Japanese publishing giant Sega has made an effort to improve its working culture.
That's according to a report the firm released - as posted on Resetera - in which the company says there are three areas it is focusing on to improve as a company.
The first is making sure its employees have a good work-life balance. Sega says that staff do between 80 and 90 per cent less overtime now compared to 2014. That's certainly a good stat to have to hand at a time when industry employees are growing ever-tired of the working conditions in the sector.
Additionally, the publisher is looking to address addiction following the World Health Organisation recognising video games addiction as a health condition. Sega says it is going to "implement initiatives that spread and increased awareness of addiction prevention measures."
Which is a sound response from an industry that by and large, um, simply wants to deny that video games addiction is a real thing.
"The main focus of the Group’s work-style reforms is the achievement of a balance between work and private life," Sega wrote.
"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. Our employees do between 80 per cent and 90 per cent less long overtime work than they did in 2014. Launched in April 2018, the Job Plus sideline job system aims to encourage innovation by enabling employees to experience work and acquire skills in areas beyond their regular jobs. Creative ideas are generated through exchanges among people with different ways of thinking. We want to develop a corporate culture that accepts diverse values and eliminates inequality arising from gender, age, religion, and any form of attribute or disability and which enables employees to draw on their individuality in their jobs. Using the consolidation of head office functions as an opportunity and with reference to seven policies relating to job satisfaction and inequality each company will set goals reflecting its situation and prepare and take specific measures.
"Our second theme is addiction. The World Health Organization has recognized gaming disorder as a condition that results from immersion in video games and which seriously impairs health. This disorder, along with addiction to pachinko and pachislot machines, are important issues that the Group needs to address sincerely. Accordingly, we want to implement initiatives that spread and increase awareness of addiction prevention measures."
