Dear Creep:

You are one of the top five people at your studio. Your stay at home wife has a nanny come in twice a week so she (your wife) can do the shopping without schlepping your children. You yourself leave early at least twice a week so you can see your kids play soccer or dance, and sometimes you leave early just so you can pick them up from school as a surprise.

That’s lovely.

And if you ever again say your studio is a family friendly place to work, I am going to get in my car, drive through wind and rain and toll highways, and punch you right in the junk. I’m serious. You have employees who have quit because they didn’t make enough to pay for day care. You have other employees driving two hours, one way, so they can afford day care and a place to live. You offer no paternity leave, no flex time, and while you have telecommuting, anyone who takes you up on it winds up with nothing but scut work.

You haven’t granted vacation days in months. Anyone who isn’t a lead gets spoken to by their lead for their lack of dedication if they leave on time to fetch their kid from day care, let alone early for a special event. Your leads never have to be spoken to, because they don’t GET to be leads if they ever left early for a special event.

Hiring a clown for the company picnic is a wasted gesture. There’s already a clown sitting at your desk.

*

If you work for a family friendly company, post here with the things that make it friendly. But please note, if the benefits aren’t available for the rank and file, it doesn’t count.

So, the deal is, I’m not looking for work at this exact moment (well, unless you count short term consulting, I’m always open to that). However, anyone who has been either in the gaming industry more than, oh, five minutes, knows that you should always hear recruiters out. The minute you think your current job is forever, the people who pay you will go out of business/go insane/lay you off.

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