Are there any Differences in the Way that Software Engineers Perceive their Productivity Depending on their Work Style?

Abstract

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working seemed here to stay. However, attempts to return to working in the office are currently being made, mainly by large multinationals. We therefore set out to investigate software-industry workers’ opinions of their productivity in their current work mode. This paper presents the results of surveys applied to software engineers from Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina with the purpose of analysing how they perceive their productivity and that of their team when working either partially or totally in a remote manner. The results indicate that most of the respondents prefer to work remotely. Furthermore, according to their perception, their productivity and that of their team is, in general, equal or superior to that achieved in the office.