Study Reveals One in Ten Programmers Does Almost Nothing at Work

A recent study has uncovered a surprising trend in the tech industry: nearly one in ten programmers contributes minimally at work.

There is a lot of discussion these days about how artificial intelligence threatens programmers with job losses. A recent study might provide even more reasons for companies to consider cutting staff.

The programming profession attracts many due to its career prospects and high salaries. However, it's a painstaking job that often involves hours in front of a screen solving complex problems. Surprisingly, a recent study found that not all programmers are pulling their weight.

Researchers at Stanford University analyzed the efficiency of over 50,000 developers from several hundred companies that granted them access to work databases. Using a specialized algorithm, they discovered that 9.5% of programmers—almost one in ten—contribute minimally at work.

These so-called "ghost" employees complete only a minimal number of tasks yet receive salaries comparable to their more productive colleagues. According to Yegor Denisov-Blanch, the study's author who shared preliminary results on the social platform X, these "ghost" programmers exist in both remote and in-office settings.

Unsurprisingly, the highest proportion of "ghosts"—14%—was found among remote workers. In companies with a hybrid work model, 9% of programmers were categorized as such. Among those working entirely in-office, the figure drops to 6%.

The researchers suggest that letting go of these employees wouldn't impact productivity while allowing companies to save on salaries. They estimate that removing these "ghost" workers could save businesses roughly $11.6 billion annually. However, the study's authors acknowledge the need for further research to accurately evaluate programmer productivity. The problem involves numerous factors and subjective elements. For example, a single line of code can sometimes hold more value than a thousand lines. Yet, compensation is often tied to the quantity of work rather than its quality.

One user on X humorously compared the situation to sports:
"In some sports, there are players who never get to play but are good enough to make the team. There's a reason teams pay for benchwarmers. Could that be the case with these ghost engineers?"