Several years after pandemic protocol distanced employees from more traditional workplaces, American media brand Electronic Arts will reportedly terminate its remote work policy.
According to a Bluesky post from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, EA employees received emails detailing the brand’s back-to-office push, which mandated that staffers work in the office for at least three days a week. “Electronic Arts, one of the few remaining tech/video-game companies that was allowing employees to work remotely, announced today that staff must now come into the office ‘a minimum of three days a week,’ per email viewed by Bloomberg News,” Schreier said.
The man behind the email, EA CEO Andrew Wilson, said employees will spend a “minimum of three days a week in [their] local office.” The Split Fiction studio will also begin phasing out off-site roles amid the video game company’s new hybrid policy.
The brand’s new arrangement is an unsurprising one; companies across industries continue to champion return-to-office mandates. Employees hired specifically for remote positions now face uncertain futures. Recent and increasingly frequent layoffs throughout the industry only compound remote workers’ woes.
However, Wilson maintains that nuclear office settings bring “a kinetic energy that fuels creativity, innovation, and connection, often resulting in unexpected breakthroughs that lead to incredible experiences for our players.”
Gaming news site IGN detailed a follow-up email from EA Entertainment President Laura Miele, in which she states policy changes are not immediate. The company plans to implement “work model transitions,” which will give those off-site “plenty of notice.”
Miele detailed EA’s “decentralized approach to a globally consistent, enterprise-wide work model,” which includes the implementation of “a new 30-mile/48-km radius around EA locations.” Electronic Arts’ new employment parameters say any remote workers beyond the predetermined range “will be considered remote unless their role is designated as On Site or Hybrid.” Miele said that future hiring decisions or changes in work model must receive direct CEO approval.
For many companies, remote work opportunities incentivized work and aided employee recruitment and retention. Despite some prominent companies openly fighting to bring workers back to their cubicles, information from the United States Chamber of Commerce reveals that remote work rates remain much higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent findings show fewer than one-third of employees in low-physicality industries work entirely on-premises.
Electronic Arts joins Activision Blizzard, Rockstar Games, and other gaming companies in bringing workers back to the office.
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A lifelong gamer raised on classic titles like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Croc, Stephanie brings her expertise of gaming and pop culture to deliver unique, refreshing views on the world of video games, complete with references to absurd and obscure media.
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