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We're delighted to announce a major evolution for our studios: we will be shifting to a 4-day week for all employees. Obviously, we had a few questions for David Anfossi, our Head of Studio. Read on for more details!

The big news is out! Eidos-Montreal and Eidos-Sherbrooke will switch to the 4-day work week. Can you tell us more about this initiative and how the transition will happen?
Yes! This initiative is another step towards the embodiment of the studio's values, building a healthy, creative, and sustainable work environment for our employees.
Currently, our various teams are working on the development of transition plans to ensure success and maintain the highest standards in the industry. In the next few weeks, the Montreal and Sherbrooke studios will be officially closed on Fridays, without changing the working conditions currently in place nor the salaries of employees, thus switching from the 40-hour week to 32-hour.

Does this mean that the workload of the teams will have to be condensed within 4 days?
The idea is not to condense the working hours into 4 days, but rather to review our ways of doing things and our quality time invested, with the aim of working better! Above all, we want to increase the productivity and well-being of our employees.
Concretely, we want to reduce the time at work, but increase the quality of this time invested, whether it's on a team-basis or for the studio as a whole. A promising right balance for everything!
We want a real collaborative aspect so that the teams contribute to the transition, each one working to define the parameters and criteria for success for the organization of work and deadlines. We hope that this will eliminate unnecessary time and build on efficiency, for example by reducing internal meetings from one hour to 30 minutes.

How did the idea and the need come about for Eidos-Montreal and Eidos-Sherbrooke to adapt work schedules?
We have been wondering for a while about "How can an ecosystem and a company increase their efficiency without compromising the well-being of their employees?". With remote working which has transformed the way we collaborate, we had already started an important cultural transition with the implementation of a rest period, access to a personal financial advisor, access to a telemedicine platform, reimbursement of mental health care and physical activity costs.
With the various pilot projects all over the world, whether in Iceland in the civil service or other examples of companies operating in technology industries, the results are conclusive! We are convinced that this renewed management of working time will help cultivate the creativity and motivation of the teams, and become a real driver of innovation and performance.

What concrete changes can someone who wants to work at Eidos-Montreal or Eidos-Sherbrooke expect with this new work structure?
We always have the aim of improving the quality of life at work and the well-being of our employees. The studio aspires to an optimal attraction and retention of its talents, effective recruitment, a reduction in the rate of absenteeism and the rate of sickness, better management of stress and anxiety related to professional performance, while improving the quality of deliverables made by the Eidossians of both studios.
We also continue to focus on employee and family support, flexible hours, rest periods, relocation, reimbursement of physical activity costs and more. See all the details here: https://www.eidosmontreal.com/careers/ and https://www.eidossherbrooke.com/en/careers/

Woah, wonder how it will shake things up.
 

Neoxon

Spotlighting Black Excellence - Diversity Analyst
Member
Oct 25, 2017
85,330
Houston, TX
As long as the employees are paid the same as before, I'm down for this.
 

Starlightmuse

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 27, 2017
413
Eidos seems to be a truly fantastic company, kudos to them and I hope this turns out well for everybody involved.
 

koutoru

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,313
As long as the employees are paid the same as before, I'm down for this.
Doesn't look like salaries are changing.

Currently, our various teams are working on the development of transition plans to ensure success and maintain the highest standards in the industry. In the next few weeks, the Montreal and Sherbrooke studios will be officially closed on Fridays, without changing the working conditions currently in place nor the salaries of employees, thus switching from the 40-hour week to 32-hour.
 

Molecule

Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,691
Wish this would become mainstream and we all move to a 4 day work week getting paid the same.
 

Skel1ingt0n

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,735
No joke I'd take a 10% paycut if I got every single Friday off.

Of course, assuming that there's no false expectations of still showing up, or undue crunch, etc.
 

Razorskin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,432
Nice
my company for the last 2 summers gives us Fridays off in July and August, I wish it was always in place.
 

Charcoal

Member
Nov 2, 2017
7,514
There's no reason this would affect salaries. It's simply moving from an 8 hour work day to a 10 hour work day. Unless they're also changing the number of hours they work too?
 

Shalashaska

Prophet of Regret
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
1,426
This is great, and I hope more companies follow their lead.

There's no reason this would affect salaries. It's simply moving from an 8 hour work day to a 10 hour work day. Unless they're also changing the number of hours they work too?

Nope, it says they're going down to a 32 hour work week. So everyone got a raise.
 

