though not being in the industry myself i''ve got a few friends who are. the deal for them is that at the end of a product cycle (game just released) everyone on the team gets 2-3 weeks off. they are forced to go away. if it''s a long product cycle they get a week off or so after crunch periods (like just after E3)

personally, i can''t see how you could keep a team motivated and psyched about their job if you don''t give them time off. I also like the idea of forced time off so that people stay sane and no one gets peer-pressured into not taking their vacation. a good way of doing that is tying your end of year bonus to how many vacation days you have left. if you didn''t take all your vacation days, you don''t get your full bonus. (obviously different stratigies need to be used for smaller/independant/non-funded companies)

no matter how much you love your job, there''s something to be said for the restorative power of a tropical island or steep powdery coloradan mountains.

-me

quote: Original post by DavidRM
He said, "Just go on home. No one dies if this isn''t done tonight."

I guess that depends where your job is.

I''ve worked "in the industry" and vacation days were typical of other software companies... with the added bonus of a surprise two weeks off around Xmas! That was really cool. No other company I''ve worked for has ever done that for its employees.

LordKronos, I too have had this exact same experience... working with people whose personal lives revolve around their job makes normal people with healthy social/personal/family lives look like slackers. It sucks.