GFI Software released the results of their fourth annual IT Admin Stress Survey. The GFI Presser says IT professionals are increasingly feeling job-related stress. The IT Pros want to quit their current job due to stress. The study found that 78% of those surveyed experienced workplace stress. Almost 82% of respondents are actively considering leaving their current IT job due to workplace stress and dissatisfaction with working conditions.
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he new survey revealed a new four-year high in the number of relationships that have been impacted by work commitments intruding on personal life. More than 25% experienced this in the last year, up from 23% last year. Sergio Galindo, general manager of GFI Software observed;
… this year’s IT Stress Survey makes for worrying reading. The 2015 survey results clearly show a substantial deterioration of the work/life balance and job satisfaction among the US IT workforce
Key findings from the GFI survey
78% of all U.S. IT staff surveyed consider their job stressful – up 1% from 2014.- 45% have missed social functions due to overrunning issues and tight deadlines at work, up from 38% in 2014.
- 40% report missing time with their children due to work demands imposing on their personal time.
- 38% of IT staff regularly lose sleep due to work pressures.
- The number of respondents experiencing stress-related illnesses increased slightly, to 27% from 25% in 2014.
- 19% continue to report feeling in poor physical condition due to work demands, up 25% from last year.
Management and users cause stress
Pressure and unreasonable demands from management clearly emerged as the biggest contributing factor to workplace stress in 2015.
28% of those surveyed singled out management as their biggest point of stress, down from over 36% last year.- Stress caused by the users that IT staff look after jumped from 16% to 23%.
Unpaid overtime
This year’s survey revealed continuing high amount of unpaid overtime required by IT staff to meet deadlines and deployments.
- 48% of those surveyed work up to eight unpaid hours of overtime a week, with a mean average of 8.1 hours a week of unpaid overtime worked.
- 47% of those surveyed work eight hours or more overtime, unpaid, every week.
GFI GM Galindo observed:
Realistic IT budgets and staffing headcounts make a huge difference in both workplace happiness and productivity, for example, as does automating mundane and time-intensive tasks such as resetting passwords, patching computers and servers and looking for network vulnerabilities
The GFI presser concludes that for the fourth year running, high workplace stress levels for IT professionals is an issue. The stress is dramatically impacting both employees and employers. These impacts are illustrated by increases in staff looking to find another job. Staff working increasing amounts of unpaid overtime to cope with workloads. A growing number of IT staff are also experiencing substantial disruption to their personal lives as a result of work demands.
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GFI has conducted this poll year after year and the results have not changed. Stress, stress, and more stress.
Related articles
- Happiness is a job in the charity sector (reed.co.uk)
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
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