In a way, sure? But a lot of what the Devs do is also the result of the playerbase, and when you have a nice playerbase such as FFXIV's, it's easier to listen to them and to chat with them like actual people, therefore having an easier time understanding their problems with the game and therefore fixing them.
Not trying to say WoW devs are good or anything, but I'd argue they're way more stressed and irritated than the FFXIV devs, and that's mostly due to WoW' overly annoying fanbase.
Mind you, Shadowlands is one of the biggest step ups with WoW I've ever seen. Gives me MoP vibes, which is great, as MoP is one of my favorite expansions.