Collaborative Research: Understanding Work-Life Balance Issues of the Globally Distributed Software Development Workforce

提案标题：合作研究：了解工作-全球分布的生活问题软件开发WORKFORCE机构：华盛顿州大学摘要日期：08/02/09该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助。近年来，使用地理上(通常是全球)分布的团队来完成组织任务已变得无处不在。其中一个流行的领域是信息系统开发。有趣的是，尽管全球分布式系统开发的动机往往是利用适当的人力资本，但很少有人注意到解决参与其中的IT专业人员所面临的人力资源问题。一个特别具有挑战性的人力资源问题是参与全球分布式系统开发的信息技术专业人员的工作与生活平衡问题，他们经常遇到工作和个人生活领域的经验重叠和冲突。除了这些公认的挑战外，我们还不知道有什么经验性的检验，也很少有理论观点告诉我们在这种情况下工作与生活的平衡问题。我们的研究项目试图填补这一空白。本研究整合了三个理论视角(边界理论、社会交换理论和辩证理论)，试图开发一个全球分布式系统开发环境中工作-生活平衡的理论模型，并提供与此背景相关的工作-生活平衡现象的更完整、更可信和更有理论依据的图景。本研究采用探索性访谈和先导性调查相结合的多阶段、多方法的实证研究方法，对跨文化背景下全球分布的系统开发人员进行了全面的调查和深入的访谈。研究将有助于证明分布/虚拟环境中的工作人员面临独特的挑战。这项研究将有助于了解这些挑战在因素和流程方面的具体性质，并有助于制定最佳实践和计划，组织可以在流行的家庭友好型政策和灵活的工作安排之外实施这些最佳实践和计划，以帮助员工管理他们的工作和个人生活。结果还将使我们了解工作-生活平衡(或缺乏平衡)对员工离职和组织承诺等方面的影响，从而引导我们找到方法，以确保全球分布的具有系统开发能力的专业人员的稳定供应，从而使IT和相关领域的分布式/虚拟形式的工作能够在更长的一段时间内保持下去。最后，通过跨文化分析，我们希望揭示与工作和生活平衡相关的问题所涉及的文化细微差别，并让我们从不同地点的最佳实践中学习。我们相信，从这项研究中获得的知识将在几个学科中引起学术界的兴趣，包括信息系统、计算机支持的合作工作、人力资源管理和国际商务。

Proposal Title: Collaborative Research: UNDERSTANDING WORK-LIFEBALANCE ISSUES OF THE GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTEDSOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT WORKFORCEInstitution: Washington State UniversityAbstract Date: 08/02/09This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Public Law 111-5). In recent years, the use of geographically (and often globally)distributed teams to accomplish organizational tasks has become ubiquitous. One arenawhere the use of such teams is popular is in Information Systems Development.Interestingly, while the motivation for globally distributed systems development is oftento harness appropriate human capital, scant attention has been paid toward addressingthe human resource issues faced by the IT professionals involved in this context. Oneparticularly challenging human resource issue is that of work-life balance of the ITprofessionals involved in globally distributed systems development, who routinelyexperience overlaps and conflicts between their work and personal life domains. In spiteof these recognized challenges, we know of no empirical examinations and very fewtheoretical perspectives informing us about work-life balance issues in this context. Ourresearch program attempts to fill this gap.Integrating three theoretical perspectives (Border Theory, Social Exchange Theory, andDialectical Theory), this research seeks to develop a theoretical model for work-lifebalance in globally distributed systems development settings, and provides a morecomplete, credible, and theoretically-informed picture of the work-life balancephenomenon as it relates to this context. We utilize a multi-stage multi-method empiricalapproach involving exploratory interviews and pilot survey, followed by a full-scalesurvey, and finally in-depth interviews of globally distributed systems developmentworkers within a cross-cultural context.The research will help demonstrate that workers in distributed/virtual settings faceunique challenges. The study will help understand the specific nature of thesechallenges, both in terms of factors and processes, and also facilitate the developmentof best practices and programs that organizations can implement beyond the popularfamily-friendly policies and flexible work arrangements, to help employees manage theirwork and personal lives. The results will also enable us to understand the effect ofwork-life balance (or the lack thereof) on worker turnover and organizationalcommitment, among others, and thereby lead us to discover ways to ensure a steadysupply of globally distributed systems development -capable professionals, such thatthe distributed/virtual form of work in IT and related areas can be sustained over alonger period of time. Finally, through the cross-cultural analysis, we hope to uncoverthe cultural nuances associated with work-life balance -related issues, and allow us tolearn from the best practices in diverse locations. We believe that the knowledge gainedfrom this research will be of interest to the scholarly communities in several disciplines,including information systems, computer supported cooperative work, human resourcemanagement, and international business.