CD Projekt Redstarted offering menstrual leave to employees as of late March 2023, the company said in a recent statement. The developer of theWitcherseries andCyberpunk 2077has been mulling this move for a while now, withCDPR first saying it’s considering giving menstrual leave to employeesin April 2022.
The company’s recent decision represents a progressive initiative relative to the rest of the gaming industry, although it wasn’t made in a vacuum. It wasCD Projekt Red’s sister company GOG that first implemented menstrual leave in early 2022, which prompted its parent CD Projekt to consider offering such leave across its half a dozen other subsidiaries as well.
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The company credited GOG for the idea in its late March announcement of the new policy, which will presumably encompass its two Polish studios, as well as CDPR Vancouver and CDPR North America. CD Projekt’s game developer division presently operates two other independent subsidiaries, at least one of which will indirectly benefit from this move as well, with some caveats. Namely, aftershutting downThe Witcher: Monster Slayerin January, mobile developer Spokko is currently in the process of being absorbed by its parent. So, some of the staffers who survive the imminent layoffs at the Polish studio will at least get slightly beefier benefits as consolation for their workplace upheaval.
The other independent subsidiary of CD Projekt is Boston-based The Molasses Flood, the developer ofcritically acclaimed survival adventuresThe Flame in the FloodandDrake Hollow. It is presently unclear whether the U.S. company will be following its parent’s lead with menstrual leave, but it hasn’t yet chimed in on the initiative.
Regardless, the move itself has been lauded well beyond CDPR employee circles. Not least because separating menstrual from personal leave ostensibly increases the likelihood of staffers actually calling in sick when they are unwell instead of trying to power through the day due to social stigmas.
Effectively combating such societal pressure might be beyond the capabilities of any single company, but implementing a healthy corporate culture is a requirement for running a sustainable business. That is presumably what this decision is looking to build toward, with its timing also being a positive sign for both staffers and investors. Namely,CDPR is currently experiencing explosive growthon all fronts, so adopting employee-friendly policies such as menstrual leave signals that the company is still looking to expand responsibly, while adhering to a clearly defined and universally accepted set of values.
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