Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to present a pilot analysis on the most effective ways of motivating programmers in Poland. The reason for the choice of the research question was that the IT industry, which is developing dynamically in Poland encounters a growing demand for workers. A synthetic review of the literature on motivating work factors for specialists in the IT industry was conducted and presented. A sample of opinions in the form of in-depth interviews was gathered and analyzed. Results are presented. Discussion and implications are carried out. The main conclusion of the pilot study is that motivating factors for Polish programmers mainly include high pay, personalized perks and organization of working conditions, as well as interesting projects and giving the possibility of professional development. The challenge for superiors is to ensure efficient communication between all stakeholders and a fair division of tasks. A further, more comprehensive research into the matter will be worth conducting.
Introduction
One of the most important and toughest challenges for enterprises operating in Knowledge-Based Economy prevailing in highly developed countries is how to properly manage valuable human resources. Employment of an appropriate number of specialists in a given field, and then creating an efficient incentive system, thanks to which they will work effectively for the company is a key factor determining the company’s success and development. This is especially important in the situation of the economic boom and the so-called employee market, and of enterprises operating in industries in which the demand for employees exceeds their supply. The IT industry is currently one of such in Poland. According to market reports, employers report large - and, what is more important, growing - demand for specialists with various types of education and qualifications in the field of IT, offering wages significantly above the national average. For example, fresh programmers were offered a salary of 4,9 – 7,7 PLN in 2017, and programmers with several years of experience of 13.3 PLN [9]; for comparison, the average national salary in Poland was 4272 PLN in 2017 [46].
Moreover, reports from the labor market electrify public opinion with other requirements that, in addition to high wages, programmers expect their employers to meet. Examples include: wishing to equip a working room with a bed for sleeping or a mat, a personal vending machine with drinks, a climbing wall or an aquarium [45]. It is worth noting here that the requirements of employers are also high at the moment - they expect even younger front-end programmers to know quite complicated technologies such as React or Angular and back-end bases (Node.js environment, databases), not just relatively simple languages such as HTML or CSS [13]. Demand for IT specialists will have an upward trend, as it is estimated that there is currently a lack of 50,000 IT specialists in Poland, and in Europe the number is soaring to 500,000 [8]. An interesting research question, therefore, concerns the optimal ways to motivate specialists in the field of IT in Poland, with the focus on the most recognizable group, i.e. programmers.
Objective and methodology
The aim of this study was to define the elements of an effective motivation system of programmers in Poland. First, a brief literature review on theories of motivation at work, with the focus on factors conducive to IT workers retention is presented. Next, the results of twenty in-depth interviews conducted with Polish programmers are presented and discussed. Finally, conclusions and a summary are presented.
Results and findings
Motivating factors for work in various professions - an overview of the most popular theories
There does not exist one, universal employee motivation system, as, according to Kisielnicki [23], every organization creates its own system meant to influence its workers to do their best to reach the company’s goals effectively. The motivation system is built out of two parts: universal rules (i.e. laws of the country and rules recommended by specialists in management) and company-specific methods of motivating workers, which are an element of the company’s organizational culture [23, pp. 144-145].
In the literature on the subject, one can find many theories on the factors motivating employees to work. The classics include the views of the traditional Taylor school, established at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, according to which employees generally dislike work and can be motivated to make effort only by appropriate remuneration. This approach was challenged by scientists from various psychological schools who drew attention to other important factors affecting engagement in the work performed, such as various needs - from the physiological to the needs for security, belonging, recognition and self-fulfillment (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs), fair treatment (theory of justice), achievements, affiliation and power (McClelland’s theory), the role of the group (Mayo experiment) or co-deciding on the organization of work (human resources approach) [23, 33]. Currently, a number of factors and variables are taken into account, including organizational culture and leadership style [6, 28] dependence between the employee’s age and productivity, as well as sources of motivation and job satisfaction [4, 39–41] fringe benefits [3], peer pressure [11], physical separation [42] or being envied [26].
A lot of research has been carried out on factors motivating employees in various types of professions. And so, for example, employees of the so-called professions with social mission (teachers, representatives of medical professions and emergency services) are more strongly motivated to work with values from the prosocial value category, that is, altruism, group membership, being useful to others or recognition, whereas “non-missionaries” (e.g. sellers, architects or mechanics) value promotion, power and other forms of exercising control, as well as obtaining tangible rewards from work [7]; for restaurant employees, for example, by far the most important motivation to work is getting tangible material gratifications, in terms of both cooperation (group collaboration is valued) and some competition (part of the bonus is granted to employees of the month or year) [31]. Teachers, mentioned above, with strong internal motivation, can be motivated to a significant extent by non-pay means [34].
