Why Company Culture is Important to Your Career as a Software Engineer
The impact of a company’s culture is reflected in a company’s ability to achieve their goals and productivity levels, and in their employees’ satisfaction. The company culture can make or break a business.
Yet, company culture is the one thing that many aspiring programmers overlook in their job search. Unfortunately, they usually find out after accepting a job offer that they are working for a company with a very poor culture. That oversight can have a negative impact on their career.
To better explain the impact of company culture, I am going to use experiences from my career to illustrate.
Working hours
The 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 40-hour work week is a reflection of how work was performed in the Industrial Revolution. During this time, workers punched a clock which measured the amount of time worked. Management used the punch clock to gauge employee productivity.
Today’s software engineers are smart, creative people who prefer to work in an autonomous environment to create their best work. Unfortunately, at some companies, management still clings to hours worked as a barometer of productivity.
The following examples are how two management teams from two different companies that I worked for…
