Joy in Work – Software Development

Posted on November 25, 2007 by John Hunter

The wonderful cartoon in this link illustrates the all too common despair in work. Software programmers are more likely to really enjoy what they do. There are many reasons for this not the least of which is that they have a fair amount of control over their careers. If they don’t like what they are asked to do, the tools they are asked to work with… they will (more than others) leave for another job. Some managers get frustrated that such people are not willing to put up with the normal bother everyone else seems willing to accept (programmers are often “unreasonable”). But I see an occupation that is more focused on joy in work than most. And creating joy in work is what managers should be worrying about – not getting troublemakers to fall into line.

Why I Program In Ruby (And Maybe Why You Shouldn’t):

Harmony and balance make you feel good. American Rubyists frequently take up all the points of Ruby’s power, expressiveness, and efficiency, but they don’t seem to register the point that Ruby was designed to make you feel good. Even Rubyists who want to explain why Ruby makes them feel good often fail to mention that it was expressly designed for that exact purpose.
…
Don’t program in Ruby because you want power or efficiency. Don’t program in Ruby because you think you “should”, either. Program in Ruby because you like it. And if you don’t like it, don’t program in it.

I enjoy programming using Ruby on Rails.

Related: Hiring Software Developers – posts on improving software development – Don’t ask employees to be passionate about the company! – A Career in Computer Programming – IT Operations as a Competitive Advantage – Reddit, a living example of how software coders think – Focus on Customers and Employees – Signs You Have a Great Job… or Not

This entry was posted in Deming, IT, Management, Psychology, Software Development and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

11 Responses to Joy in Work – Software Development

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    December 12, 2007 at 6:11 pm

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  5. Tudor says:
    January 7, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    I wish I had the luxury I coding what I like and in the language I like. The painful truth however is that I can only do that in my spare time, and if I do then my girlfriend will kill me 🙂 We have a rule about computers in my spare time 😛 As for work….I code in whatever is needed (usually C++ or .NET). Can’t say I dislike them but I’d love to do some more low level programming (kernel programming) in pure C and assembler 🙂

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