How a Sustainable Mindset in Software Engineering Can Increase Team Performance and Prevent Burnout

Marion Løken argues that sustainable software engineering matters because software is built by people, so their well-being has to be prioritized. She links sustainability to efficient use of computational power, time, and human effort, and to building the right things in the right way.

She says burnout grows with unsustainable workload, little control over delivery, and weak fulfillment or recognition. Her team used broader involvement in discovery, collective discussion of feedback, OKRs, and psychological safety to improve engagement, keep work meaningful, and reduce burnout.

Reading notes

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• software engineering is still primarily built by humans, so well-being has to be prioritized
• sustainable software work means using computational power, time, and human effort carefully
• the goal is both building the right things and building things right
• burnout can come from too much workload, little control over delivery, and little fulfillment or reward
• involving the whole team in discovery and early prototyping helped engagement and reduced burnout
• discussing feedback collectively made the work more meaningful and increased motivation
• OKRs gave the team clear expectations about what would be delivered and what would not
• psychological safety and trust were necessary for the changes to work
• leadership should model support, accept mistakes as part of learning, and remove barriers to speaking up
• weekly short games, team canvases, value workshops, and retrospectives helped build trust