Motivating work factors for specialists in the IT industry - literature review
There are also studies devoted to factors motivating the work of various types of specialists from the IT industry. In an extensive systematic literature review on the voluntary turnover of IT employees Lo [27] grouped factors influencing turnover behavior into a model that comprised Distal Factors, further subdivided into Environmental factors (Social factors and Labor market), Organizational factors (Work environment, Remuneration, incentives, Fairness procedures and distribution, Human resource strategies) and Individual factors (Job-related factors, Individual characteristics, such as Demographics and Disposition) and factors closest to the core of the model (Turnover intention and Turnover), i.e. Proximal Factors, such as Desirability of leaving (resulting from Satisfaction and Commitment) and Perceived ease of movement. The factors that seem to be directly connected with the efficiency of the company motivation system and, therefore, will be discussed in more detail are: job-related factors, work environment, remuneration and incentives, fairness procedures and distribution, human resource strategies.
As Lo noticed [27], job-related factors are probably the most frequently examined factors in studies of IT turnover. They include five attributes (autonomy, job feedback, job/task significance, skill variety and task identity), known as the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) [17] and four more factors, i.e. perceived workload, role ambiguity, role conflict and work exhaustion. The first five (JCM) factors have positive impact on an employee’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment [20, 44] whereas the last four factors are considered as negative job attributes [22].
Work environment consists of peer relations, supervisor/management relations and organizational culture. As far as peer relations and supervisor/management relations are concerned, employees generally prefer competent, supportive coworkers, willing to share information [29, 30] as well as supportive and trustworthy supervisors [30, 43]. It is worth mentioning that, according to studies conducted by Longenecker and Scazzero [29], a “bad boss” was the third most cited item by a sample of 211 U.S.-based IT managers as a reason to leave their companies. And as far as organizational culture is concerned, it seems that IT employees value innovative, learning and supportive organizational culture [14, 36].
All remuneration and incentives factors, i.e. pay and benefits, advancement opportunities, opportunities for training and development, job security and schedule flexibility have a definite positive impact on employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to stay with the organization [2, 43].
As far as fairness of distribution and procedures is concerned, which includes, e.g. the fair division of job assignments and rewards, it also results in increased organizational commitment and intentions to stay with the company [1, 32].
The last factor from the model created by Lo [27] that was chosen for presentation in this study is human resource strategies. It seems that the human capital-focused strategy, which focuses on building long-term employee relationships, yields significantly lower turnover rates than the task-focused strategy, directed at output maximization [16].
The results of another systematic literature review on motivation in Software Engineering conducted by Beecham, Baddo, Hall, Robinson and Sharp show that the majority of studies find Software Engineers as a distinguishable occupational group. They are likely to be motivated according by ‘the need to identify with the task’ such as having clear goals, a personal interest, understanding the purpose of a task, how it fits in with the whole, having job satisfaction, working on an identifiable piece of quality work, having a clear career path and a variety of tasks. The literature suggests it is important to involve the engineer in decision making and working with others, which appears to go against characteristics of independence and introversion which are cited in many papers [5].
As far as studies on the behavior of IT employees in Poland are concerned, one should mention research on professional attitudes of IT specialists in Poland conducted by Rosiński [38]. Its findings showed that IT specialists are eager to engage in personal professional development and customer relations, while at the same time marginalizing the interests of their organization, which they judge very critically. At the same time, they have high expectations towards their employer, especially concerning the remuneration, which is their main work motivation. They cooperate only with other highly specialized employees, avoiding relationships with other people in the organization. They show respect only to those superiors who leave them with great freedom of action and assign challenging tasks [38].
Elements of the optimal motivation system of programmers and mistakes in motivation systems of programmers - results of in-depth interviews
In May and June 2018 twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with Polish IT specialists, with experience in work as programmers. The sample was convenient. Two questions were asked of the respondents: What mistakes in motivation systems of IT specialists, in particular programmers have you come across at work? What should be the ideal motivation system for IT specialists, in particular programmers?
Information obtained from respondents is presented in Tables 1 and 2. They stressed the motivating role of money and (personalized) perks, good working conditions (including the possibility of flexible working hours or remote work) and dedicated trainings. The factors that they consider demotivating include a feeling that the results of their work may be wasted and using old technologies. They do not like working under excessive time pressure; they consider it more important to carry out the project perfectly well than to provide it on time. It is important for them to communicate with their superiors, colleagues and clients and feel that the work they do is meaningful. They also admitted that they want to pursue ambitious, interesting and developing projects. Interestingly, they do not seem to be interested in taking managerial positions, as they prefer to focus on performing technical jobs.
Information of respondents regarding common mistakes in systems of motivating IT specialists (especially programmers) at work
Information of respondents regarding common mistakes in systems of motivating IT specialists (especially programmers) at work
Source: the author’s own study.
Information of respondents regarding the ideal system of motivating IT specialists especially programmers) at work
Source: the author’s own study.
Respondents also emphasized in their statements that the stereotype of “a lonely guy in a stretched sweater closed in the basement” concerns primarily programmers; it should be remembered that IT specialists are not only programmers, but a very broad professional group, including specialists in such fields as databases, multimedia, networks, to name but a few. They also admitted that most IT specialists actually present a slightly disrespectful attitude towards people who are significantly less technically advanced; they are annoyed by the need to spend time explaining banal issues to colleagues or clients. As one of the interlocutors put it: I do not really understand why it is a shame to make spelling mistakes while writing down, and at the same time it is not a shame not to know mathematics or Excel. They also emphasized the problem of lack of patience and perseverance.
