Record Amounts of IT Staff Stressed Out and Considering Leaving Jobs

The IT world can be a stressful workplace for many, but the results of a new survey from GFI Software reveal a pretty glum picture. The company conducted its fourth independent IT Admin Stress Survey and discovered that 78 percent of those queried deal with workplace stress, while a whopping 82 percent are thinking of leaving their IT jobs because of stress and dissatisfaction with their working conditions. That number is up from 78.5 percent last year.

The findings reveal that stress levels are impacting both workers and their employers negatively. Employees believe their personal lives are being disrupted due to overwhelming work demands, including increasing amounts of unpaid overtime to handle growing workloads. Nearly half of those surveyed reported having to miss social functions because of work, while 40 percent miss out on time with their children. Nearly as many also report losing sleep because of work stress, with stress-related illnesses increasing slightly as well.

Employers clearly suffer the effects of stressed out and unhappy workers but their role in the equation has slightly improved from last year. The survey found only 28 percent of those questioned pointed to management as the biggest point of stress, down from 36 percent last year. It would appear that IT users are causing a good amount of stress, as well as lack of budget for appropriate IT staff and resources.

"Even in an industry like IT that's well-known for being extremely stressful and highly demanding of its workforce, the findings of this year's IT Stress Survey makes for worrying reading,” said Sergio Galindo, general manager of GFI Software. “The 2015 survey results clearly show a substantial deterioration of the work/life balance and job satisfaction among the US IT workforce – quite concerning at a time when the IT sector is playing such a pivotal role in the growth of our economy."

While the situation for U.S. IT workers looks bleak, things are even worse in the U.K. The same survey showed 88 percent of U.K. IT workers are stressed out, with 90 percent considering leaving their jobs.

"Smart employers understand that an overstressed and unhappy workforce means less productivity, and the higher levels of illness, mistakes and staff turnover directly related to stress can have a very significant and direct cost to the bottom line,” added Galindo. “Investing in worker happiness and in systems to simplify the job of the IT department is often far cheaper than replacing over-stressed or unhappy staff."