How to stay resilient during times of uncertainty

gamesindustry.biz:

In light of the ongoing layoffs and studio closures in the games industry, a panel at the recent BAFTA Games Mental Health Summit looked into how you can navigate uncertainty and stay resilient in times like this.

Hosted by psychologist Stuart Chaun, the panel featured One Player Mission founder Kim Parker Adcock and sound designer Konstantin Semionov as they spoke about their experiences with layoffs from two different perspectives.

Parker Adcock, who recently spoke to GamesIndustry.bizabout the closure of OPM, now works outside of games as operations manager for charity Thyroid UK, while also remaining the vice chairperson of Safe in Our World's board of trustees.

Semionov joined the games industry full time in 2023 working at Frontier as a technical audio designer. He was affected by the round of redundancies made at the developer last October, and became an employee representative during this process.

While Parker Adcock and Semionov shared their experiences from different positions in the industry, the focal point of this discussion was to highlight how you can navigate such challenging times even when it may seem impossible.

Chaun highlighted the importance of processing emotions, identifying what you are feeling in a given situation can help focus your mindset on how to deal with it, and eventually approach the situation more objectively.

Take the time to sit with your emotions and name them, so you can better move through them.

For Parker Adcock, sadness and guilt were the most prevalent feelings when making the tough decision of closing OPM, most noticeably due to the impact it would have on her team.

"It's difficult to begin that grieving process when you're also trying to look after your team, trying to get them jobs," she said, adding that OPM is still in the process of liquidation. "It's a bit like when somebody dies, and you just start to get your head around it, then there's a funeral and it takes you right back into it – particularly if it's delayed."

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