👻 "Ghost Engineers": 9.5% of Programmers Do Virtually Nothing – Stanford Study

A recent Stanford study reveals that approximately 9.5% of software engineers contribute minimal work, earning them the label "ghost engineers." These individuals often make fewer than three code commits per month, with some making trivial changes like altering a single character or line of code. The study, led by Yegor Denisov-Blanch, analyzed data from over 50,000 engineers across hundreds of companies, highlighting a concerning trend in the tech industry.

Notably, the issue is more prevalent among remote workers, with 14% identified as ghost engineers, compared to 6% in office-based roles. This phenomenon not only affects productivity but also incurs significant costs for companies, potentially amounting to billions annually.