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

提案名称：合作研究：理解全球分布式软件开发工作人员的工作与生活平衡问题机构：华盛顿州立大学摘要：日期：08/02/09该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。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经变得无处不在。使用这种团队的一个流行领域是在信息系统开发中。有趣的是，虽然全球分布式系统开发的动机通常是利用适当的人力资本，但是很少有人关注涉及到这种情况的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涉及全球分布式系统开发的it专业人员的工作与生活平衡，他们经常经历工作与个人生活领域之间的重叠和冲突。尽管存在这些公认的挑战，但据我们所知，在这种情况下，没有经验检验，也很少有理论观点告诉我们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），旨在为全球分布式系统开发环境下的工作与生活平衡提供一个理论模型，并为与此背景相关的工作与生活平衡现象提供一个更完整、更可信、更有理论依据的图景。我们利用多阶段多方法的经验方法，包括探索性访谈和试点调查，随后是全面调查，最后是跨文化背景下全球分布式系统开发人员的深度访谈。这项研究将有助于证明，分布式/虚拟环境中的工作人员面临着独特的挑战。这项研究将有助于了解这些挑战的具体性质，无论是在因素和过程方面，也有助于开发最佳实践和项目，组织可以实施超越流行的家庭友好政策和灵活的工作安排，以帮助员工管理他们的工作和个人生活。结果还将使我们能够理解工作与生活平衡（或缺乏平衡）对员工流动和组织承诺的影响，以及其他因素，从而引导我们发现确保全球分布式系统开发能力专业人员的稳定供应的方法，这样，IT和相关领域的分布式/虚拟形式的工作可以在一段时间内持续下去。最后，通过跨文化分析，我们希望发现与工作与生活平衡相关问题相关的文化差异，并使我们能够从不同地区的最佳实践中学习。我们相信，从这项研究中获得的知识将对多个学科的学术界感兴趣，包括信息系统、计算机支持的协同工作、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.