"Developerocracy" – A New Challenge for Scandinavia?

Over the past decade, I've observed a shift in many Scandinavian companies towards what I would call a "developerocracy." This represents a considerable departure from earlier times, where business needs drove most decisions. Today, developers often prioritize their personal interests over the business's desires.

This trend manifests in several ways:

1. Resistance to Business Requests: Developers often resist implementing features or solutions that don’t align with their personal interests or preferences. These requests get pushed to the bottom of the backlog. If the business insists, developers cite vague issues such as "incorrect requirements" or other questionable reasons. Tasks that diverge from their favorite tools or frameworks, or lack supporting tutorials, tend to be deprioritized further.

2. Inefficient Development Practices: The cost of developing features seems irrelevant to many developers. They frequently introduce unnecessary layers of abstraction, resulting in buggy, slow, and inflexible solutions.

3. Obstruction of External Solutions: When businesses seek to resolve issues by purchasing external products, developers often present a laundry list of reasons why these solutions are unfeasible. These objections are usually weak or fabricated, stemming from a perceived threat to their control. As a result, even if the Head of IT wishes to implement a solution, it gets stalled by developers who refuse to cooperate and face no repercussions for their obstruction.

I believe the following factors contribute to this situation:

1. A prolonged economic boom 2. Excessive job security 3. Diminished average competency as more individuals enter the field

What are your thoughts and experiences on this? Have you observed similar trends in your own environment?