Cards Against Humanity is a fun pastime for many. The card game was originally thought up by several friends in college and later Kickstarted into a full game. Five years later, there was a Cards Against Humanity phone app, and it's still popular.
The creators of the game founded a company, also called Cards Against Humanity, which has been in the news lately for unfortunate reasons. Former employees opened up out about toxic office culture, including racist and sexist behavior, revealed in a report by Polygon. This often took the form of management not recognizing concerns or complaints from workers, and the lack of an HR department. Many complaints centered around former employee and co-founder Max Temkin, but extended beyond him to the company at large.
It turns out the accusations of toxic behavior at Cards Against Humanity were a prelude to action, as workers at the company have formed a union. Calling itself Cards Against Humanity Workers United, it is working with Chicago's Board of Workers United to be officially recognized by Cards Against Humanity. The union was formed with the goal of reforming the office culture of Cards Against Humanity and ensuring it is a welcoming space for all.
The accusations and unionization may come as a surprise to many. Cards Against Humanity is marketed as an offensive game, but the comedy is meant to be satirical. It appears, however, that concerns writers had, especially writers of color, were often ignored by upper management. These concerns frequently related to cards that would not hold meanings to a white audience, as well as other discriminatory behavior, with stories of sexism and racism at Cards Against Humanity being two of the big reasons the Union was formed.
Accusations and revelations of harmful behavior at gaming companies have been on the rise lately, as more people find the courage to speak out about poor working conditions and do something about it where possible. This extends to video game companies as well, both on the individual and company-wide scale. Accusations of crunch, like at Rockstar Games, have been some of the most prevalent.
Other companies, like Naughty Dog, are under-fire for crunch, too. The problems at Cards Against Humanity are different, however, and are mostly related to the overall attitude and atmosphere of the working environment. The work has been described as a dream by many employees, both for rewarding writing and the opportunities presented, but that hasn't been enough to offset the poor working conditions, and now employees are taking a stand.
Source: Polygon