Zebesian-X

Member
Dec 3, 2018
19,722
There's no reason this would affect salaries. It's simply moving from an 8 hour work day to a 10 hour work day. Unless they're also changing the number of hours they work too?
32 hour work week, it's super exciting tbh. There's a lot of research supporting this structure but not a lot of companies have actually gone for it from what I can tell. Hoping this is the start of a wider shift
 
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modiz

Member
Oct 8, 2018
17,836
This would certainly be an interesting case study for the industry as a whole.
There's no reason this would affect salaries. It's simply moving from an 8 hour work day to a 10 hour work day. Unless they're also changing the number of hours they work too?
they are still working 8 hours a day. The thinking is that the additional free day will help increase productivity in the 4 days you are working in.
 

anexanhume

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,913
Maryland
Fuck yeah.

I wonder if going out of our way to support these studios' games helps to reinforce this behavior? I'd venture not since the opposing concept of boycotts tend not to work.
 

Paquete_PT

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
5,328
There's no reason this would affect salaries. It's simply moving from an 8 hour work day to a 10 hour work day. Unless they're also changing the number of hours they work too?
Yeah, seems like they're switching from 40 to 32h/week.
I have a lot faith in this studio and this is an amazing move. One more reason to buy GOTG
 

Druida

Member
Nov 22, 2017
33
User Banned (1 Month): Sinophobia; Account in Junior Phase
Great more work to externalizate to China.
 
Jul 26, 2018
2,464
Oh awesome! I've known of some places doing one "free" Friday every other week if you do 9 hours a day and some other companies where you're supposed to put 20% if your time in any project of your interest, but an actually free Friday every week really changes the game.
 

zyvorg

Member
Oct 25, 2017
572
This is incredible, so many times I dreamed of something like this happening by extending the hours of the other 4 days but they are actually going to 32 hours with no pay cuts, insane.
 
Dec 27, 2019
6,077
Seattle
In the next few weeks, the Montreal and Sherbrooke studios will be officially closed on Fridays, without changing the working conditions currently in place nor the salaries of employees, thus switching from the 40-hour week to 32-hour.
Thinking about all the threads here about crunch, and the posts claiming that game development only works if you're doing 80 hour work weeks, and how anyone asking to stick to a 40 hours a week schedule is being unrealistic and naive.
 

Temascos

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,518
Great news, it'll be interesting to see how this works out in the long term for them and if it leads to more major studios trying a similar thing.
 

CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,603
Does the studio also support working from home? Or is this them saying "we'll eventually want everyone to be in the office full time, but we'll provide this instead"?

This is great news, just curious as to why they actually did it
 

jungius

Member
Sep 5, 2021
2,241
I have to join them soon lol

4 days is so great, add in remote work and it is godsend
 

Sweet Blue

Member
Nov 1, 2018
244
Wow, the fact AAA studios are beginning to shift to 4-days week is... pretty awesome! Didn't expect that!
 

The_R3medy

Member
Jan 22, 2018
2,843
Wisconsin
That's fantastic! Eidis Montreal seems to be a fairly well run team.

They managed to put out GotG on time and schedule despite the pandemic as well, which is amazing to me. Kudos to them.
 

Cantaim

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,343
The Stussining
From what I've seen on Twitter nobody is getting a pay cut. Must be because it's super competitive in the job market in Montreal right now. Competitive on the employer side that is. Also from what I've seen on Twitter Q&A is not getting 4 day work weeks. Which is beyond stupid.
 

Plinkerton

Member
Nov 4, 2017
6,060
I expect this to become the norm around the globe in most industries over the next few years/decades.

There's really no reason not to do it when studies are showing that there's no real drop in productivity and it's improving everyone's work/life balance.

Surely having a well-rested, engaged workforce is more beneficial than a stressed out, tired workforce?
 

Helix

Mayor of Clown Town
Member
Jun 8, 2019
23,788
I hope this doesn't lead to pay cuts but that being said, this is a W.
 

Izanagi89

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,588
This is great. There needs to be a change and it's not just to do with the gaming industry. Human lives first. Mental health first. Make things better for your employees and your company will thrive.
 
Jan 29, 2018
9,390
This is awesome. I do believe that a lot of office work expands to fill the time available, so I'd bet they shouldn't have much trouble accomplishing the same amount of work in 32 hours vs 40. I'd love to see a post mortem a year from now about how their productivity was (or wasn't affected).
 

Ryu

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,316
Great. My personal 2c - hire people that take the hours that aren't used now. Let it stay open on Friday and give the workers different days off from Mo to Fri. Would also lead to more people having jobs and should increase performance.
 

Risev

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,413
I'd take a pay cut for that gladly, so to have it with the same salary is fantastic.
 

flare

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,306
This is brilliant. I think 40 hours work weeks are too long, and it's dumb how normalized it is.