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Pandemic programming: How COVID-19 affects software developers and how their organizations can help

Journal Article (2020)
Author(s)

Paul Ralph (Dalhousie University)

Sebastian Baltes (University of Adelaide)

Gianisa Adisaputri (Dalhousie University)

Richard Torkar (Chalmers University of Technology, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, University of Gothenburg)

Vladimir Kovalenko (JetBrains)

Marcos Kalinowski (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro)

Nicole Novielli (University of Bari Aldo Moro)

Shin Yoo (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

Xavier DEVROEY (TU Delft - Software Engineering)

Xin Tan (Peking University)

Minghui Zhou (Peking University)

Burak Turhan (Monash University, University of Oulu)

Rashina Hoda (Monash University)

Hideaki Hata (Nara Institute of Science and Technology)

Gregorio Robles (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)

Amin Milani Fard (New York Institute of Technology)

Rana Alkadhi (King Saud University)

Research Group
Software Engineering
Copyright
© 2020 Paul Ralph, Sebastian Baltes, Gianisa Adisaputri, Richard Torkar, V.V. Kovalenko, Marcos Kalinowski, Nicole Novielli, Shin Yoo, Xavier Devroey, Xin Tan, Minghui Zhou, Burak Turhan, Rashina Hoda, Hideaki Hata, Gregorio Robles, Amin Milani Fard, Rana Alkadhi
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-020-09875-y
More Info
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Publication Year
2020
Language
English
Copyright
© 2020 Paul Ralph, Sebastian Baltes, Gianisa Adisaputri, Richard Torkar, V.V. Kovalenko, Marcos Kalinowski, Nicole Novielli, Shin Yoo, Xavier Devroey, Xin Tan, Minghui Zhou, Burak Turhan, Rashina Hoda, Hideaki Hata, Gregorio Robles, Amin Milani Fard, Rana Alkadhi
Research Group
Software Engineering
Issue number
6
Volume number
25
Pages (from-to)
4927-4961
Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

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.