The Ridiculous Rules Companies Enforce on Developers
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
Software Engineers deliver value to the company through the work they do.
This is because (get this) they can produce an entire product for a company to sell to clients. In some respects, they are the productivity of the company.
So, why are firms making it difficult for us to get our work done?
This can range from unnecessary meetings to banning Stack Overflow from developers.
Buckle up. These are the extremes so don’t expect these policies to be enacted in each and every company, but please feel free to gasp that they happen anywhere.
Nonsensical Meetings
Rule: Everyone who might need to be in a meeting should be in a meeting
Have you ever sat in a meeting with 30+ people where a single developer looks for a bug in their code?
I have, oh yes, I have. Recently. It didn’t help me get anything done. Partly because the bug had nothing to do with me (at all), my code or even the codebase I work on. The wider company believes that it’s better to have people in the relevant meeting “in case”.
Agile with completely massive teams is problematic as decision times increase and less and less real work gets done.
The idea of having meetings can kind of break down if there are too many people in them.
The company viewpoint
We want to get everyone in the room to solve problems and decide on features. So let us invite and “pull in” everyone required.
The message received by devs
We need you. An hour of time for a zero-minute contribution makes sense to us, so long as you are where we need you.
Keeping Home Life Completely Our of the Office
Rule: Laptops Are For Work Use Only
Companies can create rules about how their tools are used. That is fair as they own the means of production and want to make sure that their property is used correctly.
I’m all for that. Yet at times of a major sporting event, it’s usual for employers to show the game if it coincides with working hours. My employer didn’t do this so one might expect employees to stream the game (audio or video) on their work machine.
Yet we were not allowed — and were told that laptops were for work use only. Nobody planned to go to the bar and slack off, they planned to get their work done and have it on in the background.
The result was many devs decided to work from home, others called in sick and others still just went to the bar.
The company viewpoint
The streaming service that would be used is perfectly legal, although there might be an argument that streaming on work property may require a license from the company.
The message received by devs
The message to developers is clear: the laptop is for work use only, so don’t even think about using it for fun. You need to deliver value for us, we don’t need to do anything outside the contract for you.
No Stack Overflow
Rule: Whitelisted websites only
This actually happened to me in the past. My company had a list of whitelisted sites — that didn’t include Stack Overflow.
I’m an expert developer (feel the sarcasm) so don’t need such tools, but luckily, I had my phone handy so I could check the odd thing. It still seemed extremely difficult to work in that environment.
The company viewpoint
Stack Overflow has so many links, and is that code safe? We think this shouldn’t be something you need to use on a regular basis.
You can get permission to use it for a few hours if you run this by your manager first.
The message received by devs
We don’t know who you are, what you do or what you need. Is that ticket finished yet?
Stop Stealing from Us
Rule: Avoid Charging Your Cell
I’m not sure that the company I worked for really meant this in the way it sounded.
“Please avoid charging mobile phones at work because the cost adds up over time.”
I still took in my cell and charged that in the office. I also took in my laptop. Switch. Wireless keyboard. I wasn’t the only one.
The company viewpoint
The company were in financial difficulty and watching each and every cent.
The message received by devs
Thanks for your work. Please subsidise your employer. You are not appreciated.
Recommendations For Tech Firms
Big tech should never make up these inappropriate rules for staff. After all, they create value in firms.
Here are recommendations from The Secret Developer which might just make the whole industry that little bit better:
Make sure you have a robust interview process to get people with appropriate values into the company
Trust your staff
Help staff to work and to grow
If you want your employees to work hard for you and to produce a great product you need to do the following. It shouldn’t be hard.
Conclusion
Good vibes run both ways
If you don’t like your staff, why take them on in the first place? If you want to develop them, then you need to look after them and support them in their work.
Programmers used to be called knowledge workers. They are paid for the value they deliver and not the time they spend in front of the keyboard.
So why are companies making it more difficult for developers to get their work done?
I’d love someone to answer this in the comments.