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IT Worker Stress Levels Plummet

May 19, 2015 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.

Hanover, Md. – May 19, 2015 – TEKsystems®, a leading provider of IT staffing solutions, IT talent management expertise and IT services, today released the results of its third annual IT Stress and Pride survey which explores the levels of stress, expected accessibility and career pride experienced by IT professionals. Overall, the survey results point to a vast positive change in the stability of IT staffing environments as compared to a year ago.

The findings represent the views of over 1,000 IT professionals. Key highlights from the survey include:

Stress Levels Plunge; IT Professionals Less Motivated to Seek Employment Elsewhere

  • Eleven percent of entry- to mid-level IT professionals and 13 percent of senior IT professionals consider the work they are currently doing to be the most stressful of their career, a significant decrease from the 30 percent and 32 percent, respectively, that said the same in 2014. This reduction seems to have led to a situation where fewer professionals feel that stress would cause them to seek alternative employment or consider less compensation to escape stress.
                     

 "I consider the work I am currently doing to be the most stressful of my career."

 2014

2015 

 Entry to Mid-Level

 Agree

 30% 11% 

Neither Agree Nor Disagree 

 29%  26%

 Disagree

 41%  63%

Senior Level 

 Agree

 32%  13%

 Neither Agree Nor Disagree

 26%  26%

 Disagree

 42%  61%

 Has a stressful experience at work ever motivated you to seek employment elsewhere?

 2014     

2015     

 Entry to Mid-Level

 Yes

81% 

 51%

 No

 19%

 49%

Senior Level 

 Yes

 65%

 59%

 No

 35%

  41% 


Have you ever considered taking a new position that would equate to a pay decrease in order

to escape stress levels at work?

2014

2015

Entry to Mid-Level 

 Yes

 69%

31% 

 No

 31%

 69%

Senior Level 

 Yes

 22%

 47%

 No

 78%

 53%


  • TEKsystems’ Take: There has been a steep decrease in IT professionals’ stress levels since 2014. This may have led them to reflect upon the impact of past work stress from a more positive perspective, with fewer now indicating that a stressful work situation would lead them to switch jobs or take a pay cut in order to avoid their stressors.

Keeping Up With Technology More Stressful Than Managing Workloads

  • Forty-one percent of entry- to mid-level IT professionals consider keeping up with technological advancements to be the most stressful part of their career, up significantly from the 29 percent that said the same in 2014. Meanwhile, just 9 percent feel the same about coordinating and interacting with co-workers and supervisors, down from 18 percent in 2014. Comparatively, senior-level IT shows little change from 2014.

What is the MOST stressful part of being an IT professional?

   

Entry to Mid-Level

2014 2015

Keeping up with technology 

29% 41%

Keeping up with organizational requests/workload

30% 27%

Impact on work-life balance

23% 23%

Coordinating, interacting with co-workers/supervisors

18% 9%

Senior Level

2014 2015

Keeping up with technology 

27% 30%

Keeping up with organizational requests/workload 

32% 28%

Impact on work-life balance 

24% 28%

Coordinating, interacting with co-workers/supervisors 

17% 14%

  • TEKsystems’ Take: Keeping up with technology crept ahead of workload as the top stressor as compared to last year, indicating that departments now feel that they are doing a better job of distributing the workload amongst staff members. This may have also had the trickle-down effect of lessening the stress related to interacting with co-workers, which was a bigger stressor when staff had heavier workloads.

Senior IT Professionals’ Downtime No Longer Abused During Vacation; IT Professionals Experiencing Improved Work-Life Balance

  • Just 13 percent of senior-level IT professionals say they feel obligated to be accessible 24/7 during a normal work week in 2015, a significant drop from the 61 percent that said the same the previous year. When on vacation, 83 percent of senior-level IT professionals say they are not expected to provide any availability, up considerably from the 30 percent that said the same in 2014. Entry- to mid-level IT professionals have also seen shifting obligations with just 15 percent feeling the need to provide 24/7 accessibility during a normal work week, down from 27 percent in 2014. Additionally, when on vacation, 85 percent of entry- to mid-level IT professionals say they are not expected to provide any availability, up from 74 percent that said the same in 2014.
                                

