And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates.
Well there ain't no time to wonder why.
I want to talk a bit about morale.
As game developers, we have good days and bad days. When it's good, it's pretty exhilarating. We're lucky in that our industry is one where many of us do what we love; what we believe in. Most of us approach each day energized, and ready to make something cool.
When that morale drops, however, even the passion we have for our work can be too weak to stir us. It becomes a chore to start or continue a task; to find inspiration; to be critical of our own work; even to approach others. In a way, much of what makes us good game developers comes and goes with our morale.
As someone who's worked continuously for the last 14 years, I've been through a few spells of low morale. And as I became more familiar with them, I started noticing certain signature behaviors in myself and others. During one particularly long bout, I decided to catalog my feelings and behaviors as I had them, with the intent of cleaning it up for presentation and review later.
That "later" has finally come, and I've put together the list below. My hope is that it does a few things:
- Help managers recognize the tangible benefits of high morale by contrasting against what is lost to low morale.
- Help employees to understand how low morale can cause a negative feedback loop, worsening the problem.
- Help both managers and employees alike to recognize the symptoms when they suffer from them.
Motivation to Work
Probably the most obvious (and expected) effect of low morale is the lack of motivation to actually do work. I would have difficulty starting new tasks, or getting out of idle slumps. The prospect of coming in to work in the morning, or back from lunch to a task, felt burdensome instead of inviting.
The days quickly devolve into a series of attempts at avoiding work, whether it be checking email, "researching" something on the web, or even making a long, slow trip to get a cup of coffee. I found I'd actually relish the need to use the restroom at times, because it meant I could take a walk away from my desk, even for a few minutes.
Not surprisingly, this type of foot-dragging creates a downward spiral, as tasks get pushed back later and later, piling up and seeming even more insurmountable against the already low, and falling, motivation.
Another fairly obvious change in my work ethic involved my willingness to seek out work. When succumbed by low morale, it was tempting to just wait for tasks to come to me, rather than seek out what needed doing most. I just didn't have the energy nor motivation to make new work for myself. Instead, I would lay low and hope to be looked over when it came time to task someone with something.
Unfortunately, that tended to make things worse as well. Invariably, the tasks that did find their way to me were things that others didn't want to do, either. And since I was decidedly un-busy, I was ripe for nomination. Again, tasks would pile up almost as fast as my distaste.
Indecisiveness/Ambivalence
One change that was a bit more of a surprise to me was my lowered investment in decision-making. As someone normally pretty engaged in lively debates (and a confessed contrarian), I was surprised to realize I just didn't care one way or the other how things turned out.
For someone to be this far gone should be concerning. Possibly the only mechanism one has for making things better is to be involved in decisions as they are made. Furthermore, personal investment in a project or organization are only likely to get worse as one sits out important decisions.
Less Feedback
Related to indecisiveness, above, I found a significant drop in my willingness to volunteer feedback to decisions and announcements. Like above, this only serves to dissociate one from the work or environment to which those decisions and announcements pertain.
Defensive Scheduling
My time became a battleground when my morale was at its lowest. I found myself defending personal time against any intrusion. If meetings ran long into my lunchtime, or overtime was called for, I was way more likely to make a "thing" of it.
Ironically, for all of the lack of motivation and decisiveness exhibited in all other aspects, this area seemed to be the exact opposite. I had fuel for endless battles when it came to defending my personal time, and it only grew stronger the more I was resisted.
Pigeonholing
As with defensive scheduling, above, I also felt a distinct lack of enthusiasm or energy to do things not directly related to my job description. "Not my job" sprung to mind whenever anyone approached me with something I could find an excuse not to do.
In practice, this rarely plays out as obvious as that. Most people would prefer not to be "that guy," who shirks duties and passes the buck. Whether out of politeness or self preservation, most will quietly, begrudgingly, accept the tasks. However, this attitude can be as damaging just by virtue of the stress and resentment it breeds.
Distraction
To make matters worse, most game developers are able to call upon an extremely powerful imagination when trying to ascertain worst possible outcomes. And fear can be infectious between colleagues.
Introversion
Possibly one of the more self-destructive aspects of low morale is the tendency to withdraw into oneself. Some employees actually form stronger coworker bonds during times of low morale, finding unity in the shared suffering.
However, many in the games industry, myself included, are introverts. And introverts often find it easy to abandon social ties when things get tough. Over a period of time, I found myself transitioning away from daily lunch and evenings out with coworkers towards lunches at my desk, and retreating home after work.
The key behavior to watch for isn't necessarily reclusiveness (which might be normal), but rather a sudden or gradual divestment in social ties.
Nothing to Lose
For all the negative side-effects of low morale, it turns out there was at least one benefit: courage. When things are bad, it can feel like there is little room left to fall. Sometimes this can manifest as a desire to champion change within the workplace.
More often, however, this is the trigger point for employee turnover. Visions of greener grass are all it takes to start vetting other employers, or new careers altogether.
Psychological Impact of Low Morale
Many of the above symptoms are not unlike experiencing depression, and maybe that should be no surprise. For many in the game industry, passion is what defines their career, and having that relationship fail can be devastating.
What are some things we can do to improve morale? A satisfactory discussion of that topic is well beyond the scope of a concluding paragraph. I've heard it said that employee autonomy is a good place to start. Another area to examine is whether your workplace is fostering the right balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, as having purpose is an important motivator. Or maybe you just need to work on getting everyone on the same page.
Whatever the case, morale should be one of your organization's top concerns, right up there with finding top talent. Because if your current top talent is suffering any or all of the symptoms above, the aren't really top talent anymore. They're just unhappy warm bodies drawing top talent salaries until they can be inspired again.
A Note About Low Morale for Indies
Indies are by no means immune to the effects of low morale. It might sound as if many of the above are AAA organizational and leadership issues, but low morale can precipitate out of a one-man show as well. Faith in one's work, skill, or even platform of choice, can be shaken. Indecision can paralyze progress. Distractions become that much harder to combat with nobody nearby to keep you in check.
And the effects are just as damaging. Low motivation to work can halt progress. Energy for making decisions can come up short, causing a shift to busy work instead of meaningful analysis. And the tendency to withdraw socially can inhibit good customer relations and PR.
Indies have a fairly serious obligation to keep their personal health and morale in check. We may be blessed by a vast network of internet buddies pulling for us, but our remoteness from the network might mean we're "off the grid" for too long before someone notices.
Being sensitive to the symptoms of low morale can help alert us to things gone awry. We can recognize self-destructive behavior if we know what we're looking for. And armed with that knowledge, we can make incremental changes to help get ourselves back on track, or seek a friendly ear when it's too much to tackle alone.
