2020 and 2021 have been tough for everyone, and that includes the few hundred of us who find our home at the Blizzard Entertainment office up in Blackpool. Having been with the company nearly 13 years now, I thought I'd seen most things; I've been through the launch of twelve of our games and expansions, not to mention tools upgrades and changes, launches of our sister company, Activision's games, changes to the office, friends and colleagues coming and moving on to new things. With an average tenure of around seven years, we are a seasoned group, and nothing prepared us for the upheaval the pandemic and moving to fully working from home in March last year would bring. It entirely changed how all of us worked and many of us lived.
In Customer Support at Blizzard, we work in teams, usually ten to twelve people and our manager and often for around two years or so. We have the same shift for that time and become a small family within the greater office community. It's usually a diverse family too, my own desk neighbours hail from Russia, Poland, Germany and Sweden, and our manager is French! We're further diverse in terms of gaming interests, sexuality, family status and so on, but what brings us together is that common interest in computer games, and our solidarity as a team. Working without that, honestly, sucked.
But we all soldiered on and hit some massive milestones last year. We managed to get our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion networks up; Multicultural, Generations, Differing Abilities, Women and, closest to my heart, the LGBTQ+ Network, all via Slack and emails and zoom calls. All of these have been highly successful, with multiple activations during the year. Even though we're perhaps further apart than we ever have been, we're all getting that little bit closer, including with our colleagues in other office locations in California, Texas, France and across Asia. For me personally last year, coming out as trans on International Coming Out Day was a major step in my own path. My friends, colleagues and the HR team all made that very easy, and I thank them all for it. Getting the chance to open up about myself gave me a chance to know more about others as well.
“Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is an integral part of our company's DNA” I’m extremely proud of what our LGBT+ Cork employee network has achieved while we continue to WFH. Their response to the pandemic by effectively coming Together Apart and supporting each other as members of a common community has been outstanding. Our Employee Networks provide a sense of belonging and the space for us all to be our very best while bringing an authentic version of ourselves to work. We will soon meet, work, hug, connect, laugh and party Together Again . Thank you for being passionate about what matters and for fostering a culture that respects diversity, equity and inclusion in our Cork office making it a great place to work for.”
Having come from our first ever Pride Week Celebration in the Blizzard office in 2019, including a pizza day communal meal, mocktails and cupcakes, an LGBTQ+ lean-in circle and decorations all over the office, last year, for the first time, the Cork Blizzard office sponsored the Cork Pride celebration and shared the streamed convention with our colleagues. This year, the theme of Together Apart couldn't be more perfect. We're proud to be sponsoring Cork Pride for the second year running, and we hope, all being well, to participate as much as we're able. I can’t wait for us to all be back in the office, to bump into friends in our cafe, and see the big blue Blizzard sign in reception again. Connecting more through our Networks, celebrating Pride both locally and internationally will go a long way to feeling closer together. To everyone in the LGBT+ Network at Blizzard Cork, and around the globe, to everyone participating in Cork Pride this year: Happy Pride
Ana Alfageme Director, Customer Service Europe Site Director for Blizzzard Cork and supporter of the LGBT+ Network
Dean Constable
LGBT+ Network Lead, Blizzard Entertainment Cork Office.
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