Are you a happy developer? Depends on where you live
Immediate Team
Given the collaborative nature of software development, it’s no surprise that developers care most about the team they’re on.In Gallup’s research,social capital, as measured through the support one receives from fellow workers, is positively correlated to happiness at work.
Developers say they want to be part of “passionate,” “diverse,” “cooperative,” and “supportive” teams. They expect responsibility to be shared, team members, to be open to knowledge-sharing, and product colleagues to be process-driven and focused.
Engineering’s relationship with Product can fuel productive, creative solutions or developers can see it as a major obstacle in building stable and valuable products.Collective responsibility and high trust– not just amongst engineers, but among the broader team – is desired by many:
Among engineering teams, respondents cravementorshipand want to create open cultures of sharing:
Management
Management plays a significant role in developer happiness at work.Developers want managers who respect clean code practices and value coding as a creative process:
Many mention a desire to work for leaders who are committed to a bigger vision, who care, and who set a clear direction:
The impact of management should not be overlooked. Developers state that they would “rather work for a good manager but use a bad tech stack” than vice versa; “poor management can make people change jobs or give up altogether,” and “the pay is decent, the tech stack is lacking, but my manager does not inspire or promote progress, so I am leaving.”
In a recentGlassdoor survey, 53% of people said feeling more appreciation from their boss would help them stay longer at their company, and developers feel the same:
Meaningful work
Developers generally tend to be a well-intentioned bunch. Open source, for example, aspires to make knowledge free and widely available for all. Volunteer-run programs that help people learn to code exist in most major cities. And when it comes to day-to-day work, developers know purpose and meaning is important.
This fits with Dan Pink’s already citedAutonomy-Mastery-Purpose model, where the purpose is the need to work towards something meaningful and bigger than oneself.
Many developers expressed pride in “building the future” and a desire to avoid companies that “contribute negatively to social well-being.” And while some did express the desire to know their work was contributing to grand “social change”, many simply want to feel useful and understand their company’s role and their own place:
Office environment
The final piece of the puzzle to create a happy work environment and culture for developers is the office environment. According to Stack Overflow data,almost 42% of developersstate that adistracting work environment is their biggest barrier to productivity, followed closely by meetings and being tasked with non-development work.
Comments from our survey respondents cite similar struggles; developers complain of “sharing an open office with louder departments” and that “employers should focus more on the physical and mental well-being of developers.”
Developers also expressed gratitude for companies that allowed them to choose their own equipment, not just laptops, but also desks, chairs, keyboards, and other hardware. Creating an office environment that developers want to work in is a fruitful step towards their happiness:
Tech Stack: Ask the developers what they want
While the tech industry moves quickly, companies don’t need to adopt every new, sparkly language, framework or library released.
And while tech stack ranks as the least important factor in determining developers’ happiness at work in our survey, it is still considered very important by almost 30% of developers and somewhat important by a further 48%.
Engagement, motivation, and happiness
Developers have been clear about what makes them happy at work, and it isn’t necessarily extrinsic factors like salary. In their own words,a healthy work-life balance, the ability to engage in continuous learning and career growth, and being a part of a healthy work environment and company cultureare most conducive to their overall well-being and happiness.
Companies racking their brains for ways to increase developer happiness in the workplace, need to simplify their strategy —provide opportunities for developers to speak up and listen to their responses. And take happiness seriously; it’s not just an ethical imperative, it’s aneconomicone.
