Understanding Developer Burnout: Its Real Business Impact and Prevention

Burnout is at an all-time high as employees face ever-increasing productivity expectations while being forced to do more with less. Approximately 82% of employees are at risk of burnout this year, and 95% say their emotional state plays a big part in their productivity. The research underscores the importance of happy, healthy employees–and while it might seem like simple altruism at the corporate level, there are real financial consequences of letting well-being fall by the wayside. Most notably, burnout costs employers as much as $300B annually.

Today, while most research centers on the burnout of knowledge workers at large, one subset group is faring worse than others: software developers. These teams are the foundation of nearly every modern company, and research shows they’ve been stretched thin to the point of crisis. Solving developer burnout must become a top priority for organizations, or they risk losing the very engine that powers their progress.

Burnout: By The Numbers

According to Harness’ State of the Developer Experience Report, relentless workloads are the leading cause of burnout in the software industry and are the primary reason most developers quit. Over half (52%) of developers cite burnout as the main factor driving their peers to leave their jobs. One of the primary causes of burnout is developer toil: the prevalence of manual, repetitive tasks that consume significant time and effort without providing significant value to the business. The report found that nearly half of developers say they can’t release code to production without risking failures. If that code does need to be rolled back, an astounding 67% of developers do so manually.

The problem is exacerbated by scope creep, which almost two-thirds (62%) of developers experience. To keep up with their workload, nearly a quarter (23%) of engineers work overtime at least 10 days a month, and 97% of developers admit to context switching, meaning they move between unrelated tasks throughout the day, further reducing their productivity.

Additionally, hiring isn’t helping quickly enough, as organizations struggle to onboard new hires quickly enough to alleviate the pressure on current employees. The report found that 71% of respondents said onboarding takes at least two months, leaving existing engineering teams to shoulder the extra workload in the interim.

Solving the Developer Burnout Crisis

While the challenges are steep, there are numerous ways to circumvent these problems and ultimately improve developer mental health:

Automate Toil

Automating toil refers to the process of leveraging technology to eliminate repetitive, mundane, and time-consuming tasks, freeing up human resources for more strategic and creative endeavors. By implementing advanced software that automates monotonous tasks, such as code rollbacks, organizations can enhance efficiency, reduce the risk of errors, and improve overall productivity. This approach not only streamlines workflows but also enables employees to focus on higher-value activities that require critical thinking and innovation. Consequently, automating toil is a key strategy for leaders looking to optimize DevOps while improving the employee experience.

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