Fact · Dictation for work and study
26percent of the work week
In the NC State 2018 survey, programmers reported spending an average of 26 percent of the total work week writing, the lowest share of any field.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“the average percentage reported across professions ranged from a high of 42 percent of time for marketing professionals to 26 percent of time for programmers”
Communication in the Workplace: What Can NC State Students Expect?, Jason Swarts et al., Professional Writing Program, Department of English, North Carolina State University, 2018, Section 1, Figure 1.5.
Open the original- What it measures
- The programmer group in this survey had 60 respondents. The percentage is a self-reported average across that group.
- What it does not show
- A self-estimate from 60 programmers, not a time log. The report does not say whether code comments, commit messages or chat count as writing.