Reasons your job is difficult — Work data 2026 | Stack Overflow Developer Survey

Developer Survey 2026

Question

In the past 6 months, which factor has done the most to make your job harder to do?

single select
Optional
v2026.1
Randomized

Data

	Respondents	Percent
Unclear priorities or requirements	3,029	16.6%
Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination	2,658	14.6%
Not enough time, staffing, or resources	2,566	14.1%
Leadership activity or organizational changes	2,162	11.9%
Nothing has made my job harder in the past 6 months	1,743	9.6%
Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments	1,523	8.4%
Poor documentation or knowledge sharing	1,292	7.1%
Other	1,108	6.1%
I’m not sure	865	4.7%
Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors	761	4.2%
Lack of access to the right tools or platforms	507	2.8%

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “Reasons your job is difficult”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/work/data/job-difficulty

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

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  "data": [
    {
      "response": "Unclear priorities or requirements",
      "count": 3029,
      "pct": 0.166
    },
    {
      "response": "Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination",
      "count": 2658,
      "pct": 0.146
    },
    {
      "response": "Not enough time, staffing, or resources",
      "count": 2566,
      "pct": 0.141
    },
    {
      "response": "Leadership activity or organizational changes",
      "count": 2162,
      "pct": 0.119
    },
    {
      "response": "Nothing has made my job harder in the past 6 months",
      "count": 1743,
      "pct": 0.096
    },
    {
      "response": "Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments",
      "count": 1523,
      "pct": 0.084
    },
    {
      "response": "Poor documentation or knowledge sharing",
      "count": 1292,
      "pct": 0.071
    },
    {
      "response": "Other",
      "count": 1108,
      "pct": 0.061
    },
    {
      "response": "I’m not sure",
      "count": 865,
      "pct": 0.047
    },
    {
      "response": "Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors",
      "count": 761,
      "pct": 0.042
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    {
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      "count": 507,
      "pct": 0.028
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}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Percent |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Unclear priorities or requirements | 3,029 | 16.6% |
| Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination | 2,658 | 14.6% |
| Not enough time, staffing, or resources | 2,566 | 14.1% |
| Leadership activity or organizational changes | 2,162 | 11.9% |
| Nothing has made my job harder in the past 6 months | 1,743 | 9.6% |
| Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments | 1,523 | 8.4% |
| Poor documentation or knowledge sharing | 1,292 | 7.1% |
| Other | 1,108 | 6.1% |
| I’m not sure | 865 | 4.7% |
| Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors | 761 | 4.2% |
| Lack of access to the right tools or platforms | 507 | 2.8% |

Spreadsheet

.csv is a plain text format which most spreadsheet software can open.