voices of the many workers who are passionate about their work at the company are heard by leadership. It's no secret that the publicly traded Activision Blizzard has seen positive financial results amid woes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant mass exodus of employees to the home office.