Background. The mass transition to remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected software professionals, who abruptly shifted into ostensibly temporary home offices. The effects of this transition on these professionals are complex, depending on the particularities of the context and individuals. Recent studies advocate for remote structures to create opportunities for many equity-deserving groups; however, remote work can also be challenging for some individuals, such as women and individuals with disabilities. Objective. This study aims to investigate the effects of remote work on LGBTQIA+ software professionals. Method. Grounded theory methodology was applied based on information collected from two main sources: a survey questionnaire with a sample of 57 LGBTQIA+ software professionals and nine follow-up interviews with individuals from this sample. This sample included professionals of different genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and levels of experience. Findings. Our findings demonstrate that (1) remote work benefits LGBTQIA+ people by increasing security and visibility; (2) remote work harms LGBTQIA+ software professionals through isolation and invisibility; (3) the benefits outweigh the drawbacks; (4) the drawbacks can be mitigated by supportive measures developed by software companies. Conclusion. This paper investigated how remote work can affect LGBTQIA+ software professionals and presented a set of recommendations on how software companies can address the benefits and limitations associated with this work model. In summary, we concluded that remote work is crucial in increasing diversity and inclusion in the software industry.

翻译：背景。COVID-19 疫情期间大规模向远程工作的转变深刻影响了软件从业人员，他们突然转向临时性的居家办公环境。这一转变对从业人员的影响具有复杂性，取决于具体情境和个体差异。近期研究主张远程工作结构可为许多应受平等对待的群体创造机遇；然而，对某些个体（如女性和残障人士）而言，远程工作也可能带来挑战。目标。本研究旨在探究远程工作对 LGBTQIA+ 软件从业人员的影响。方法。基于两个主要来源收集的信息，采用扎根理论方法：对 57 名 LGBTQIA+ 软件从业人员的问卷调查样本，以及从该样本中选取的九次后续访谈。样本涵盖不同性别、族裔、性取向和经验水平的从业人员。发现。研究发现表明：（1）远程工作通过提升安全性和可见性对 LGBTQIA+ 群体有益；（2）远程工作通过隔离和不可见性对 LGBTQIA+ 软件从业人员产生不利影响；（3）益处大于弊端；（4）软件公司制定的支持性措施可缓解弊端。结论。本文探究了远程工作如何影响 LGBTQIA+ 软件从业人员，并针对软件公司如何应对该工作模式带来的益处与局限提出了一系列建议。总之，我们得出结论：远程工作在提升软件行业的多元性与包容性方面至关重要。