At What Cost? Software Developers' Well-Being in the Age of GenAI

TL;DR

This paper discusses how GenAI impacts software developers' well-being, highlighting risks like increased stress and burnout, and advocates for research focusing on human experience and social context.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework emphasizing human-centric metrics and calls for a shift in GenAI research to prioritize developer well-being and social factors.

Findings

GenAI can increase cognitive load and stress among developers.

It transforms professional norms and access to support.

The paper proposes a new research framework focusing on human experience.

Abstract

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly reshaping software development, with growing emphasis on accelerating productivity and optimizing performance. However, excessive focus on such dimensions risks overlooking the critical implications for developer well-being. GenAI tools can amplify cognitive load, introduce new forms of oversight labor, and escalate expectations around output and pace, contributing to stress, burnout, and diminished work-life balance. The GenAI movement is also transforming professional norms, altering career entry points, demanding continuous adaptation, and deepening inequalities in access and support. This position paper calls for a reorientation of the GenAI research agenda in software development and proposes a theoretical framework to move beyond narrow performance metrics toward investigations that also center on human experience, social context, and sustainable productivity.