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Cited by 269

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

Open access
Ralph, Paul, Baltes, Sebastian, Adisaputri, Gianisa, Torkar, Richard, Kovalenko, Vladimir, Kalinowski, Marcos, Novielli, Nicole, Yoo, Shin, Devroey, Xavier, Tan, Xin, Zhou, Minghui, Turhan, Burak, Hoda, Rashina, Hata, Hideaki, Robles, Gregorio, Milani Fard, Amin, Alkadhi, Rana·2020·Empirical Software Engineering
DOI 10.1007/s10664-020-09875-y
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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.

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Metadata

Authors
Ralph, P., Baltes, S., Adisaputri, G., Torkar, R., Kovalenko, V., Kalinowski, M., Novielli, N., Yoo, S., Devroey, X., Tan, X., Zhou, M., Turhan, B., Hoda, R., Hata, H., Robles, G., Milani Fard, A., & Alkadhi, R.
Venue
Empirical Software Engineering
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-09-14
Volume
25
Issue
6
Pages
4927-4961
ISSN
  • 1382-3256 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-7616
DOI
10.1007/s10664-020-09875-y
OpenAlex
W4288079797
Cited by
269
References
7
FWCI
60.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
hybrid
Licence
Funders
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grant (RGPIN-2020-05001)
  • Government of Spain (RTI2018-101963-B-100)

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