Front and backend in tech companies

There’s a thing I realized about web development, which to me is sort of like a sad truth.

In the company I’m currently at we’re all full stack devs, which means that even though we were hired as backend devs we still have to do the frontend tasks.

We normally split the tasks in “front” and “back”, so sometimes you get to do the backend part while a colleague is working on the frontend, and sometimes is the other way around. Then it’s just a matter of gluing the pieces together.

But, one thing I realized is that when the boss comes to check on the state of our developement, the one who always gets more recognizement and good feedback is the one working on the frontend part, since at the end frontend is all what the user sees and so does the boss.

Basically the boss comes and notices the one working on the frontend with the new functionality “working” in a browser, and then sees the backend dude with a bunch of terminals and code in the screen. Within a second, your boss can tell what the frontend guy is working on but can’t really tell what the backend one is doing.

Of course it’s your work to keep your boss updated, whether you’re working on frontend or backend. However it seems a bit unfair to me that if you work on frontend tasks, your boss will be more aware of what you’re doing and therefore gain a better perception of you than if he saw you with a bunch of terminals and code doing god knows what.

What do you think? Have you faced this in your companies?