Understanding the Contractor vs. Employee Divide
Photo by Neenu Vimalkumar on Unsplash
There is a curious cultural phenomenon in the world of software development in which we are not all treated as equals.
Software developers are split between contract staff and permanent employees and respect in the workplace is not divided equally between the two.
So, it’s time to look at what is going on and seek to understand why contractors seem to gain the respect that permanent employees seem unable to access.
What’s a contractor anyway?
A true business relationship
Contactors are typically not “just” a programmer but a one-person enterprise. This means that companies do not need to think about training the contractors or building them up to be able to take on ever larger tasks.
Only the here-and-now matters, either you can deliver those bug fixes and features or you cannot. If you cannot deliver then you are incredibly easy to get rid of.
Companies expect you to deliver and deliver immediately.
Salary as the differentiator
Contactors often command higher fees than the standard salaries of employees. Each hour of work is therefore more valuable.
This isn’t simply about money. This is about perceived work.
When you’re paid hourly companies are much less likely to demand overtime as they’ll need to pay for it.
Companies feel that they own employees and need to squeeze the maximum level of productivity out of them (no matter the cost).
Not invented here
Contactors are out of the scope of a toxic environment. This is because they can say no and walk away at any time.
It’s not just about that though. Since contractors were not raised in the company they haven’t been conditioned to accept the values and behaviors of the company.
That means if a manager started as a developer and sees it as a rite of passage to work long hours this sucks if you are a developer. If you are a contractor this idea simply doesn’t apply to you.
Independence
Companies carry the implicit assumption that contractors are more than capable of managing themselves and do not need the same level of oversight as employees. They often let contractors get on with their work with a level of freedom that isn’t extended to their employed developers.
How it works for me
Confusion
I’m in a company where we have a majority of contractors. That is we have more contractors than employees.
I’ve had contractors confide to me that they feel that they aren’t listened to as much as permanent employees. I’ve had permanent employees confide to me that they aren’t listened to as much as senior staff (whether they are contractors or permanent staff).
The secret in my current job is this: we are in a strictly hierarchical organization. That means that we aren’t able to make any impact until we are in a senior enough position to do so. Of course, by then we aren’t really coding…so coders don’t have a real voice in the organization.
Yet we all think each other has the power within the organization meaning nobody does. Sad story.
Conclusion
I think The Secret Developer has just one thing to say about this.
“I try to discover
A little something to make me sweeter
Oh baby refrain from breaking my heart
I’m so in love with you
I’ll be forever blue
That you gimme no reason
Why you make-a-me work so hard
That you gimme no
That you gimme no
That you gimme no
That you gimme no
Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby, please, give a little respect to me
And if I should falter
Would you open you arms out to me?
We can make love not war
And live at peace with our hearts
I’m so in love with you
I’ll be forever blue
What religion or reason
Could drive a man to forsake his lover?
Don’t you tell me no
Don’t you tell me no
Don’t you tell me no
Don’t you tell me no
Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby, please, give a little respect to me
I’m so in love with you
I’ll be forever blue
That you gimme no reason
You know you make-a-me work so hard
That you gimme no
That you gimme no
That you gimme no
That you gimme no
Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby, please, give a little respect to me
Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby, please, give a little respect to me”