Generative AI in the Software Engineering Domain: Tensions of Occupational Identity and Patterns of Identity Protection

TL;DR

The paper examines how Generative AI (GAI) affects software engineers' occupational identity by integrating occupational identity theory with self-determination theory (SDT). Using a qualitative, mixed-methods study in a mid-sized software firm, it shows that domain expertise moderates how GAI threatens or supports engineers' needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, with juniors more likely to experience competence and autonomy tensions. It reveals patterns of identity protection by individuals and organizations, including hackathons and data-use policies, which influence sense-making and skill development. The authors propose design guidelines for managing technological change that preserve tacit knowledge and meaningful work, highlighting the importance of deliberate, human-centered approaches to AI augmentation in professional settings.

Abstract

The adoption of generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in organizational settings calls into question workers' roles, and relatedly, the implications for their long-term skill development and domain expertise. In our qualitative study in the software engineering domain, we build on the theoretical lenses of occupational identity and self-determination theory to understand how and why software engineers make sense of GAI for their work. We find that engineers' sense-making is contingent on domain expertise, as juniors and seniors felt their needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness to be differently impacted by GAI. We shed light on the importance of the individual's role in preserving tacit domain knowledge as engineers engaged in sense-making that protected their occupational identity. We illustrate how organizations play an active role in shaping workers' sense-making process and propose design guidelines on how organizations and system designers can facilitate the impact of technological change on workers' occupational identity.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: Overview of regulation modes of identity work at SoftCloud. Strategic and managerial efforts are organization-level initiatives that can indicate an organization's strategy. (Managerial) expectations position the organization in terms of its values and expectations toward its workers. Economic forces refer to larger organizational and economic forces that can transform 'the way of doing things' at an organization. This overview does not suggest to be en exhaustive presentation of possible regulation modes but rather an overview of the regulation modes that moderated the impact GAI had on software engineers' identity work.
• Figure 2: The impact of technological change on workers' occupational identity and key psychological needs. The conceptual model illustrates the effects of technological change on workers' sense-making of their occupational identity. Regulation modes and workers' domain expertise help explain these effects and can guide the impact of new technology. Highlighted in black is the individual sense-making of software engineers' identity, the main focus of our study's investigation.