Pandemic programming

Abstract

Context As a novel coronavirus swept the world in early 2020, thousands of software developers began working from home. Many did so on short notice, under difficult and stressful conditions. Objective This study investigates the effects of the pandemic on developers’ wellbeing and productivity. Method A questionnaire survey was created mainly from existing, validated scales and translated into 12 languages. The data was analyzed using non-parametric inferential statistics and structural equation modeling. Results The questionnaire received 2225 usable responses from 53 countries. Factor analysis supported the validity of the scales and the structural model achieved a good fit (CFI = 0.961, RMSEA = 0.051, SRMR = 0.067). Confirmatory results include: (1) the pandemic has had a negative effect on developers’ wellbeing and productivity; (2) productivity and wellbeing are closely related; (3) disaster preparedness, fear related to the pandemic and home office ergonomics all affect wellbeing or productivity. Exploratory analysis suggests that: (1) women, parents and people with disabilities may be disproportionately affected; (2) different people need different kinds of support. Conclusions To improve employee productivity, software companies should focus on maximizing employee wellbeing and improving the ergonomics of employees’ home offices. Women, parents and disabled persons may require extra support.

The Impacts of Working at Home on the Productivity of Brazilian Women During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…According to the literature, "In the COVID-19 crisis, employers in effect requisitioned the home as a site to maintain productivity, but in most cases, they did not compensate for this imposition" (Jenkins & Smiths, 2021, p.4), collaborating with the 67.7% of sample that did not receive any support during WFH in the pandemic. However, as the literature says women, parents and people with disabilities may be disproportionately affected by pandemic in productivity and wellbeing, and require an extra support (Ralph, Baltes & Adisaputri et al, 2020).…”

“…The average age of the general sample (including men and women) is unknown due to the inconsistency of methods of each study. The paper of Ralph, Baltes, Adisaputri, G. et al (2020) is the only that mentions a slice of Brazilian audience (272 respondents, 2.07% of total sample). Each work's details were described in the table 2, including their authors, year, type and main contributions to this theme.…”

PLS-SEM for Software Engineering Research

“…PLS-SEM is often considered as an alternative to covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM). Similarly to PLS-SEM, CB-SEM has also been used in SE research [131,150], though it has not seen widespread adoption.…”

The effect of training and workstation adjustability on teleworker discomfort during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, this forced shift to telework also had negative effects, including feelings of social isolation, the inability to focus on work amid the demands of the home (especially in households with children and pets), lack of proper workstation equipment and the associated risks of poor workstation setup, longer working hours, increased emotional exhaustion and stress, technological difficulties and issues with accessing work and data remotely, decreased job satisfaction, and the perceived lack of professional advancement (Baert et al, 2020;Buomprisco et al, 2021;Davis et al, 2020;Hadi et al, 2021;Morilla-Luchena et al, 2021;Nguyen and Armoogum, 2021). These negative effects all translate to a reduction in self-reported wellbeing, especially among women (Escudero-Castillo et al, 2021;Ralph et al, 2020). Given the social isolation and fear of the unknown that was related to the global pandemic, many of these factors were unavoidable.…”

“…Under the right conditions even non-voluntary teleworking can be a positive experience. Telework improves work-life balance by allowing individuals to easily move between their professional and family responsibilities (Baert et al, 2020; Buomprisco et al, 2021; de Macêdo et al, 2020; Morilla-Luchena et al, 2021), an effect more pronounced in women (Nguyen and Armoogum, 2021; Raišienė et al, 2020; Ralph et al, 2020). Other benefits of the forced telework imposed during the pandemic include feelings of safety with regards to coronavirus exposure and a decrease in commuting time and its associated risks (Bouziri et al, 2020; Morilla-Luchena et al, 2021).…”