Background. The mass transition to remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected software professionals, who abruptly shifted into ostensibly temporary home offices. The effects of this transition on these professionals are complex, depending on the particularities of the context and individuals. Recent studies advocate for remote structures to create opportunities for many equity-deserving groups; however, remote work can also be challenging for some individuals, such as women and individuals with disabilities. Objective. This study aims to investigate the effects of remote work on LGBTQIA+ software professionals. Method. Grounded theory methodology was applied based on information collected from two main sources: a survey questionnaire with a sample of 57 LGBTQIA+ software professionals and nine follow-up interviews with individuals from this sample. This sample included professionals of different genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and levels of experience. Findings. Our findings demonstrate that (1) remote work benefits LGBTQIA+ people by increasing security and visibility; (2) remote work harms LGBTQIA+ software professionals through isolation and invisibility; (3) the benefits outweigh the drawbacks; (4) the drawbacks can be mitigated by supportive measures developed by software companies. Conclusion. This paper investigated how remote work can affect LGBTQIA+ software professionals and presented a set of recommendations on how software companies can address the benefits and limitations associated with this work model. In summary, we concluded that remote work is crucial in increasing diversity and inclusion in the software industry.
翻译:在COVID-19大流行期间,向远程工作的大规模过渡对软件专业人员产生了深刻的影响,这些专业人员突然转为表面上临时的家庭办公室。这种过渡对这些专业人员的影响是复杂的,这取决于背景和个人的具体情况。最近的研究主张建立远程结构,为许多公平保护群体创造机会;然而,远程工作也可能对一些个人,如妇女和残疾人带来挑战。目标。这项研究的目的是调查远程工作对LGBTQIA+软件专业人员的影响。方法。根据从两个主要来源收集的信息采用了理论方法:由57个LGBTQIA+软件专业人员抽样组成的调查问卷和与来自这一抽样的个人进行的9次后续访谈。这种抽样包括不同性别、族裔、性取向和经验水平的专业人员。调查结果表明:(1) 远程工作通过增加安全和可见度对LGBTQIA+残疾人有好处;(2) 远程工作对LGBTQIA+软件专业人员造成孤立和隐视而不见的影响;(3) 好处大于缺点;(4) 通过软件公司制定的支持性措施可以减轻其缺点。本文件对远程工作的好处进行了研究,我们完成了软件行业如何影响LGBTA的工作。