Developer productivity is often measured by lines of code, sprint velocity, or shipped features. But what about the hidden costs, like tool outages, workflow glitches, and time spent as unofficial IT support? To uncover the true impact of these disruptions, Lokalise surveyed 500 U.S. developers and analyzed search trends across all 50 states. Learn just how much valuable time teams are losing, and why it matters for anyone building digital products.
Key takeaways
Developers lose an average of 3 hours per week to tool failures, outages, and workflow problems, totaling nearly 20 full workdays every year.
Over 2 in 5 developers (44%) say they’ve missed a deadline because of a tech or tool issue.
Over 3 in 5 developers (61%) say they regularly handle tech troubleshooting beyond their job description.
Washington, Vermont, and Massachusetts lead the nation in developer troubleshooting searches.
The heavy cost of recurring workflow disruptions
Every lost hour of work adds up, and for many developers, it’s more than just the occasional hiccup.
On average, developers lose 3 hours each week to tool failures, outages, and workflow problems. That translates into almost 20 workdays per year gone to frustration instead of progress. At an average developer salary of $100,000/year, that translates into roughly $8,000 worth of lost productivity annually per developer.
Technical hiccups weren’t just small annoyances; they became daily productivity drains. Many developers (60%) ended up building their own workarounds, only to spend nearly an extra hour each week maintaining those quick fixes. Others turned to AI for help, but results were mixed. Over 2 in 5 (42%) said they tried an AI coding tool that initially seemed promising but ultimately slowed them down. And when frustration peaked, 45% admitted to hiding behind “in meetings” status updates just to recover from tech failures.
These interruptions had bigger consequences, too. Nearly half (44%) missed a deadline because of a technical issue. On a day-to-day level, developers described how tech struggles shaped their workflow: a quarter (25%) spent more time debugging than actually writing code, while 44% focused more on writing, and 31% said the two tasks balanced out..
When developers become IT support
Instead of focusing on building, many developers spend time putting out technical fires for others.
Over 3 in 5 developers (61%) said they regularly handle troubleshooting tasks that aren’t part of their job. On average, this meant 3 hours a week, equal to nearly 20 workdays per year, spent on unofficial IT support. In fact, 67% had acted as unofficial IT support for their teams or clients. Despite their expertise, nearly half (47%) admitted they delayed asking for help with technical issues, worried it might make them look less competent. This constant juggling took a toll, as 66% said support duties negatively affected their productivity and focus.
The top issues developers solved for others included networking and connection problems (48%), explaining documentation or workflows (39%), permissions and access problems (35%), tool installation and configuration (34%), and local environment setup issues (24%).
Only 16% of developers received thorough training or documentation to handle recurring technical issues, and 33% said they received no support at all. Leadership awareness was also lacking. About 1 in 3 developers (32%) felt their managers underestimated how much time was wasted on technical problems and internal support.
Time spent outside core development isn’t just about fixing bugs; it often comes down to a lack of proper resources. Beyond coding, developers reported spending time on administrative work (43%), tool setup (39%), responding to client support questions (36%), onboarding colleagues (35%), writing or fixing internal documentation (32%), and managing deployments or DevOps tasks outside their role (19%).
Where developers turn for help
When workplace resources fall short, developers often turn to the wider web for answers. To understand where and how frequently this happens, we analyzed Google search data from September 2024–2025.
We looked at more than 100 coding-related search terms across all 50 states and ranked them per capita to reveal where developers most often sought troubleshooting help. These patterns show broader regional differences in how technical issues affect U.S. development teams.
Top states for developer troubleshooting searches
Washington
Vermont
Massachusetts
Bottom states for developer troubleshooting searches
Mississippi
Louisiana
Alabama
Top developer troubleshooting queries
“segmentation fault”
“git revert merge”
“null pointer exception”
“Python TypeError”
“cannot read property of undefined”
“nginx 502 bad gateway”
“Windows update failed”
“zsh command not found”
“java nullpointerexception”
“Python KeyError”
“macOS kernel panic”
“git merge conflict”
“Java cannot find symbol”
“segmentation fault C++”
“JavaScript undefined”
The bigger picture for tech leadership
Technical disruptions may seem like small inconveniences in isolation, but together they represent a significant drag on developer productivity. For CTOs, engineering managers, productivity leads, and even procurement teams, these findings reveal just how much hidden cost is tied to everyday inefficiencies. Missed deadlines, slowed rollouts, and wasted hours ripple across entire organizations, delaying product launches and inflating budgets. Addressing these issues through better infrastructure, clearer documentation, and proactive support can free up weeks of productivity every year, enabling teams to focus on innovation instead of firefighting. To make better tooling decisions and prevent costly slowdowns, teams can apply a few key selection criteria:
Reliability: Evaluate the platform’s uptime and stability to minimize outages and disruptions.
Integrations: Ensure the tool connects smoothly with existing systems and workflows.
Ease of use: Prioritize tools that offer intuitive design and self-onboarding to reduce setup time.
Documentation: Look for clear, comprehensive resources that speed up troubleshooting and adoption.
Support: Consider the availability and responsiveness of vendor or community support when issues arise.
Methodology
For this study, we surveyed 500 American developers across the United States to quantify the real cost of developer disruptions from platform outages to toolchain failures. Participants’ average age was 37; 39% were female, 60% were male, and 1% were non-binary. Generationally, 26% were baby boomers and Gen X combined, 52% were millennials, and 22% were Gen Z.
Additionally, we analyzed Google Trends search volume data from September 2024 to September 2025 to reveal which U.S. states are experiencing the highest demand for developer troubleshooting help. Our analysis examined over 100 coding-related search terms across all 50 states. To ensure reliability, only keywords with consistent activity throughout the period were included. We then ranked the top troubleshooting searches in each state and city using a per capita calculation to highlight significant geographic differences in search behavior.
About Lokalise
Lokalise is the leading platform for teams looking to scale and automate their localization efforts. From product copy and support articles to marketing assets and mobile apps, Lokalise helps businesses speak their customers’ language wherever they are. When it comes to communicating across cultures, context matters, and Lokalise makes sure nothing gets lost in translation.
Fair use statement
We encourage journalists and content creators to use our data and graphics, with a link back to Lokalise. For full access to the data set or to interview a Lokalise expert, please contact kip@frac.tl or nicole.franco@frac.tl.
With a background in brand and revenue marketing, Brittany helps global companies scale localization efforts that not only meet quality standards but also drive real business results.
With a background in brand and revenue marketing, Brittany helps global companies scale localization efforts that not only meet quality standards but also drive real business results.
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