Does the programmer need free buns?

- Where's soda?

I had just opened the refrigerator in the office kitchen, the puzzled words burst out by themselves, because, to my annoyance, there were no drinks.

Since my student practice, each company has always provided soda. Carbonated drinks are an integral part of technoculture, especially for programmers who work many hours in a row and late in the evening.
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After several hours of coding, I always try to take a break and drink a jar of icy Diet Coke - or two, or three. Needless to say, a dose of caffeine never hurts.

Embarrassed, I closed the fridge and went down to the cubicle to my colleague Frank.

“Man, there's no soda in the fridge.” What happened?

Without raising his eyes from his two-monitor configuration, Frank replied:

- While you were sick yesterday, our new CFO announced that there would no longer be free soda.

- What? This is crazy. How much can it cost?

Frank, still looking at the monitors, agreed:

- Well yes. Now we have to go down to the machine and fork out for one and a half bucks.

I thought that there must be some kind of misunderstanding. So I went to the manager's office. Sue was a great manager. She always listened to us, and I was sure that she could solve any question.

I looked into her office.

“Have a minute, Sue?”

- Of course, sit down.

I flopped into the visitor chair.

- Surprisingly, this morning there was no soda in the refrigerator. What happened?

Sue smiled.

“Yes, this is a new cost-cutting measure, introduced by Cheryl, our new CFO.” You have to knock on the machine. Well, or bring a bag with jars to work. Soda isn't really worth much, right?

“But that is what I wanted to say, Sue!” What should we think about the company if it is afraid to go broke even on free soda?

Sue looked at me keenly and tenderly. She always knew how to make it clear that she was completely on our side. In the end, she was raised from the developers herself, so that she knew what we needed.

- I fully understand, but because of the stagnation in the economy, sales have fallen, so we have to make difficult decisions. You may have noticed that the bar with free snacks is also missing. But at least nobody got fired, right?

Stunned, I said:

- Wait, what? Candies and chocolates disappeared too?

Sue shrugged.

- You will survive. Maybe we can all organize and take turns buying drinks and snacks?

I shook my head.

“C'mon, Sue.” What should we do: concentrate on the code or worry, whose turn is it to run for soda?

Now Sue frowned.

- Okay, now you listen. You didn't just save your job, but you have a very high salary. You can afford to buy soda! In addition, here we can not change anything until sales again go up. Cheryl will not give up on his decision, so please go write some code so that we have something to sell, okay?

Looks like she didn't understand anything at all.

Depressed, I left Sue's office. Of course, I can easily buy soda, but there were days when chocolate bars from the bar were my only food, because I didn’t even have a minute to leave the office before the deadline. And caffeinated beverages helped code deep after midnight.

By the way, the coffee remained free. But I never drank coffee, and who tried it, only spat.

It is not surprising that free soda has become the main topic of controversy in the developers' cubicles.

Sean was the only pepper among us who led a healthy lifestyle, so he accepted the changes easily:

- You should be grateful Cheryl. You will rarely visit a dentist.

Frank retorted:

- But I drank only Diet Coke!

Sean laughed:

- Yeah, and every cola dissolves your teeth. And what about the M & M heap that you scoop every hour? By the way, besides saving a couple of thousand a year, the absence of harmful soda will reduce the company's medical expenses on insurance for treating you, idiot.

I rolled my eyes.

“Sean, do you think we boobies care about the costs of a health insurance company?” The company earns millions - they can afford it.

Sudhir, who was always exceptionally silent, suddenly said:

- You should all be happy to have a job. I have many friends who have long been trying to find at least some place in IT companies.

“You speak like Sue,” I said.

Sudhir rose from his seat, looking from behind the wall of the cubicle:

- Because she is right! I worked in many places in India where nothing was free — except air and water. And the water was often unsuitable for drinking!

Sean picked up:

- Amen, Sudhir. At least we have potable water!

Frank sniffed.

- Have you ever tried the water here?

“You guys miss the most important thing,” I said. - Management expects us to work at least 10 hours a day and often on weekends. Every minute I spend in the office for something other than work is a precious minute of my time that I could spend in the gym, play or sleep. Plus, the lack of soda and snacks lowers our productivity, right? We all have been sitting in caffeine since college finals, because it helps us work with a lack of time. He just needed to work.

Sean spread his hands:

- Yes, you're kidding. Do you think nurses in hospitals or guards are given free soda? They also work many hours in a row, and at night. We, the developers, are simply spoiled, because good ones are hard to find. - And he added his usual elegant phrase about health. “Anyway, caffeinated soda leads to early death .”

Now it was Frank's turn to roll his eyes.

“I don't care, Sean.” Soda on the table helps me keep the rhythm when I code. It is difficult to explain - as part of the creative process. Guards and nurses do not need to worry about creativity.

I put in:

“I don’t know for sure, Frank, but it seems to me that the new rules are only the beginning of changes that we would hardly like. This is a sign that times are changing, and not for the better. There is no longer a startup. I am sure that recent investors are trying to squeeze out as much profit as possible from us in order to sell the company or to bring to the exchange as profitably as possible. These changes are clear signs that the company's culture is changing right before our eyes.

Sudhir reappeared above the wall, and Sean noticed that, who asked:

- What exactly do you mean?

I also got up so that everyone could hear me.

- Soda is just a wake-up call . If culture changes to focus more on cost reduction than on innovation and creativity, do you want to continue working here? Me not.

And of course, in the following months, Cheryl also cut training and conference programs. Then, as expected, at the end of the year there were far fewer premiums and promotions than in previous years, and several cases of what the management called “necessary” reductions. Cheryl, we began to call Turkom - on behalf of the mythical creature, which reduces the number of football teams during training camps .

The result was a massive exodus of talented developers who were not going to wait until the Turk came for them.

Although the company was eventually bought, most analysts considered the price to be low. I think this is due to the fact that the most talented developers just went to other companies with fantastic free buns, like Google, where management set the goal to create the happiest, most productive workspace in the world. Google not only provides free soda, but distributes free lunches and pays massage for employees .

Anxiety about free soda, snacks and other buns seems to be insignificant trifles, but sometimes these little things give the true essence of the company. Management must carefully analyze the impact of changes that can very easily destroy corporate culture and turn employees towards a competitor - who has a full fridge with free soda.