A Snapshot of the Mental Health of Software Professionals

TL;DR

This study surveys 500 software professionals to assess mental health issues, revealing that mental health is a critical concern in the software industry and identifying potential work-related triggers for deterioration.

Contribution

First empirical investigation into mental health among software professionals, highlighting industry-specific challenges and suggesting directions for improvement.

Findings

Mental health issues are prevalent among software professionals.

Work-related factors can trigger mental health deterioration.

The study provides initial evidence of mental health concerns in the software industry.

Abstract

Mental health disorders affect a large number of people, leading to many lives being lost every year. These disorders affect struggling individuals and businesses whose productivity decreases due to days of lost work or lower employee performance. Recent studies provide alarming numbers of individuals who suffer from mental health disorders, e.g., depression and anxiety, in particular contexts, such as academia. In the context of the software industry, there are limited studies that aim to understand the presence of mental health disorders and the characteristics of jobs in this context that can be triggers for the deterioration of the mental health of software professionals. In this paper, we present the results of a survey with 500 software professionals. We investigate different aspects of their mental health and the characteristics of their work to identify possible triggers of mental health deterioration. Our results provide the first evidence that mental health is a critical issue to be addressed in the software industry, as well as raise the direction of changes that can be done in this context to improve the mental health of software professionals.