A Polish developer has come under fire for expecting employees to agree to mandatory saunas.
In a now-viral exchange on LinkedIn, Spectrum Studio creative director Jacek Piórkowski approached narrative designer and writer Aleksandra Wolna about working for his studio. Wolna replied that Piórkowski had previously approached her about the job and she had declined because it required her to agree to mandatory and allegedly nude sauna sessions.
“Jacek started a conversation with me under a post about looking for a job. I did some research about him and his studio and I politely declined because of the sauna thing,” Wolna told Eurogamer. “Later I wrote about the situation regarding All In Games employees who were not getting paid and are now looking for work because this company also owes me a lot of money. Suddenly Jacek appeared and offered me a job again.”
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“I reminded him that I declined and told him why, which is seen in those viral screenshots,” Wolna continued. “Jacek then began to convince me and the others that there is nothing wrong with what he expects from his employees.”
Publisher All In Games has reportedly not paid its employees for half a year due to its “temporary” financial crisis.
Piórkowski edited a number of his LinkedIn comments in the time since his first Wolna post, but still defends the decision to ask employees to participate in saunas, saying the request is appropriate because that’s what the studio’s game is about. “I don’t want to waste time explaining the difference between a Russian Bania or a Dry Sauna. You have to feel it,” Piórkowski wrote.
The thesis statement for the play Piórkowski refers to reads as follows:
“Spectrum Studio is working on a new breakthrough game: a mix of Life is Strange (Narrative), Final Fantasy (story, characters), Heart of Darkness (adventure levels with a dog), The Tourist (exploration and quest) and THPS2 (tricks and specials). ).
“The main character will be the saunamaster and will be in charge of performing in the various saunas (scent, music, choreography, everything).”
In the studio, the requirements for the position are listed and mandatory saunas are specified here (there is no mention of nudity). Spectrum Studio also stated that they will provide “free sauna planning” in this post.
In a separate LinkedIn thread, Piórkowski said the credential “isn’t about getting naked,” but rather experiencing different kinds of saunas. The developer said that the level of “humidity” in some saunas can be very high and if someone used a towel, “it could result in a fungal infection”, which is why participants are advised to go naked.
In another comment, Piórkowski asked Wolna if she would hire an engineer to build an airplane if they didn’t understand the mechanics that make the airplane fly. That’s something Piórkowski said he wouldn’t do. “One must understand [the] task and it is very specific…” he wrote. Wolna pointed out that there is a big difference between making sure a candidate is suitable for the job and an employer expecting their employees to be naked during work activities.
“You had plenty of time to prove me wrong [a] scene in [a] a sauna without being in a sauna… We waste time on social media instead,” replied Piorkowski. [the] come up with a sauna with me [an] an amazing script for a proof of concept… It’s technically possible to do without it, but I absolutely adore the fact that they were able to use their experience in the sauna to write amazing scenes.”
Piórkowski has now issued a full statement regarding Spectrum Studio’s sauna mandate. He apologized to Woln in a video shared on the studio’s LinkedIn page. “I did not intend to embarrass, hurt, offend or show disrespect to Ms. Wolna. My choice of words was poor. I did not make my intentions clear. I did not explain why sauna use is so important and practical.” essential for me,” he said (thanks to Magdalena Kluj for the translation).
“I didn’t expect it to be perceived as pretentious and cause negative connotations.” He noted that his use of “narrative girls” was wrong and only meant to convey that the narrative team was all female at the time.
Piórkowski went on to talk about how “passionate” he is about the sauna experience. “When recruiting, I followed the ironclad rule of talking saunas and people’s openness to the experience,” he said. “I look for people who are equally passionate about the sauna culture and are open to the experiences that are part of that culture. I believe that the subject’s personal experience helps to understand the sauna culture.”
Piórkowski continued: “I agree that the words I chose could be perceived as encouraging to sauna with the head of the company; it was not my intention. I suggested and still suggest candidates to [experience] women-only saunas and men-only saunas, as long as it reflects the actual sauna experience.”
Piórkowski said he would be “more careful with the selection [his] words in the future to avoid embarrassment and doubt [his] He stated that he also began “consulting this case with HR.”
“Once again, I would like to apologize to Miss Aleksandra,” he concluded.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Wolna told Eurogamer that she “kind of regrets that it’s the only thing that went viral, while it all started with a post mentioning the recent situation where All In Games employees aren’t getting paid”. However, she is “glad that the sauneurs were called and the situation started an important discussion about horrible recruitment practices”. Wolna said she accepted the apology.