QAuDHD #4 - Here, There and Everywhere

The Neurospicy Bit

One of the posts which sparked the shift in direction I made for this article series was triggered by my experience hunting for a new job and seeing an odd mix of approaches when it comes to flexible work and distributed teams. While many studios and publishers have continued to embrace remote working since it was largely forced on them during the COVID pandemic, many more seem unsure what to do with themselves now.

Not everyone experiences ADHD, autism, dyslexia etc. in the same way.

I've seen “we're hiring” type posts which list a range of jobs with an equally diverse range of on-site, hybrid and remote setups… at the same place! And the worst hit (you'll be no doubt shocked to learn) seem to be QA.

Which I can only assume comes back to an issue the industry still has with treating QA like a real discipline, instead seemingly treating us like little more than interns who can only be trusted as far as we can be thrown. If your programmers, artists, producers and (I saw in one instance) office managers are capable of doing their job without actually being IN THE OFFICE, then so are your testers.

Now before we get stuck into the main topic, some caveats and general pieces of information. Neurodiversity is a spectrum. I'm sure you all know that (or have at least heard it), but I'm repeating it because I need to make some things clear:

1. Not everyone experiences ADHD, autism, dyslexia etc. in the same way. That means my experiences are just mine, but will no doubt overlap a lot with others. Even those with the same traits will find that they manifest and combine with other traits in different ways.
2. The last UKIE census found that 20% of the industry is neurodivergent in some way (and that's largely just the ones who've been lucky enough to get diagnosed). Now you might be thinking “so 80% isn't”, but consider how you would react if you found that your productivity was down even 10% - you'd do something about it right? So do something to support that 20% and it will serve you very well!
3. However - everyone (spicy brained or not) will exhibit some traits that are found on that spectrum; they're what make us human (spicy people just have more of them and/or experience them more intensely). So you might find some of what I say resonates with you even if you're a Muggle (or whatever the politically correct term for non-spicy brained people is).
4. And that means the 20% improvement could turn into 30% or 40%, because anything you do to make things better for your spicier team members will almost certainly benefit everyone else in some way too.
5. It is worth stressing, however, that the improvements for neurodiverse people will be far greater - or to put it another way, while “most” people will be able to just muddle through without reasonable adjustments being made, we will suffer far more if you choose to do nothing.

So. Let me make a note to get some steps for this soapbox I keep finding myself on, and let's get to it.

Remote working in 500 words, T minus 3…2…1…

The Actual Topic

I am very passionate about games, I'm a perfectionist and I love to learn new things; all traits that “normal” people can have, but which are cranked up to 11 in my spicy brain. As a result, I will excel at most tasks I'm given and will always at least appear to be thriving. So while I will be productive and successful in an office, nothing compares to the experience of being given the agency to work my way in my space.

Many companies fear that remote working is less productive, but here's the thing:

1. Distractions aren't bad - they give your mind a break (something we're supposed to do quite regularly even in an office, but almost never actually do) so you can come back fresh.
2. ADHD for me sometimes feels like having a bored child in my brain, so I'm actually more productive if there's TV on in the background, because it's like plonking that child in front of some cartoons so you can get some work done (not the best parenting technique, but still).
3. Having hyper vigilance means I'm far more likely to be distracted in an office environment, if anything even more regularly (because it's out of my control), as conversations are happening around me, people are coming and going, screens are flashing etc.
4. One thing that really affects my mental health is wasted time, so you don't need to worry about me wasting it myself, but I find commuting very draining. If I'm on public transport, I can use the time to learn something new, but it means being surrounded by lots of people I don't know (ick). If I'm driving, at least I'm on my own, but other than working on my singing (which, admittedly, I do love), it's basically several hours of my day I'll never get back.
5. Just to reiterate, for any recruiters or hiring managers out there, these are just my experiences, and even in my case I can absolutely do the commute and work in the office - I'd just prefer not to!

Nothing compares to the experience of being given the agency to work my way in my space.

Remote working setups also require less actual office space (if any) which is a huge saving. They allow you to recruit from the best talent available, not just the best talent available …within a commutable distance (or save on relocation costs), and taking remote seriously can greatly improve communication, documentation and team engagement because so much more is written down, people who struggle to speak publicly will find it easier from the comfort of their own home, nobody forgets anybody's names because they're right there under their disembodied heads, text chat further reduces the pressure on people to speak out loud etc. etc.

But do make sure that if you're offering remote/hybrid work, especially for QA (who are so often left out of these things even if they're just a row of desks away) that you plan meetings, presentations, design discussions etc. around those remote folks FIRST, and don't treat them like an afterthought.

Phew! 500 words - done!