During a NORMAL WORK WEEK, I'm expected to be accessible:  2014 Entry to Mid-Level  2015 Entry to Mid-Level  2014 Senior Level  2015 Senior Level 
 24/7 - No excuses  27%  15%  61%  12%
 6 a.m. to Midnight  8%  4%  13%  5%
 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.  17%  24%  14%  15%
 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  48%  57%  12%  67%

          
When ON VACATION, I'm expected to be accessible:                   2014 Entry to Mid-Level 2015 Entry to Mid-Level 2014 Senior Level 2015 Senior Level
24/7 - No excuses  18%  6%  47%  5%
6 a.m. to Midnight  1%  1%  4%  2%
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.  2%  3% 11%  3%
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  5%  5%  8%  7%
I'm not expected to be available 74% 85%  30%   83%

  • TEKsystems’ Take: In response to retention challenges in previous years, organizations have made adjustments to ensure that both senior-level and entry- to mid-level IT professionals are better able to achieve a more satisfactory work-life balance, and have shifted their expectations for when staff should be accessible outside normal working hours. Senior IT professionals are especially well positioned to take their vacation time and avoid burnout. This also contributes to higher levels of job satisfaction that can help organizations avoid debilitating staff turnover.

Vast Majority of IT Professionals Are Satisfied With Their Choice of Career

  • Nearly half of entry- to mid-level (47 percent) and senior-level (45 percent) IT professionals consider their current work to be the most satisfying of their career, an increase over 2014 levels (39 and 42 percent, respectively). In fact, 70 percent of entry- to mid-level and 81 percent of senior-level IT professionals say they are currently proud of their career in IT and are proud of their current role, assignments and responsibilities, with 91 percent and 85 percent, respectively, indicating that they would go into IT again if given the chance to do things differently.

"I consider the work I am currently doing to be the most satisfying of my career."

2014

2015

Entry to Mid-Level

Agree

 39% 47%

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

 29%  33%

Disagree

 32%  20%

Senior Level

Agree

 42%  45%

Neither Agree Nor Disagree

 30%  33%

Disagree

 28%  22%


 Which of the following statements best describes your feelings regarding "career-pride"?

2014

2015

Entry to

Mid-Level

I am proud that I chose IT as a career AND I am proud of my current role,

assignments and responsibilities.

58%  70%

I am proud that I chose IT as a career BUT I am NOT proud of my current role,

assignments and responsibilities.

 31%  27%

 I am NOT proud that I chose IT as a career.

 11%  3%

Senior Level

I am proud that I chose IT as a career AND I am proud of my current role,

assignments and responsibilities.
 

 64%  81%

I am proud that I chose IT as a career BUT I am NOT proud of my current role,

assignments and responsibilities. 

 29%  16%

I am NOT proud that I chose IT as a career. 

 7%  3%


"I consider the work I am currently doing to be the most stressful of my career."

2014

2015

Entry to Mid-Level

 Yes

76% 

91%

 No

 24%

 9%

Senior Level

 Yes

 79%

 85%

No

 21%

 15%


  • TEKsystems’ Take: As stress levels decrease, IT workers are more likely to be content with their current positions and do not feel as though their talents are being stretched thin—or misaligned to inappropriate tasks—to make up for organizational deficiencies. Both groups are overwhelmingly happy with their choice to pursue a career in IT and nurturing this pride will help ensure that employees are productive and committed to working for their company long term.

“This year certainly paints a much rosier picture than last year—we’ve seen a significant drop in stress and a positive swing in pride and satisfaction,” said TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman. “While it’s encouraging, organizations still need to ensure that their talent management and workforce strategies are aligned to avoid overworked staff, unrealistic workloads or internal discord if they want to continue this positive momentum.”

TEKsystems’ Jason Hayman is available for additional commentary. For more information about the survey or to schedule an interview, please contact Rick McLaughlin at TEKsystems@daviesmurphy.com.

About TEKsystems

People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals–while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go, the way they want to get there.