Stress in agile software development : practices and outcomes

Stress is an important workplace issue, affecting both the health of individuals, and the health of organizations. Early advocacy for Agile Software Development suggested it might help avoid stress, with practices that emphasize a sustainable pace, and self-organizing teams. Our analysis of a 2014 survey, however, suggested that stress might still be commonplace in Agile teams, especially for those with less experience. We also noticed that newcomers to Agile emphasized technical, rather than collaborative, practices, and speculated this might explain the stress. We explored this in our analysis of a follow-up survey conducted in 2016, and report our findings in this paper. We show that there are a variety of factors involved, and that avoiding stress is associated with both collaborative and technical practices, and a range of outcomes

Organizational Stress in High-Level Field Hockey: Examining Transactional Pathways Between Stressors, Appraisals, Coping, and Performance Satisfaction

This study investigated transactional pathways between organizational stressors and their 28 underpinning situational properties, appraisals, coping, perceived coping effectiveness (PCE) 29 and performance satisfaction in athletes. Ten high-level field hockey players were 30 interviewed. Data relating to stressors, situational properties, appraisals and coping were 31 analysed using directed content analysis. Mean PCE scores were calculated and subjective 32 performance satisfaction data were categorised as satisfied, neutral, or dissatisfied. A variety 33 of organizational stressors was reported, which were underpinned by five situational 34 properties. Challenge, threat and harm/loss appraisals were experienced and problem solving 35 was the most commonly reported family of coping. High PCE was not always associated with 36 performance satisfaction. Performance satisfaction was, however, linked to the appraisal 37 experienced. A battery of stress management techniques and ways of coping is useful for 38 optimising appraisals and alleviating negative outcomes of stress

Entrepreneurs' exit and paths to retirement : theoretical and empirical considerations

The number of ageing entrepreneurs in micro- and small-sized companies is rapidly increasing in Finland and other European Union countries. Over half a million jobs, in over one hundred thousand companies within the EU, are lost annually due to unsuccessful, predominantly retirement-related transfers of businesses. This challenge coincides with EU Grand Challenges and has been highlighted in the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan (European Commission 2013). It has been estimated that in Finland, some 8000 jobs are lost yearly due to the ageing of entrepreneurs. Therefore, entrepreneur ageing has implications not only for the ageing individual but also for the company and the society at large. As entrepreneurs age it becomes more essential for them to start planning when and how they transition into retirement. While they may experience several exits and subsequent re-entries into working life via buying or starting new companies, exiting ones entrepreneurial career due to old age retirement differs from exits that occur earlier during the career. In this chapter, we provide a short overview of the entrepreneur retirement and exit literature from an age perspective. Furthermore, we present a theoretical conceptualization which combines entrepreneur retirement process with exit theories. This will enable scholars to better understand the retirement process, including decision-making, transitioning, and adjustment to retirement. We also provide empirical evidence using data collected among Finnish entrepreneurs in 2012 and 2015, where we outline the types of exits and assess several factors, including age, in association with exit intentions.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Role Stress and Organizational Commitment: the Moderating Effects of Occupational Type and Culture

The demand for employees to be more productive while also being adaptable to new organizational pressures has intensified the nature of work and the demands placed upon employees. We meta-analyzed the relationship between employee role stress and organizational commitment and tested the effects of two potential moderators of this relationship. One-hundred and five studies (N = 37,993 individuals) conducted from 2001 to 2019 were included in the meta-analysis. Significant negative relationships were found between three forms of role stress (role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload) and affective organizational commitment. All role stressors had stronger relationships with affective commitment than with continuance commitment which was not found to be significantly related to any of the types of role stress tested. Overall, employees’ perceived role stress was inversely associated with their desire to stay with the organization (affective commitment) but not their need to stay (continuance commitment) with the organization. Moderator analyses revealed that occupational type and culture significantly influenced role stressor-affective commitment relationships. Specifically, stronger relationships were found for studies conducted in transactional occupations and western cultures. Implications of findings for organizations are discussed and directions for future research are provided.Ye

Stress in agile software development: Practices and outcomes

Stress is an important workplace issue, affecting both the health of individuals, and the health of organizations. Early advocacy for Agile Software Development suggested it might help avoid stress, with practices that emphasize a sustainable pace, and self-organizing teams. Our analysis of a 2014 survey, however, suggested that stress might still be commonplace in Agile teams, especially for those with less experience. We also noticed that newcomers to Agile emphasized technical, rather than collaborative, practices, and speculated this might explain the stress. We explored this in our analysis of a follow-up survey conducted in 2016, and report our findings in this paper. We show that there are a variety of factors involved, and that avoiding stress is associated with both collaborative and technical practices, and a range of outcomes