And How Our Tech Community Might Heal — Please see updates at the bottom of the post Stack Overflow, a source of helpful answers to software development questions for many people, is also a source of considerable suffering. As the founder of Compassionate Coding, a company whose mission is to heal suffering in and around the tech industry…

I run a company called Compassionate Coding, and I’m often suggesting that people treat each other more kindly. This leads some people to believe that I’m a naturally “nice” or charismatic person. People who have known me for years can tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. …

In 2016, I went vegan, started a mission-driven company, and ran my first marathon. All of these were New Year’s resolutions, so I’m not willing to accept any cynicism related to making resolutions! Actually, the fact that people continue to make resolutions gives me great hope for the future of…

I met a young software engineer on the train the other day, and we started talking about mentoring. Although he’s only been an engineer for two years, he works with several less experienced engineers. When I asked if he had been able to mentor them, he responded, “I’m too scared.”…

Coding can be stressful. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out or you’ve been doing it for 30 years—you are going to experience difficult moments. You may become frustrated when stuck troubleshooting a bug, irritated by a disagreement with a coworker, or stressed out about a deadline. Self-compassion is…

Retrospectives are, without a doubt, my favorite part of the agile workflow. There’s time to celebrate successes, there’s time to target specific areas for improvement, and there’s even time to make a plan to work toward that improvement. …

“They’re not the happiest bunch. They’re all overworked and under pressure.” This is how a wellness professional described Silicon Valley tech workers at an event I attended earlier this week. She used “they” because most of the people in the audience did not work in tech. …

When it comes to communication, especially involving engineers, tech has a toxic tone problem. I know because I’ve not only been surrounded by it for the past decade, but during less enlightened moments, I’ve contributed to it. Just to be clear, by tone, I am referring to the “attitude expressed…

Software may be built on machines, but it’s built by, with, and for human beings. Thankfully, people working in tech are starting to recognize the importance of understanding the feelings of others in developing software. …