I’m Too Old for This Common Software Engineering Practice
People say that The Secret Developer is old and tired and their lack of passion means they should not be allowed to be near any exciting software project.
Whether that is true or not The Secret Developer is experienced enough to know voluntary overtime is not the right approach for getting stuff done.
“It’s such a common practice and I feel I don’t want to engage in unpaid overtime anymore.
So, why did I work for free? What pushed someone who loves coding to stop working voluntary overtime?
I guess you’d need to read the article for answers to that question.
The story starts with a young The Secret Developer who readily worked over their hours to get things done.”
Why I Worked For Free
Perception of work
There are many reasons why we exhibit a specific behavior at work. In terms of unpaid overtime, we might try:
To impress others
To fit into the culture
To show what we can do
”I never thought about that stuff. I really wanted to get my work done.
Made a mistake while merging a branch?
I’d take that on the nose and work extra hours.
ACs changed? Well, it needs to get done so I’ll take the hit.”
Developers can feel like ticket-pushing machines, with the sole goal of moving those JIRA tickets from left to right. It is natural to try to get work done to the best of your ability.
“I never felt there should be an issue with ending the day on a high note and getting something done.
I wondered, what could possibly be wrong with that?”
So…
“I didn’t really care about any of that. I wasn’t looking for a promotion or to impress my colleagues. All I wanted to do was stop making stupid mistakes and get my work up to an acceptable quality.
Obviously, that took some time.
I eventually decided that unpaid overtime wasn’t worth it.
Let me explain why.“
Why I Stopped Working Overtime
It Damages the team
Some members of your team have less visible personal responsibilities. It might be a rabbit to feed, or a child to take to one of the places those things go.
“Nothing to do with you right?
That is how we feel at our company. When you welcome your first-born into the world don’t expect so much as a congratulations.
No matter about your workplace culture you should recognize that some members of the team may be unable to invest the extra hour or two you are.”
Setting a precedent (whether you are a manager or not, you contribute to the company culture) you can put pressure on other employees to do that little bit extra others are doing despite the personal cost of doing so.
Working with no pay? It’s stupidity and short-sighted
“I was working but wasn’t paid for those extra hours.
When you think about it you could use your time to create a side project. What about if you used your finite time to study for an MBA? (I said it. Can you imagine a programmer with an MBA? Am I triggering any of you?). Alternatively, you could apply for a new job that doesn’t have unrealistic expectations of you.
When you give away your time for free that says you do not value your time.
Giving your time away for free? What does your loved one think about the value you put on your life.”
Do what you love
We all love programming or at least you should if you want to stay in this game for any length of time. There are lots of different reasons for loving it including those who love the dollar amount they can pull.
“The problem is when unpaid overtime is a job requirement. It can be explicit (that is, written in job adverts and specifications) or implicit (the pressure to do so from colleagues).
If everyone wants you to work for free surely it should be company policy.
That said you should be able to use your time to improve yourself. To do more than the core work and to expand your mind.”
Killing Motivation
Working extra hours to get something done can increase your motivation when things are going well. When things are going badly bad things can happen.
“You get tired. You make mistakes. There’s such a thing as negative work when you try to get something done as the clock ticks late into the nite.”
How often do things go badly? Depends on what you’re doing and the pressure on you to do so. However, we do know the more tired you are the more mistakes you make.
“A good method of problem-solving? Sleep on it.”
Loss of motivation is a primary driver of job dissatisfaction, resignations, and career changes away from software development.
Sickness
Keeping your mental and physical health at high levels is important, and your primary responsibility. If you lose those you can’t work as well as you should. Your work quality suffers, which just isn’t good enough.
“Getting sick takes 100% of the person away from their work.”
Conclusion
” If you like to work unpaid overtime, be my guest. In my experience, those who do so don’t actually produce the best work.
If you’re not rested and motivated, you won’t produce your best work.
Looking after yourself is looking after the company. Ok?”