Wow, where to start?
You are not safe in this company.
If you flag concerns, raise issues or take one step outside of your lane, you will be removed from your position or your life will be made so difficult, you will find yourself with no alternative other than to leave. Or you will be “laid off” and discarded like a used tissue.
Uncommunicative.
If you raise any issues or concerns, expect deafening silence. Benefits, perks and basic legal requirements will be radically altered or disappear altogether and you can expect absolute silence. It’s almost like they think people won’t notice and if they burrow their head in the sand enough, the silence will make people go away. But those who press too much risk appearing as a blip on the BARB radar – and that usually ends up with a torpedo approaching you at full speed.
Unprecedented churn.
And not at the levels where you would expect. This is not (just) juniors or experienced staff seeking alternatives, this is a C Suite churn too. Each one of these will come in and implement a raft of changes. They will upset existing plans to use their own. Executive 1 will not like Person A or Person B because they didn’t hire them and will find a way to have them removed, before hiring people C and D. Executive 1 then does or says something wrong and is discarded. Executive 2 comes in and they don’t like Person C or Person D, because they didn’t hire them. The cycle continues.
Perpetual turnover.
Too many people love to settle scores by finding ways to get people forced out of their jobs. It is as political a workplace as I’ve ever witnessed. Keep your head down or you will be caught in the crossfire.
Disagreed over viability of a date? Prepare to be punished.
Flagged something as being unrealistic? Look out for the no context meeting with HR.
Concerned that the games are not fun? You will be greyed out on Slack tomorrow.
When people flag concerns like the above, they are bundled into an unmarked call and are never heard from again.
Constant changes.
The CEO made one of the biggest revenue generators of all time – in 2013. It’s safe to say that games have moved on since. However, the methodology of “I am always right, and you will cater for that audience of one” has not. The CEO simply does not process anyone’s view other than his own and frantic, last minute feedback/abject panic from investors. It results in delayed decision making as some of the things requested simply cannot be implemented. Or if they are implemented, they are incomplete, inaccurate or simply not good enough because they have not had the time or care required. There are so many talented and skilled people at BARB who have their work scrubbed, neutered or radically altered due to a last-minute change. These late changes continually blight releases and demonstrations. This might have been how games were made in a crunch environment with unlimited resources a decade ago – it is not how they are made now. There are not infinite resources to throw at this problem and everyone has a burn out limit. The expectation at BARB is that that burnout limit is higher than anywhere else in the industry.
Burnout.
BURNOUT IS SEEN AS A BADGE OF HONOUR HERE. There are unrealistic expectations on staff, who are expected to crunch into the weekend to get the latest whimsical change pushed through. Tired? Need a rest? Bah, get on with it, that’s not how it works at BARB. Work harder and longer, for no extra pay, that’s how games are made. Apparently. Your mental health will suffer here. Even if you manage to avoid the raging infernos going on around you and enjoy what you do, expect to be asked if you fancy working a Saturday or a Sunday, or both, to meet a deadline. You won’t get overtime, but think of THE VISION!
Producer churn.
I have so much respect and admiration for producers, who have a hard job wrangling both people and projects to the finishing line. The production churn at BARB is absolutely astonishing. Nobody gets a chance to make and keep their mark. Even unpopular people have implemented good ideas – but because of disagreements with the CEO they have been given concrete boots. And so, the whole cycle begins anew. It is literally throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks – but it happens 2-3 times a year if not more. It is absolutely bonkers.
Treatment of staff.
I have worked in call centres with a more ethical approach to staff, and a higher view of staff, than this place. Apart from the select few, nobody is seen as indispensable here. Everyone is a digit, a number, a wage, a timesheet and someone who can and will be fired out of a cannon the moment they are no longer deemed to be in the circle of trust. Or the moment they speak up to voice an opinion not gushing about how wonderful the game is.
Probation is a lottery.
People have relocated and been told they have not passed their probation after three months despite there being zero reason to not pass them. It is cost cutting in the most reprehensible and unseemly way. Really, quite honestly moral bankruptcy. I understand the reason probation exists and any employee understands why. But this? This isn’t a probation. It is the Sword of Damacles hanging above your head. Step outside your lane, question the wrong person, and that sword could come down and your head be in a metaphorical basket.
Probation is a risk anywhere in the industry at the moment – at BARB it is a tightrope with a force ten hurricane blowing across you with a pit of sharks below you, each one having not eaten for weeks and thirsty for the savings of your wages and to get someone in who just says “Yes boss”. There have been so, so many good people that have had that line cut from beneath them when they didn’t deserve it. And even when you stumble across that finishing line, with no support or training or investment in you as a person, those sharks can suddenly grow legs and march across land and still grab you and throw you into the pit headfirst.
If you are a hiring manager from another company, then I urge you to not judge anyone from BARB who has failed their probation. It is not a probation period there, it is a nutcase typhoon of survival.
Gradual degradation of benefits.
Benefits have been taken away bit by bit. There has been a continual erosion of the handful of things that made survival at BARB bearable. No more funds available to invest in yourself. Sick days were already a red flag with only 10 days fully paid which has since been reduced to 5. This company does not want happy or growing staff. It wants a wiseman’s committee of people who nod, smile and say “Yes, everything is wonderful.”
The GlassDoor says it all.
When deciding to join, I thought “I am a diplomatic and friendly person, I will not get involved in disagreements with people.” Unfortunately in this studio, you don’t find disagreements, the disagreements find you. Don’t make the same mistake I did and think you will not get caught up in it, because you will. It is inevitable.
Summary.
This is the most nightmarish place I have ever worked. Question marks and doubts will plague you and follow you everywhere you go, and they won’t be self-inflicted. Who needs imposter syndrome when you have BARB syndrome?
I genuinely regret the day I set eyes on the job advert. I regret not trusting my gut and being concerned by the GlassDoor reviews. Because it is a concern. If you are out of work, then I can understand the appeal. Just don’t let them con you into relocating because that could come back to haunt you if you mysteriously fail your probation.
DO NOT JOIN HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE NOTHING AT THE MOMENT. IF YOU DO JOIN, HAVE A BACK UP. IF YOU WORK HERE, PLAN FOR WHAT COMES NEXT.
