As part of Sega’s financial report, the company revealed that it has eliminated 80% of what it calls “long overtime hours,” or working more than 80 overtime hours a month.
Sega pushed forward this anti-crunch initiative in 2013 with a set goal of eliminating 100% of long overtime hours by 2020. It is important to note that this initiative is right now only being used in four Sega-Sammy subsidiaries: Sega Games, Sega Entertainment (Arcades), TMS Animation, and Sega Toys. Still, it is primarily aimed at the long hours of video game development and the need to dispel the idea that crunch is necessary in the industry.
“The main focus of the Group’s work-style reforms is the achievement of a balance between work and private life,” the report reads, explaining that rested workers make better business sense. “We want employees to have quality time outside of the office so that they do not lose their creative drive. Well-established measures that the Group has introduced to reduce long overtime work have produced tangible results.”
Another prong of this initiative is encouraging and exploring working from home for employees that can perform their duties without having to come in.
It’s not an absolute win for those who dislike crunch, however, as the initiative still allows for a fairly large degree of overtime, just not the 100 hours per month in the criteria.
[Source: Gamasutra]
