Perceptions of Pressure and Stress Among Agile Team Members: Empirical Insights from Serbia
Keywords:
agile teams, workplace stress, workplace pressure, perceptions, team dynamics
Abstract
This paper investigates the perceptions of pressure and stress among agile team members, focusing on various factors, such as personal characteristics, team composition, and communication practices. Empirical research was conducted by using an online questionnaire from April to October 2024. During this time, 110 agile team members from Serbian software development companies took part in the research. Hypothesis testing, including the Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis H-test, indicated no statistically significant differences by gender, age, team membership length, team size, company type, frequency of team meetings and main type of team communication. Notably, while the influence of team size approached significance, the overall results indicate that personal, teams, and organizational factors have no significant effect on perceptions of pressure and stress in agile teams. These results highlight the need for further investigation into alternative factors that may influence perceptions of pressure and stress, but they also demonstrate the superiority of agile teams.
References
Abdul Wahab, A. M., Dorasamy, M., & Ahmad, A. A. (2024). Product Team in Transition: A Qualitative Case Study of Team Motivation and Collaboration during Agile Adaptation. International Journal of Management, Finance & Accounting, 5(2), 50-74. https://doi.org/10.33093/ijomfa.2024.5.2.3
Antić, S. (2024). The role and importance of agile teams in IT companies (Master’s thesis). Modern business school, Belgrade, Serbia.
Augner, T., & Schermuly, C. C. (2023). Agile project management and emotional exhaustion: A moderated mediation process. Project Management Journal, 54(5), 491-507. https://doi.org/10.1177/875697282311519
Barker, J. (1993). Tightening the iron cage: Concertive control in self‐managing teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(3), 408-437. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393374
Brendzel, K. (2023). Agile Project Team Management in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector – Empirical Research. Organization & Management, 176, 33-43. https://doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2023.176.3
Carroll, N., Conboy, K., & Wang, X. (2023). From transformation to normalisation: An exploratory study of a large-scale agile transformation. Journal of Information Technology, 8(3), 67-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/02683962231164428
Ciancarini, P., Farina, M., Masyagin, S., Succi, G., Yermolaieva, S., & Zagvozkina, N. (2021). Root Causes of Interaction Issues in Agile Software Development Teams: Status and Perspectives. In K. Arai (Ed.), Advances in Information and Communication (pp. 1017-1036). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Godard, J. (2001). High Performance and the Transformation of Work? The Implications of Alternative Work Practices for the Experience and Outcomes of Work. ILR Review, 54(4), 776-805. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979390105400402
Heinrichs, K., Angerer, P., Li, J., Loerbroks, A., Weigl, M., & Müller, A. (2020). Changes in the association between job decision latitude and work engagement at different levels of work experience: A 10-year longitudinal study. Work & Stress, 34(2), 111-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2019.1577310
I Kennedyd, S., Zadeh, A. A., Choi, J., & Alborz, S. (2024). Agile Practices and it Development Team Well-Being: Unveiling the Path to Successful Project Delivery. Engineering Management Journal, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10429247.2024.2413710
King, R.C. & V. Sethi (1997). The moderating effect of organizational commitment on burnout in information systems professionals. European Journal of Information Systems, 6(2), 86-96. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000259
Khanagha, S., Volberda, H. W., Alexiou, A., & Annosi, M. C. (2022). Mitigating the dark side of agile teams: Peer pressure, leaders’ control, and the innovative output of agile teams. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 39(3), 334-350. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12589
Kude, T., Foerderer, J., Mithas, S., & Heinzl, A. (2023). How deadline orientation and architectural modularity influence software quality and job satisfaction. Journal of Operations Management, 69(6), 941-964. https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1230
Laanti, M. (2013, January). Agile and Wellbeing--Stress, Empowerment, and Performance in Scrum and Kanban Teams. Paper presented at the 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Wailea. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2013.74
Laanti, M., Salo, O., & Abrahamsson, P. (2011). Agile methods rapidly replacing traditional methods at Nokia: A survey of opinions on agile transformation. Information and Software Technology, 53(3), 276-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2010.11.010
Lazarević, S., & Lukić Nikolić, J. (2024). Timovi i timski rad - upravljanje timskim procesima. Beograd: Visoka sportska i zdravstvena škola.
