One indicative story about early Blizzard’s work environment comes from a programmer who didn’t fit into the company’s crunch-heavy culture. The programmer tells Schreier that after he complained about not getting paid for overtime, he became “the target of endless bullying around the office.” He says he began to be dismissed, derided, or simply ignored.
“So many people were shitty to me, I have to assume I brought it on myself in some way,” the programmer says. He admits to making mistakes, but says that there was also no one willing to offer mentorship or training. After less than a year on the job, the programmer was fired. “This was a dream job for me, working at Blizzard,” the programmer said. “I was absolutely crushed.”
In the end the programmer, whose name is Andy Weir, pursued other dreams. He wrote The Martian and Project Hail Mary. 4
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