Title

Agile development and well-being

Authors

Emma Eliasson and Ebba Såthén

Supervisor

Michal Lysek

Keywords

Agile, self-managing teams, employees, and well-being.

Background

The high rate of change in society requires new working methods that are flexible and have a quick response to changes. Agile development is a working method developed to enable companies to improve their competitiveness and is characterized by short work cycles and quick feedback. With the new ways of organizing work, high demands are placed on employers when it comes to working for a good working environment and preventing work-related mental illness. Especially since the proportion of people who experience problems as a result of work is large. When it comes to agile development, research has had a large focus on the organizational benefits, but there is a lack of research on how the individuals who work according to this method are affected when it comes to mental well-being.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify and understand what possibilities and risks exist when using an agile working method, as well as investigate the impact these possibilities and risks can have on the employees’ mental well-being.

Method

This study has been conducted according to a qualitative approach, where the research design of the study is deductive, and the research strategy of the study is a case study. Data was collected through eight semi-structured interviews with employees at four different companies and then analyzed according to thematic analysis.

Result & discussion

Through a developed model, the result is presented, which confirms that the agile way of working comes with both risks and opportunities. What affects the opportunities is the team and the leader, while what affects the risks is the team and the customers. These can lead to either motivation and well-being, or frustration and stress. The result is discussed based on the frame of reference and empirical evidence.