If “maximise skill development” were really so central, I would be much happier with the working environment.
I think that would involve some combination of:
* Choice over what kind of tasks you work on
* Freedom to spend some extra time on a task, both to get it to a level of quality you are happy with and to use the opportunity to learn the domain in question a little better
* Blocks of time to work on a maker's schedule; to read, concentrate, and work with minimal interruption from coworkers
These things benefit not only the happiness and well-being of a software engineer (which is where I'll focus since that's what I am and this is hacker news) but also his/her ability to learn and improve over time.
In the short term, these things might make you less valuable to the business by not being at the constant beck and call of others, and taking longer on tasks.
In the long term, I think they would more than pay for themselves for all concerned. If I were offered these sorts of improvements to the working arrangement in exchange for a pay cut, I'd be very very interested.
Honestly, I think too many people take their situation as a given and don't look at it as something they can change and improve for themselves.
> * Choice over what kind of tasks you work on
At a high level, you already do that by choosing one job over another.
> * Freedom to spend some extra time on a task, both to get it to a level of quality you are happy with and to use the opportunity to learn the domain in question a little better
That should be in your schedule estimate. When the PM asks "How long will this take?" the duration you tell them should include time to understand what you're doing and make it nice.
> * Blocks of time to work on a maker's schedule; to read, concentrate, and work with minimal interruption from coworkers
I don't exactly understand what this means. Block off time in your calendar and turn off IM and email. If that doesn't work, go to an empty meeting room or somewhere else quite where people can't find you and work from there.
My experience has been that the social norms and cues in the workplace are generally stacked against people doing these things, and in the past five years seem to have moved farther away from these ideals rather than closer to them. Maybe that isn't really the trend; that's my perception of it though.
Maybe I just need to do a better job of finding the right arrangement. It doesn't seem like an easy topic to address in the hiring process though. I find that I only really learn what the environment is like by working in it, and even that can change from team to team or month to month.
I think that would involve some combination of:
* Choice over what kind of tasks you work on
* Freedom to spend some extra time on a task, both to get it to a level of quality you are happy with and to use the opportunity to learn the domain in question a little better
* Blocks of time to work on a maker's schedule; to read, concentrate, and work with minimal interruption from coworkers
These things benefit not only the happiness and well-being of a software engineer (which is where I'll focus since that's what I am and this is hacker news) but also his/her ability to learn and improve over time.
In the short term, these things might make you less valuable to the business by not being at the constant beck and call of others, and taking longer on tasks.
In the long term, I think they would more than pay for themselves for all concerned. If I were offered these sorts of improvements to the working arrangement in exchange for a pay cut, I'd be very very interested.