Here's Why Developers Quit Their Jobs

Labor shortages plague the tech industry. Software development companies feel the weight of these challenges more than most, and many are taking the wrong approach to fix them.

Recruiting skilled developers has been IT leaders’ top challenge for two straight years, but focusing on new hires isn’t the solution. The developer labor market is highly competitive, and turnover is high. Consequently, it may be more helpful to focus on retaining current devs instead of finding people to replace them.

To help, here are the most common reasons why developers quit and how you can address them.

1. Culture Issues

More than 25% of developers in 2023 cited a lack of engineering culture as their reason for leaving. Another 21.4% said it was because they had no say in the company’s direction, and nearly 19% cited micromanaging concerns.

What do all of these factors have in common? They’re all cultural issues. A poor developer culture leads to turnover, so it holds that a more positive environment will prevent it. 

What You Can Do About It

Fostering a positive workplace culture is largely about listening to employees. In that same survey, 18% of devs said they want more communication from leaders. Transparency in the company’s direction and clear DEI policies also ranked highly.

Managers should make devs of all levels part of the conversation in company matters. That means not just telling them what’s happening but taking their feedback into consideration for matters of policy and future projects.

Enabling creativity and challenge will help, too. Upskilling opportunities are a great solution, as 67% of employees today want to advance their careers. Allowing devs to pursue personal projects during some periods can help, too.

2. Sub-Par Compensation

As you might expect, compensation is another leading reason why developers quit their jobs. This isn’t unique to the software industry — over 39% of all employees consider career changes to earn a higher salary — but devs may take it more seriously.

Tech skills are in dire demand, and IT workloads are high. Consequently, developers understandably want better pay and benefits to reflect the value they bring to their companies.

What You Can Do About It

The simplest solution here is to pay developers more. Start by looking at the current job market to set a baseline for a competitive rate. Don’t stop there, though. Look at the work your developers do and quantify its value to determine how much they should earn with respect to what they do for the company.

Remember, compensation is about more than a higher salary. Consider how benefits like better health insurance or more paid vacation time could make dev positions more appealing. These are easier to overlook but can make up for a lower base salary. That’s especially true for the 15.9% of developers who work as independent contractors, as benefits may not increase taxes like wages.

3. Stress and Burnout

The third big reason devs leave their position is because they feel burnt out. Ongoing labor shortages often mean smaller teams have to accomplish more work, leading to heightened stress.

Security alert fatigue is a similar issue. More than half of IT security decision-makers say their teams feel overwhelmed by alert volumes.

What You Can Do About It

The first part of addressing this issue is decreasing the causes of this stress and burnout. Automating repetitive tasks is an essential step, as it will minimize your devs’ workloads.

Software engineers get to spend just 10 hours a week on deep, focused work on average. The rest of their time goes to testing, waiting for reviews, and repetitive administrative tasks. These workflows are also easily automatable with off-the-shelf AI solutions. The less time your devs have to spend on this nonengaging work, the more satisfied and less stressed they’ll feel.

Next, consider strategies to combat the stress that inevitably arises. That same survey found that most software engineers say a fully remote or hybrid work environment is the most productive. Embracing this flexibility could help. Alternatively, you could provide paid professional development days to give devs time to unwind when tensions are high.

Put an End to Developer Churn

Businesses that want to mitigate the developer shortage should start by investing in their current employees. That means addressing all three of these common causes of churn. Fostering a positive workplace culture, offering competitive compensation, and reducing workloads will work wonders for dev turnover.