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By Harry Robinson•21st October 2024
The internet, websites and apps have made our lives so much easier. From shopping, to travel, we now do everything online.
In a recent survey conducted by UK Business Data, it was found that 68% of all businesses in the country have a website. Personally, we were shocked it was this low, but is expected to grow over time as more businesses move online.
While the frontend is what we, the audience, see, most of the development action happens on the backend thanks to web developers, UI/UX designers, and QA analysts.
Web development is often extremely stressful, with errors having the potential to cost businesses huge amounts of money in losses, either through lost business or security breaches. In the worst cases it can lead to reputation damage and even the best case can leave users with a negative experience.
Business owners, in order to provide their end users with a seamless user experience, expect developers to rectify issues at a moment's notice. This “right now” approach can often lead to poor work-life balance and extreme work stress, impacting the mental health of web developers.
In this piece, we will be looking into some effective strategies for managing work stress for developers.
Burnout, which the World Health Organisation has defined as unmanaged and chronic workplace stress, affects almost 57% of tech workers. However, the question is - what causes work stress among web developers? We have compiled a list of the most common web developer challenges that have led to an increase in mental health issues.
The tech industry is highly competitive, and web development agencies are constantly trying to stay ahead of their competitors, whether it is in terms of time management, use of the latest tools, or simply winning the best projects. Many web developers and designers, especially freelancers or those working in startups, often end up working on multiple projects simultaneously. This intense workload and expectation to juggle multiple projects can take a toll on the mental health of web developers.
Another common cause of web developer high stress levels is tight deadlines. Many clients often impose tight deadlines on the development and testing teams, giving them no time to catch a breather. This can further compound when factoring in bugs that may arise either in the coding or QA phase of development, taking more time out of the developers already crammed schedule.
Web developers are often balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders, many of whom won’t directly understand their day to day struggles. These stakeholders are typically clients, project managers, quality assurance and testing teams, and product managers. During the entire software development life cycle (SDLC), all stakeholders will want to be involved, and may all be pulling in different directions. Keeping on top of each suggestion, implementing them, and then often waiting on others’ sign off can become incredibly stressful to manage.
Often developers are left explaining complex technical concepts to clients who lack technical knowledge, which can make communication more challenging and stressful. However, using an advanced feedback and collaboration tool such as QualityHive can ease the stress of obtaining feedback, without the dreaded “website walkthrough Zoom call”. Click here to find out more about our features.
Web developers often work long hours, especially when working with international clients. This can be particularly frustrating as websites often don’t wait until business hours to break. Working on tight deadlines and managing client expectations while also jumping on emergency fixes can make it challenging to prioritise off-time. This is one of the biggest web developer challenges, which leads to extreme burnout, stress and anxiety.
The tech industry is evolving faster than most others and it’s more important for developers to ensure they’re at the forefront of latest trends. However, managing work commitments and tight deadlines and then finding time for learning can further add to stress, anxiety and insomnia among web developers. In addition to this, the introduction of AI and automation in the web development sector often leads to thoughts of job insecurity afflicting the mental health of developers.
Work stress effects can be seen on your physical, mental, and emotional health. Some common symptoms of work-related stress among developers are:
Fatigue
Headaches
Depression
Anxiety
Irritability
Sleeping issues
Gastric issues
As a web developer, if you are looking for work stress relief solutions, here are some things to consider.
If you notice signs of burnout and stress, then it is important to seek help. Whilst we’re all guilty of waiting for things to get worse, it’s much easier to seek help before things get bad. You can consult mental health professionals who can help you better understand your emotions and deal with stress in a positive manner. It is also important to notify your team if you feel the workload or deadlines are too demanding and you are finding it difficult to cope with them.
Informing management can help you find mutually beneficial work stress solutions like taking time off, flexible work hours, or even delegating tasks to other team members.
One of the best strategies for managing work stress as a developer is to delegate tasks. Delegating work to colleagues will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed or anxious, improve your work-life balance, and also encourage team development. Furthermore, delegate tasks that fall in the area of expertise of other team members. Where delegation isn’t possible, finding opportunities to collaborate with other developers can often be mutually beneficial.
Proper time management can help you deal with the most common stressors, such as tight deadlines, overbearing workload and a neglected work-life balance. Planning ahead and having a schedule can help you to divide your time between professional and personal life.
Some popular time management and work stress solutions include Pomodoro techniques, time blocking and doing your best to limit distractions. To properly manage time, you must begin by adjusting your mindset and prioritising your mental and physical wellness.
It may also work to set more realistic goals and deadlines at the onset of new projects, as well incorporating regular breaks to keep you motivated and energised throughout the workday. These techniques help to prioritise your mental well-being while improving your productivity and reducing burnout.
The mental health of web developers and QA analysts has a direct impact on a company’s performance and the end product. If your team is on the verge of burnout, lower morale is likely to affect productivity.
Receiving and giving feedback is often one of the most stressful aspects of web development, especially when the developer is balancing client priorities as well as internal pressures.
With QualityHive, we have made it easy for developers to manage feedback and suggestions, which can not only make it easier to manage tasks but also save countless hours. Using QualityHive helps developers with clearer, more accurate feedback to better keep track of live progress updates.
On our platform, project managers and clients can video record their suggestions, pinpoint the exact problem with an instant screenshot and keep the entire feedback cycle from inception to resolution on track with our in-built Kanban.
Whether you are a web developer, designer, QA or business owner, QualityHive can streamline the feedback process and help you work in an unstressful manner.
Book a demo to learn more about our features.