Lukić Nikolić, J., & Mirković, V. (2023). Occupational Burnout among Employees in Serbian Banking Sector: Evidence during Covid-19 Pandemic. Inzinerine Ekonomika-Engineering Economics, 34(5), 500-513. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.34.5.31558
Lukić Nikolić, J., & Garabinović, D. (2023). Personal and organizational factors impacting burnout syndrome among hotel employees: A bibliometric and content analysis. Hotel and Tourism Management, 11(2), 129-145. https://doi.org/10.5937/menhottur2302129L
Lukić Nikolić, J., Dudić, B., & Mirković, V. (2024). The Impact of Employee Engagement on Organizational Agility in the Digital Age: A Case Study of the Software Development Company. International Review, 1/2, 15-25. https://doi.org/ 10.5937/intrev2401015N
Melnik, G., & Maurer, F. (2006, June). Comparative analysis of job satisfaction in agile and non-agile software development teams. Paper presented at the International conference on extreme programming and agile processes in software engineering, Berlin. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/11774129_4
Mwakyusa, J. R. P., & Mcharo, E. W. (2024). Role ambiguity and role conflict effects on employees’ emotional exhaustion in healthcare services in Tanzania. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2326237
Ogbonnaya, C. (2019). Exploring possible trade‐offs between organisational performance and employee well‐being: The role of teamwork practices. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(3), 451-468. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12238
Parker, M., & Slaughter, J. (1988). Choosing sides: Unions and team concept. Boston, MA: South End Press.
Parker, M., & Slaughter, J. (1995). Unions and management by stress. In S. Babson (Ed.), Lean work: Empowerment and exploitation in the global auto industry (pp. 43–53). Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.
Pfeiffer, S., Sauer, S., & Ritter, T. (2019). Agile methods as stress management tools? An empirical study. Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 13(2), 20-36. https://doi.org/10.13169/workorgalaboglob.13.2.0020
Raghavan, V. V., Sakaguchi, T., & Mahaney, R. C. (2008). An Empirical Investigation of Stress Factors in Information Technology Professionals. Information Resources Management Journal, 21(2), 38-62. https://doi.org/10.4018/irmj.2008040103
Rietze, S., & Zacher, H. (2023). Agile work practices: opportunities and risks for occupational well-being. Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO), 54(4), 483-498. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11612-023-00712-6
Robertson, D., Rinehart, J., & Huxley, C. (1992). Team concept and kaizen: Japanese production management in a unionized Canadian auto plant. Studies in Political Economy, 39(1), 77–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/19187033.1992.11675418
Taber, K. S. (2018). The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education. Research in Science Education, 48, 1273-1296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2
Tam, C., Moura, E., Oliveira, T., & Varajão, J. (2020). The Factors Influencing the Success of Ongoing Agile Software Development Projects. International Journal of Project Management, 38(3), 165-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.02.001
Tripp, J. F., & Riemenschneider, C. K. (2014, January). Toward an understanding of job satisfaction on agile teams: Agile development as work redesign. Paper presented at the 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Waikoloa. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.494
Uraon, R. S., Chauhan, A., Bharati, R., & Sahu, K. (2024). Do agile work practices impact team performance through project commitment? Evidence from the information technology industry. International Journal of Productivity & Performance Management, 73(4), 1212-1234. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2023-0114
Venkatesh, V., Thong, J. Y., Chan, F. K., Hoehle, H., & Spohrer, K. (2020). How agile software development methods reduce work exhaustion: Insights on role perceptions and organizational skills. Information Systems Journal, 30(4), 733-761. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12282
Vishnubhotla, S. D., & Mendes, E. (2024). Examining the effect of software professionals’ personality & additional capabilities on agile teams’ climate. Journal of Systems and Software, 214, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2024.112054
Vishnubhotla, S. D., Mendes, E., & Lundberg, L. (2020). Investigating the relationship between personalities and agile team climate of software professionals in a telecom company. Information and Software Technology, 126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2020.106335
Zainal, D., Razali, R., & Mansor, Z. (2020). Team Formation for Agile Software Development: A Review. International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 10(2), 555-561. https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.10.2.10191
Antić, S. (2024). The role and importance of agile teams in IT companies (Master’s thesis). Modern business school, Belgrade, Serbia.
