We sat down with Amanda Brock of OpenUK, one year after her women in tech profile, to talk more in depth about diversity in the tech sphere and how to encourage and breakdown barriers for underrepresented groups. Read on for her 2024 predictions for the open source community and more.
We were fortunate to have the chance to speak with Maria Korneeva, on her journey from studying to be a German teacher, to pivoting to studying industrial engineering in Berlin. She’s now working as a freelancer and owns her own business. Read on to learn to how she made the leap into tech and moving to Germany and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
Attracting and retaining talent by improving the developer experience (DX) is a focus for many organisations right now, especially equipping teams with additional coding tools. However, the quality of the environment in which people code is just one aspect of a developer’s day, so any strategies to enhance the DX should encompass every way to remove or reduce as much friction and toil as possible.
Combining relaxation and programming – How it can succeed? Constantly concentrating in everyday life, always keeping an overview, taking full control of all areas and trying to reconcile conflicting aspects. Sounds like a feat that consumes a lot of energy. Can it perhaps be done differently? What about simply acting in the flow, letting things happen, relaxing, and getting to the right place at the right time?
After logging off for the day, it’s easy to fall into old habits, like staying glued to your phone all night, answering emails until bedtime, putting in extra hours in a project off-the-clock, or stressing about the week ahead. This season, it’s time to be proactive about achieving a better work-life balance. We spoke to some of our experts about how they unwind, how IT companies can better support their employees and their health, and what hobbies are helping developers de-stress.
Admittedly, direct communication suffers in times of home office. The stress of everyday life, the daily pressure of deadlines, and the fast-moving nature of information also means that you can’t wait to reach your colleague, co-worker, or supervisor in person. So, what do you do? You send a quick email. But stop! This can be disastrous because not every piece of information is suitable to quickly shoot out via email.
During the coronavirus crisis, one human characteristic has become clearer than ever. There must always be someone to blame, otherwise, you’d end up blaming yourself for the whole mess. It’s no different at work. When an IT project crashes, the first thing we do is look for one or more culprits before we deal with the mistakes constructively. But why does there always have to be someone to blame? What about personal responsibility? Shouldn’t everyone occasionally take a good look at themselves and reflect upon their behavior, performance, and commitment? What do agile development teams do differently?
Every generation has its own ideas about what their dream job is. Twenty years ago, it was a company car or annual bonus that attracted sought-after professionals, but today’s generation is once again focusing more on security and a high recreational value rather than material values. But the generations also differ in the way they work. In our daily lives, this can quickly become a test of endurance when “old hands” and “greenhorns” meet. How can cross-generational teams still work together successfully?
It feels like the movie “Groundhog Day”. Every day is the same. No real vacation for months, no parties, no spontaneous meetings, no shopping trips to the electronics store, no Saturday afternoon at the hardware store. Everyday life only takes place at home. Here, you’re either running from one web meeting to the next or you’re on reduced hours but still working overtime.
