Want Your Marketers and Developers To Work Better Together? Buy Mild AND Spicy Chicken Wings, Play Rock AND Classical Music, and Let Them Work 4 Day Weeks

Want your marketers and developers to work better together? Buy mild AND spicy chicken wings, play rock AND classical music, and let them work 4 day weeks

• Storyblok survey of 400 senior marketers and developers, reveals the similarities and differences between each profession
• Developers have a better work life balance than marketers, lower stress levels, higher enjoyment of meetings and a preference for milder chicken wings
• Marketers are better able to switch off when on holiday, are much less likely to argue with their partner about their job, will respond faster to work messages, and like to listen to rock music while they work
• Most marketers and developers are convinced that AI will enable them to do all or most of their counterparts jobs in the future

New York, US - 28th July 2025 — AI will soon be able to do your job... and your colleague’s. At least, that’s what marketers and developers think. A new Storyblok survey of 400 senior professionals at mid to large-sized brands reveals some striking (and spicy) differences between the two groups, including from how they take their coffee to whether they argue with their partner about work.

The research comes as businesses increasingly integrate their marketing and developer functions. Storyblok is conducting an ongoing project into how these teams can better work together. Each group was surveyed on their job satisfaction, personal working preferences, and how their job impacts their personal life.

Working preferences

When asked what their most productive times to do work were, perhaps concerningly for businesses, 52% of developers said it was outside of normal working hours, compared to 56% of marketers.

24.5% of developers said they were more productive late into the evening. In contrast, 35% of marketers said they were more productive before normal working hours.

In relation to their attitudes towards meetings, 68% of developers said they generally enjoyed them, compared to 33% of marketers. Only 27% of developers considered their meetings productive versus 46.5% of marketers.

Both groups claimed they were highly responsive to messages on platforms such as Slack or Teams. 64% of developers said they responded within half an hour compared to 68.5% of marketers. Although, one in ten developers said they took more than two hours to respond - versus only 2% for marketers.

On needing help with a work problem, robots were preferred to people. 34% of developers said they now turn to AI for the answer with only 20% saying they would ask a colleague. For marketers, 26% would ask AI, and 24% would turn to their colleagues.

When it comes to their working environment, the top genre of music to listen to while working for developers was classical (16.5%), followed by lo-fi (15.5%) and hip-hop (14%). In contrast, marketers preferred rock (16%), hip-hop (16%) and podcasts (14%).

Outside of drinking coffee to spur productivity, developers listed energy drinks (15%), healthy snacks (8%) and water (9.5%) as their top choices. This compares to marketers who prefer water (18%), energy drinks (17%), and healthy snacks (9%). On the lighter side, when asked to rank their preference for hot wing spiciness, developers were the more timid group with 49.5% preferring mild, and 41% saying hot. Whereas, 45% of marketers wanted their wings hot or ‘very hot’, compared to just 32% who said mild.

Work-life balance

There were starker differences in how developers and marketers viewed the impact of their careers on their lives. 66% of developers said they had a great work life balance, with only 2% saying it was ‘bad’. This compares to 33.5% of marketers who said it was ‘great’ and 12% who said it was ‘bad’.

Stress was also higher among marketers, with 23.5% stating they were stressed all or most of the time compared to 19% for developers. Only 6% of marketers said they were never stressed - far behind developers at 13%.

Digging into the numbers, the situation becomes more complicated at home. One in four developers said they argued ‘all the time’ with their partner or spouse about their job, with 17% saying it was ‘often’ and 22% ‘sometimes’. 13% said they didn’t argue at all. In comparison, 9% of marketers said they argued ‘all the time’, 13.5% often, 33% sometimes, and 20% never.

When asked how often they checked work emails on holiday - 13.5% of developers said every hour, 57% said ‘multiple times a day’, 18% once a day and only 4% said never. For marketers, one in ten said every hour, 47.5% multiple times, 18% once a day and 10% never. 39% of developers also said they could not stop thinking about work when on holiday compared to 25% for marketers.

Despite this, 94% of developers said they have no regrets about their chosen career, and 92% would be very happy if their real or imagined children followed the same path. Marketers were only slightly less enthusiastic, with 77% saying they had no regrets and 70% happy for their offspring to continue their marketing legacy.

Where marketers and developers agree

Both professions were united in their belief that they would be more productive and happier if they were given the option of working a four day week even if it meant working longer hours. 68% of developers supported this policy versus 75% of marketers.

Interestingly, when asked if AI would enable them to do their counterparts' jobs in the future, 28.5% of developers said they could do all of a marketing job, 45.5% said most of it, and 20% some. Only 5% said they couldn’t do any of it. Marketers were slightly less bullish with 18.5% saying they could do all of a developers job, 32% most of it, 37.5% some of it, and 8.5% none.

Dominik Angerer, CEO and Co-Founder of Storyblok, said: “Although some of the questions we asked were lighthearted, this data paints a picture of two groups of professionals who work closely together but often have very different working practices and attitudes. With AI and more advanced marketing technology blurring the lines between developers and marketers, it’s going to become increasingly important for businesses to integrate these functions. To do that effectively companies need to understand and accommodate the varying attitudes and approaches of each group.”