Do Developers Stay in a Company for the Money or the Task Area?
When a developer decides to stay with an employer, salary is the most important factor, according to a 2018 study conducted by the Linux Foundation. The Linux Foundation is an association of open source development labs and has set itself the goal of increasing and promoting the penetration of Linux.
To do so, the organization surveyed HR managers at 750 SMEs and HR service providers worldwide. In addition, 6,500 open source experts were interviewed.
Of the tech professionals, 81 percent said a higher salary is an incentive to switch jobs, while 74 percent agreed they would switch for new exciting projects. Flexible work schedules are worth a change for 61 percent of respondents.
On the other side of the coin, about 30 percent of respondents claim that a higher salary would keep them in their current job. Nearly 20 percent said new and exciting projects would do the same.
For project or product managers who need to keep their developers in the proverbial saddle but endure on a tight budget, the opportunity to work on interesting projects could be an excellent incentive.
Developers generally like new challenges and learning new skills. For this reason, they can't stand performing the same tasks over and over again.
Alternatively, introducing flexible working hours can also ensure high employee retention. While many developers don't mind working a "traditional" workday with fixed hours, more than a few tech professionals would jump at the chance to do their jobs on their own schedule.
Only 3 percent of respondents said money and benefits were the best part of their jobs.
In other words, money isn't everything. Developers are attracted to so much more than money. That's actually good news for executives who know what they have to offer.
