What motivates a developer?
A juicy salary? Exciting projects? Recognition? No overtime? So what motivates developers and what keeps them from changing their employers? It turns out that money is not everything.
According to a study, approximately 40% of employees in various industries believe that their motivation is decreasing. Many of them express their disappointment at the lack of compatibility between work and family, others complain about the wages or simply about fatigue. It seems that not all employers know how to solve this problem. We believe that before any hammocks or the like are introduced as fake benefits into the company, it is better to just ask the developers what would help them work efficiently.
Here are the results of our "study" - some of the most popular motivators for programmers.
Interesting projects
"I am much more motivated when I come to an exciting project. The certain challenge drives me. But sometimes it can be annoying when someone constantly interrupts my work and interferes with my decisions. I rely on mutual trust and that I have the opportunity to show what I can do." - Martin, C# .NET Software Developer
In an article for the "Boston Globe", American specialist in human behavior Alfie Kohn wrote that creativity and motivation wane when someone only completes a task with the ulterior motive of gain. This means that prizes or bonuses are not convincing motivators. Many developers value the opportunity to be involved in a project that allows them to develop further and poses a challenge above all else. Of course, there should be a certain ambition behind these projects and they should require creativity and radical solutions. Such projects mix up the daily grind, bring fresh air, and make programmers much happier on their way to work: not because they have to, but because they want to.
High quality
"I approach a project differently when I know that the functionality I implement will be used by many and will give the project new quality." - Franziska, Embedded Developer
Nothing is more discouraging than doing meaningless tasks or working on a side project that no one will use anyway. Developers are very ambitious and want to work on "something big" above all else. Of course, it is not always possible, but even less important tasks have a plausible background. A programmer wants to know what he/she is doing the job for. Ideally, he/she is also aware that he/she has influence on the solution of a problem - that motivates.
Develop skills
"I don't like stagnation. I need to feel like I'm growing. That's what drives me. I know I haven't wasted my time if I've learned something from my task. Even if I may not use that knowledge in practice, at least I've seen a new perspective." - Laurenz, Senior SQL Software Developer
As mentioned above, programmers are very ambitious. Many of them strive to refine their skills, learn new technologies, solutions and programming languages. This is the case for the HR department: many trainings enable them to be flexible with the (career) decisions of the developers, such things. Often, programmers want to learn new topics that are not necessarily related to the current projects of the team. Many developers have a clear idea of the direction in which they want to take their careers and therefore choose courses and trainings that will take them in that direction. Some of their new skills are used by the employer, others are not. The most important thing is that developers choose their own programming courses, as they can be very motivating. With the support of the company, a programmer will develop new skills and thus improve the quality of his work as a whole. Win-win for everyone.
Appreciation
"Do I like being praised? Who doesn't? We are all more or less vain. If I've done a damn good job, then I also want to know that it is appreciated. It's only natural, right?" - Paula, Ruby on Rails Developer
The quality of our work can vary. But if a programmer commits to their job - not just for 100%, but even for 200% - then they want someone to notice. No wonder appreciation is one of the main motivators. The employer should value their employees. Programmers need to feel important for a certain project and know that they are doing their tasks well. Sometimes it is enough to just tell them so.
Here we have listed some of the most popular factors that motivate a programmer, but there are many more that can be found, such as the provision of adequate tools or the careful planning of work. A well-motivated programmer will gladly come to work because it brings him pleasure and satisfaction. Confucius once said: "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work another day in your life." We wish this for all of you, even though it may sound a bit idealistic.
