Most ORMs I have used are by definition a leaky abstraction: an inferior and insufficient representation for the underlying language at which they try to improv

Most ORMs I have used are by definition a leaky abstraction: an inferior and insufficient representation for the underlying language at which they try to improve upon. In addition, ORMs greatly increase the surface area for troubleshooting. Instead of just being able to run and profile a query, you now need someone who is experienced in the internals of the ORM and how it "plans" a certain query. Of course, because ORMs do not understand how the data is actually laid out, when they say "plan" they mean create the SQL string. So in place of a query you will need to learn the conventions of the particular ORM, leaks and all, and how that maps to the SQL. Then you will still need to understand how that SQL actually interacts with the table schema. The end result is normally one backend person who is very territorial over their code, and who acts as a bottleneck for the rest of the team. If you're using an ORM I'm sure you already know who this guy is...