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by criticaltinker 1577 days ago
> because productivity and contentment are linked, it's feasible that satisfaction can operate as a leading indicator of productivity; a drop in satisfaction and engagement could foreshadow impending burnout and lower output.

Great review of the hazards involved in quantifying developer productivity - the correlation above has been true everywhere I’ve ever worked.

If the company you’re working for:

- is not investing in improving the developer experience

- is not listening to developer complaints about slow, tedious, or error prone processes

- is perpetually pushing tech debt onto a backlog that only grows

Then chances are you work for a company whose leadership does not understand and value software engineering. They likely see it as a cost center, and they likely incentivize managers by rewarding initial delivery of projects, at the expense of maintainability and developer sanity.

I know I’m preaching to the choir, I just had to put it out there for all the young engineers. Don’t waste too much of your life and happiness trying to patch those sinking ships.

1 comments

Well put!

> your life and happiness

Also remember that these things are why you're here in the first place, and not to be the best Level 4 SWE Management Trainee in the trans-western division this quarter.

It's only healthy to maintain perspective. It can hurt in the short run sometimes, but there's only misery if you don't keep it.

Yeah. You work to live, but you don't live to work. Even if you love your job; Don't put all your eggs in one basket.