Survey shows a huge gap between developers and their managers

The American software company Atlassian released the report “Developer Experience Status 2024”highlighting the work experiences of developers around the world.

The survey, which draws on responses from more than 2,100 developers and leaders across industries, shows the differences that exist between leaders and developers regarding, among other things, how to solve problems and use AI.

As many as 97 percent of developers surveyed said they waste time because their work is not organized effectively, with 69 percent saying they lose eight or more hours a week. Only 44 percent of developers believe their managers are unaware of issues that negatively impact their work experience.

While developers in the study cited technical debt—the work that needs to be done to fix previously incomplete work—and insufficient documentation as reasons for wasted time, managers pointed to staff shortages, a broader developer role, and a greater amount of technical knowledge required. Not only does this create frustration among developers, it also means that leaders are more likely to fix the wrong issues, Atlassian wrote.

The controversy over the importance of AI tools

The gap between what developers and managers see as the biggest issues is also evident when it comes to AI tools. Leaders see AI as the biggest driver of productivity and work experience improvements, while two out of three developers have not seen significant productivity gains from using AI tools.

Atlassian believes their research is important so they can make recommendations to leaders on how to measure and improve productivity, while taking developers’ concerns seriously. The company wrote that trying to improve the work environment for developers without asking developers what needs improvement is like “looking for your phone at home while it’s in your hand.”

Developer: Did you find out what was explained in the report?