Augner, T., & Schermuly, C. C. (2023). Agile project management and emotional exhaustion: A moderated mediation process. Project Management Journal, 54(5), 491-507. https://doi.org/10.1177/875697282311519
Barker, J. (1993). Tightening the iron cage: Concertive control in self‐managing teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(3), 408-437. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393374
Brendzel, K. (2023). Agile Project Team Management in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector – Empirical Research. Organization & Management, 176, 33-43. https://doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2023.176.3
Carroll, N., Conboy, K., & Wang, X. (2023). From transformation to normalisation: An exploratory study of a large-scale agile transformation. Journal of Information Technology, 8(3), 67-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/02683962231164428
Ciancarini, P., Farina, M., Masyagin, S., Succi, G., Yermolaieva, S., & Zagvozkina, N. (2021). Root Causes of Interaction Issues in Agile Software Development Teams: Status and Perspectives. In K. Arai (Ed.), Advances in Information and Communication (pp. 1017-1036). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Godard, J. (2001). High Performance and the Transformation of Work? The Implications of Alternative Work Practices for the Experience and Outcomes of Work. ILR Review, 54(4), 776-805. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979390105400402
Heinrichs, K., Angerer, P., Li, J., Loerbroks, A., Weigl, M., & Müller, A. (2020). Changes in the association between job decision latitude and work engagement at different levels of work experience: A 10-year longitudinal study. Work & Stress, 34(2), 111-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2019.1577310
I Kennedyd, S., Zadeh, A. A., Choi, J., & Alborz, S. (2024). Agile Practices and it Development Team Well-Being: Unveiling the Path to Successful Project Delivery. Engineering Management Journal, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10429247.2024.2413710
King, R.C. & V. Sethi (1997). The moderating effect of organizational commitment on burnout in information systems professionals. European Journal of Information Systems, 6(2), 86-96. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000259
Khanagha, S., Volberda, H. W., Alexiou, A., & Annosi, M. C. (2022). Mitigating the dark side of agile teams: Peer pressure, leaders’ control, and the innovative output of agile teams. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 39(3), 334-350. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12589
Kude, T., Foerderer, J., Mithas, S., & Heinzl, A. (2023). How deadline orientation and architectural modularity influence software quality and job satisfaction. Journal of Operations Management, 69(6), 941-964. https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1230
Laanti, M. (2013, January). Agile and Wellbeing--Stress, Empowerment, and Performance in Scrum and Kanban Teams. Paper presented at the 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Wailea. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2013.74
Laanti, M., Salo, O., & Abrahamsson, P. (2011). Agile methods rapidly replacing traditional methods at Nokia: A survey of opinions on agile transformation. Information and Software Technology, 53(3), 276-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2010.11.010
Lazarević, S., & Lukić Nikolić, J. (2024). Timovi i timski rad - upravljanje timskim procesima. Beograd: Visoka sportska i zdravstvena škola.
