Do not Interrupt Developers, Study Says
When you ask a developer for a quick chats or to do an ad‑hoc task, it's costing teams time and money.
What Makes Developers Happy?
Software engineers want trust, recognition, and connection.
Developers are not happy at work, and they keep letting us know. According to the Stack Overflow 2025 Developer Survey, only 24% of developers reported that they were happy at work – a four percent increase from the year before.
In the same survey, developers ranked autonomy and trust as the most important factors contributing to their satisfaction, followed by competitive pay and benefits, and solving real-world problems.
A group of Swedish researchers conducted an interactive study with 15 engineers to understand what influences the well-being of software engineers. They asked them what in their environment, on a personal as well as a team level, contributes to or takes away from their well-being.
Stress is everywhere
The biggest sources of stress for software engineers are personal life issues (62%), high workload (53%), and tight deadlines (46%). But that’s not the full story. Poor tooling, social isolation, and chaotic or unstructured environments also play a role. When expectations shift constantly and communication is messy, even strong developers can get overwhelmed fast.
Developers are doing their part
Most engineers aren’t sitting around waiting for someone to fix this. In the survey, 71% reported maintaining physical health routines, and over half said they actively manage their mental health. Exercise, hobbies, and sleep are go-to coping strategies. But they can only go so far when team dynamics and org structures keep adding pressure.
What really stands out is how much people rely on other people. Developers consistently pointed to social interactions – whether with teammates, friends, or family – as the backbone of their well-being. Feeling seen, supported, and appreciated isn’t a “nice to have.” It directly affects motivation and long-term engagement.
The recognition gap is real: while 91% of developers said they felt respected in general, only 64% felt like they were being supported in their professional growth. That gap creates friction. Lack of recognition was one of the most common reasons people thought about quitting.
What teams can do
Investing in developer well-being doesn’t mean adding ping-pong tables or wellness webinars. It means making space for honest conversations, checking in before things hit a breaking point, and treating social connections like an asset.
Teams that build trust, celebrate wins (big or small), and offer flexibility in how people get work done tend to perform better over time. This is not because they “optimize” for productivity but because they understand that happy developers equal productive developers.
