It’s still a tough life in IT

With hindsight it is probably no more than might be expected, but recent independent research commissioned by GFI Software has revealed startling levels of workplace stress among IT personnel, driving more than ever to look for a change of employment.

The company’s third annual IT Admin Stress Survey has revealed that 68 percent of IT staff are actively considering leaving their current role due to job-related stress, despite apparent economic and staffing improvements in many businesses across the country.

For the third year running, high levels of work stress is contributing to high levels of job dissatisfaction, with in excess of two thirds of IT professionals looking for a new job due to the pressures imposed on them in their current role. Despite improvements in the economy reducing budget pressures, the level of job dissatisfaction among UK IT professionsals has reducerdf only slightly over 2013, when 73 percent of those surveyed reported they were actively looking to leave their current job due to stress.

The blind, independent study was conducted by Opinion Matters among 200 UK administrators in companies of 10 or more people. The survey gauged respondents’ stress levels at work and revealed their opinions on their main stressors, as well as how their stress level compares to that of friends and family and how it affects their personal and professional lives.

Some of the other key findings of the survey show that over a third have missed social functions due to overrunning issues at work, while a similar number also report missing time with their families due to work demands on their personal time. Some 28 percent of IT staff regularly lose sleep over work pressures, and 19 percent have suffered stress-related illness.

A further 15 percent complain of feeling in poor physical condition due to work demands, while 16.5 percent have had a relationship fail or be severely damaged due to their job. Nearly a quarter feel they are the most stressed person in their social or family group.

Management was clearly singled out as the biggest contributing factor to workplace stress, with half the sample of IT professionals surveyed citing management as the biggest source of stress for them. A further 24 percent cited a lack of budget and staff to get the job done, a small improvement on 2013 and reflecting the improvement in the UK’s job market.

But then again, perhaps UK-based staff are not so badly off after all, as the same survey conducted in the US show things are worse there. For example, 78.5 percent of US IT staff are looking for a new role, broadly in line with the same number that report their current role to be stressful. Management, however, is a significantly smaller influence on US IT stress levels, with just 36 percent of those surveyed singling out management as the root cause of their work-related stress.