Lukić Nikolić, J., & Mirković, V. (2023). Occupational Burnout among Employees in Serbian Banking Sector: Evidence during Covid-19 Pandemic. Inzinerine Ekonomika-Engineering Economics, 34(5), 500-513. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.34.5.31558
Lukić Nikolić, J., & Garabinović, D. (2023). Personal and organizational factors impacting burnout syndrome among hotel employees: A bibliometric and content analysis. Hotel and Tourism Management, 11(2), 129-145. https://doi.org/10.5937/menhottur2302129L
Lukić Nikolić, J., Dudić, B., & Mirković, V. (2024). The Impact of Employee Engagement on Organizational Agility in the Digital Age: A Case Study of the Software Development Company. International Review, 1/2, 15-25. https://doi.org/ 10.5937/intrev2401015N
Melnik, G., & Maurer, F. (2006, June). Comparative analysis of job satisfaction in agile and non-agile software development teams. Paper presented at the International conference on extreme programming and agile processes in software engineering, Berlin. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/11774129_4
Mwakyusa, J. R. P., & Mcharo, E. W. (2024). Role ambiguity and role conflict effects on employees’ emotional exhaustion in healthcare services in Tanzania. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2326237
Ogbonnaya, C. (2019). Exploring possible trade‐offs between organisational performance and employee well‐being: The role of teamwork practices. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(3), 451-468. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12238
Parker, M., & Slaughter, J. (1988). Choosing sides: Unions and team concept. Boston, MA: South End Press.
Parker, M., & Slaughter, J. (1995). Unions and management by stress. In S. Babson (Ed.), Lean work: Empowerment and exploitation in the global auto industry (pp. 43–53). Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.
Pfeiffer, S., Sauer, S., & Ritter, T. (2019). Agile methods as stress management tools? An empirical study. Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 13(2), 20-36. https://doi.org/10.13169/workorgalaboglob.13.2.0020
Raghavan, V. V., Sakaguchi, T., & Mahaney, R. C. (2008). An Empirical Investigation of Stress Factors in Information Technology Professionals. Information Resources Management Journal, 21(2), 38-62. https://doi.org/10.4018/irmj.2008040103
Rietze, S., & Zacher, H. (2023). Agile work practices: opportunities and risks for occupational well-being. Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO), 54(4), 483-498. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11612-023-00712-6
Robertson, D., Rinehart, J., & Huxley, C. (1992). Team concept and kaizen: Japanese production management in a unionized Canadian auto plant. Studies in Political Economy, 39(1), 77–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/19187033.1992.11675418
Taber, K. S. (2018). The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education. Research in Science Education, 48, 1273-1296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2
Tam, C., Moura, E., Oliveira, T., & Varajão, J. (2020). The Factors Influencing the Success of Ongoing Agile Software Development Projects. International Journal of Project Management, 38(3), 165-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.02.001
Tripp, J. F., & Riemenschneider, C. K. (2014, January). Toward an understanding of job satisfaction on agile teams: Agile development as work redesign. Paper presented at the 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Waikoloa. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.494
Uraon, R. S., Chauhan, A., Bharati, R., & Sahu, K. (2024). Do agile work practices impact team performance through project commitment? Evidence from the information technology industry. International Journal of Productivity & Performance Management, 73(4), 1212-1234. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2023-0114
Venkatesh, V., Thong, J. Y., Chan, F. K., Hoehle, H., & Spohrer, K. (2020). How agile software development methods reduce work exhaustion: Insights on role perceptions and organizational skills. Information Systems Journal, 30(4), 733-761. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12282
Vishnubhotla, S. D., & Mendes, E. (2024). Examining the effect of software professionals’ personality & additional capabilities on agile teams’ climate. Journal of Systems and Software, 214, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2024.112054
Vishnubhotla, S. D., Mendes, E., & Lundberg, L. (2020). Investigating the relationship between personalities and agile team climate of software professionals in a telecom company. Information and Software Technology, 126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2020.106335
Zainal, D., Razali, R., & Mansor, Z. (2020). Team Formation for Agile Software Development: A Review. International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 10(2), 555-561. https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.10.2.10191