Software engineers love building new features but are spending more time on other things
A new survey of 1,200 software engineers and technology leaders finds that only 33 percent of engineers strongly agree that they spend the majority of their time on work that energizes them. They spend just 16 percent of their week building features, despite 93 percent saying it’s the most rewarding part of their jobs
The study from Chainguard looks at how friction from repetitive maintenance, fragmented tools, and burnout continues to weigh heavily on the developer experience, while also revealing how AI and automation ease workloads to give software engineers more time for meaningful work.
Today’s software engineers are under mounting pressure to deliver new features quickly, maintain existing systems, and keep pace with a constantly shifting tool landscape. A majority of engineers (72 percent) said these demands make it difficult to find time to build new features, while 35 percent pointed to excessive workload and burnout as major obstacles to a positive work experience. This tension has made the developer experience a critical issue for organizations everywhere, with two-thirds (66 percent) of technology leaders reporting that they worry about retaining engineering talent.
It’s not surprising then that many are turning to automation and to AI. 65 percent of organizations say most common engineering tasks are mostly or fully automated, leading to a positive developer experience.
The jury is still out on the use of AI, with over 40 percent of respondents citing accountability, security, and privacy as barriers to wider adoption, underscoring the trust gap that still exists. Many also point to the rise of unauthorized ‘shadow AI’ as a risk factor within their organizations.
“At Chainguard, we believe that the experience engineers have within their organizations goes hand in hand with innovation and security,” says Dustin Kirkland, SVP of engineering at Chainguard. “When engineers are weighed down by toil and technical debt, it doesn’t just slow innovation, it creates security risks. These findings confirm what we hear every day from our customers: AI and automation can transform the experience engineers have in their organizations, but only when paired with smarter tooling, seamless tool integration, and a commitment to secure software supply chains.”
The full report is available from the Chainguard site.
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