Research has shown that effective employee management should result in increased worker happiness, which in turn should lead to increases in productivity and retention; thereby, reducing overall costs.  There also exists research which suggests that Information Technology workers need to be managed differently from other employees, and even from other knowledge workers, within the same organization. This research investigates the characteristics of a subset of Information Technology workers, software development professionals.  In addition, it examines differences between U.S. software developers and their global counterparts.  By identifying any unique characteristics of these employees, employers will be able to more effectively align management techniques resulting in improved outcomes for both the employees and the organization.