Technology
has played a key role in our society, especially during the pandemic, but
little is understood about the engineers who build the software that powers the
modern world. A new study has found that 83% of software developers
suffer from workplace burnout. The top reasons cited for burnout included high
workload (47%), inefficient process (31%) alongside unclear goals and targets
(29%).
Engineering
productivity business Haystack Analytics
co-ordinated the study which found burnout has worsened during the COVID-19
pandemic, with 81% of developers reporting increased burnout due to the
pandemic. The top reason cited by developers for greater feelings of burnout
during the pandemic was increased workload. The study also finds that 83% of
developers are concerned about software reliability at their workplace, of
which 20% are concerned to a great extent.
Leading the
research exercise, computer scientist Junade Ali said: "Whether allowing
us to stay connected or building vaccine booking systems, software developers
have played a key role during the pandemic. The results show that developer
burnout is far worse than I imagined when I designed this study. Given the
ever-greater role software plays in society and the high rate of concern
developers have for software reliability in their workplaces, this raises
serious concerns about the quality of software that plays an integral role in
our everyday lives and critical national infrastructure."
Technology
continues to drive high-growth companies. For example; technology-focussed
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has grown 151.37% over a 3 year period as of
the 1st July 2021, the highest 3-year performance of any FTSE 100
company.
The
importance of well-being is underscored by the number of developers needed to
sustain the fast-growing technology industry. Statistica finds
there are around 408,000 software developers in the UK alone. By 2024,
Statistica estimates the global population of software developers
will grow to 28.7 million.
Commenting
on the study, Kathryn Koehler, Director of Developer Productivity at Netflix
said: "This is a good set of questions". Koehler said the results showed that
"you can't capture the productivity of a team in one metric", and it was
important to measure team well-being alongside productivity metrics.
Koehler
went on to talk about how Netflix was starting to develop their own approach to
measuring developer productivity internally by "starting small, but starting on
something that is impactful; and then not stopping there - continuing to think
about productivity, satisfaction and the other stuff in context."