Literature research shows that the motivation of an employee can be influenced by a wide variety of factors, ranging from financial through working conditions, organizational culture, the attitude of colleagues and supervisors, or the importance of the tasks performed. The role and weight of these factors vary depending on many variables, such as age, type of occupation (including the level of social “missionarity”) or generational affiliation. As far as the broadly understood profession of IT is concerned, in the English-language literature one can find arguments for including in the motivation system such factors as the need to identify with the task, having clear goals, a personal interest and understanding the purpose of a task. The factors that have a positive impact on the IT employee’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment also comprise autonomy, proper feedback, job/task significance, skill variety, positive peer and supervisor relations, satisfactory pay and benefits, advancement opportunities, opportunities for training and development, job security and schedule flexibility, innovative, learning and supportive organizational culture, fair distribution of job assignments and rewards and the implementation of a human capital-focused strategy; factors that act as demotivators include perceived workload, role ambiguity, role conflict and work exhaustion. The popular view on the characteristics of independence and introversion of IT specialists is questioned, and it is recommended to involve them in decision making, and to have them participate and work with others.
According to the research on IT specialists in Poland, however, one can find evidence that a typical IT specialist in Poland is reluctant to cooperate with non-IT specialists, does not identify with the organization that employs him, is very focused on himself and his work and lacks empathy. At the same time, he is ambitious and eager to deepen his specialist knowledge. He expects high pay for his work, which he values very highly. He also expects ambitious and interesting projects at work.
These conclusions are confirmed by the results of in-depth studies conducted with a group of twenty Polish IT specialists with experience in the work as a programmer. They emphasized, though, that the stereotype of an IT specialist - an antisocial loner - mainly concerns a rather specific group of IT employees, i.e. programmers. They admitted that the most important motivating factor for IT specialists is high remuneration. They also expect a rich and personalized system of benefits from the employer, a well-equipped, comfortable workplace and good organization of work, ambitious, interesting and developing projects as well as dedicated trainings. They feel demotivated by the use of obsolete technologies, poor communication, the lack of technical knowledge of their colleagues or the necessity to work under excessive time pressure.
The overall conclusion from both the literature review and the in-depth interviews is that the main challenge connected with building an effective motivation system for programmers in Poland is to ensure - besides attractive remuneration – effective communication between all stakeholders. Programmers should know the purpose and importance of their work and the entire project, the role of other colleagues in the project and organization, supervisors should also provide clear messages about the progress of work and assessment of the quality of work. Supervisors will also have to find a way to persuade programmers to perform less attractive jobs, such as maintenance, and ensure a fair and clear division of more and less attractive tasks among team members. Moreover, there is a need for projects integrating programmers with less technically oriented colleagues and developing communication channels between these two groups (e.g. by organizing training on the most common problems that “non-IT specialists” can face at their work and ask “engineers” for help and how “engineers” should reacts to such requests).
Summary
In dynamically developing modern economies, in particular in the so-called employee market, constructing and implementing an effective incentive system seems to be one of the key challenges for management. This applies, among others, to the IT industry, in which there is a huge demand for specialists. They are aware of this and often exhibit quite high expectations - both payroll and non-payroll-related. An important research question was, therefore, to define the elements of an effective motivating system for the most recognizable group of specialists in the field of computer science, namely programmers in Poland. Literature research shows that a lot of factors affect - apart from the salary itself - the willingness and commitment of employees to the performance of entrusted tasks. The type of profession, among other things, is of great importance. IT specialists seem to be quite a difficult group - they tend to contest the employing organization, are reluctant to enter into relations with non-IT specialists, they expect - apart from high pay and various perks - to be provided with ambitious and interesting projects and opportunities for continuous development. Respondents who took part in in-depth interviews confirm these observations, at the same time stating that the stereotype of alienated IT specialist in practice mainly concerns programmers. A fair division of tasks - including those regarded as less ambitious - among all team members, ensuring good organization of work and communication between all stakeholders are, therefore, the main challenges - apart from providing attractive salaries and dedicated perks - related to building an effective motivation system for programmers. It is worth noting here that an interesting research topic would be to examine the effectiveness of the providing various workplace facilities required by IT professionals, such as remote work, flexible working hours, the opportunity to take a nap at work or good, healthy food to less market favored specialists.
The paper was meant as a pilot study. The main value of the study is the collection of opinions and suggestions from a sample of respondents concerning the effectiveness of motivation systems of programmers. This can be used as a basis for further research on the effectiveness of motivation systems of programmers in Poland.
Its limitations include the lack of research on a larger research sample that would include a larger number of respondents and verification of employee opinions on the effectiveness of applied solutions with objective methods measuring the effectiveness of recommended and implemented solutions. Also, opinions of employers should be collected and analyzed. The research should also cover issues connected with motivation systems of other groups of IT specialists apart from programmers.