We usually see a lot of software engineers talk about how much pressure they have in their projects and how their clients or bosses pressurize them to get their task done. In this post we will discuss from both managers, as well as from the software engineers perspective.
Pressure for a software engineer can be of various kinds. Getting the user story or task done within the stipulated time duration. There is a major production issue and you have a very limited time to solve it. Your boss pressured you to complete too much work in a very short time just to impress the client for his personal benefits (maybe not). Or your boss is too dominating all the time. Situation can be anything.
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Pressure due to work
I have dealt with all kinds of pressure right from the first year I joined the IT world. The only thing I believed in was to take a short break and shift my mind from that pressure situation. Break can be playing table tennis for half an hour or so or just having a walk/coffee. This technique is also called the Pomodoro technique. But one thing to remember is that when you overcome this situation and get the work done you will be highly appreciated. If not appreciated then you can pat your back. At least you will have self satisfaction of achievement and this will gain a high confidence in you.
Safer side, what a developer can do is estimate their development work well in advance. they will require x number of hours to get the task done and provide justification as to why you require those many hours. You have to estimate in such a way that you keep some time buffer to accommodate last minute changes if requested by the customer. If the changes are huge, then you should convince your boss or client why you will require some more hours/days to get that done.
If your manager is a techno manager then you have a bonus of explaining to him why the task will take x amount of time or why the production bug got raised. At least a techno manager can help you on the issue based on his experience and knowledge. You can be in a difficult situation if your manager is non technical and all he will do is keep following up with you and get the task done whatever it takes for a developer to do. Even a techno manager can do that. Proper estimation is the only way; accept only what is achievable. Take into consideration the number of developers, the capacity of work and the sprint end date.
As they say in Agile you should be ready to accommodate changes requested by clients at any time.
Do not over promise to your boss or client. Always under promise and over deliver.
Boss Pressure
In my view we can categorize types of bosses into two. One type is all concerned with getting the work done, and another type of boss can be a micro manager who monitors each and every moment of the subordinates. At what time a particular employee logs in, peeping on the employee’s computer screen to check every activity, takes a note of how many breaks and the duration of breaks an employee takes, unnecessary argument, keeps asking the work status time and time again, etc.
I have seen managers who are just concerned whether the assigned work is completed or not irrespective of what time the employee logs in and logs out of the office (applicable to offices having flexible time).
If you see from the manager’s perspective, he is the one who is answerable to the client and not the developer. In some cases Client directly has access to the developer.
You might want to change the project or switch your job if you are under pressure all the time. I have always thought that the situation will not always be the same, if you are having a bad phase in your work life now whatever may be the reason. May it be a bad relationship with your boss or co-workers or having too much work, someday you will have a healthy work life. But if this is not the case as the days are passing then you may think of quitting the job or having a change. You don’t want the office/project to take charge of your mental and physical health. Simple logic is we are working to make our quality of life better, and not working to make our lives worse. So why make our lives a living hell all the time.
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