TEKsystems’ Annual Stress and Pride Survey 2016

MAY 23, 2016 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.

TEKsystems’ Annual Stress and Pride Survey Highlights Reasonable Workloads, Overall Satisfaction with Career Choice and Ability to Unplug During Vacation

TEKsystems^®, a leading provider of IT staffing solutions, IT talent management expertise and IT services, today released the results of its 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 reasonable levels of stress, a decline in satisfaction levels with current roles and responsibilities, and indicate that most IT professionals are able to disengage during vacations and time off.

Key highlights from the survey include:

Stress Levels Remain Low; More than Four in Ten Would Take Less Pay to Escape Stress

"I consider the work I am currently doing to be the most stressful of my career."		2014	2015	2016
Entry- to Mid-Level	Agree	30%	11%	14%
	Neither Agree nor Disagree	29%	26%	29%
	Disagree	41%	63%	57%
Senior Level	Agree	32%	13%	18%
	Neither Agree nor Disagree	26%	26%	17%
	Disagree	42%	61%	65%

Has a stressful experience at work ever motivated you to seek employment elsewhere?		2014	2015	2016
Entry- to Mid-Level	Yes	81%	51%	57%
Entry- to Mid-Level	No	19%	49%	43%
Senior Level	Yes	65%	59%	60%
Senior Level	No	35%	41%	40%

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	2016
Entry- to Mid-Level	Yes	69%	31%	41%
Entry- to Mid-Level	No	31%	69%	59%
Senior Level	Yes	22%	47%	49%
Senior Level	No	78%	53%	51%

TEKsystems’ Take: While increasing slightly from 2015, less than one in five IT professionals consider the work they are currently doing to be the most stressful of their career. Both entry- to mid-level IT professionals and senior IT professionals are less accepting of stress, with an increasing percentage indicating they would seek alternative employment or consider less compensation to escape stress.

Organizational Workload Displaces Keeping Up With Technology as Greatest Stressor; Majority of IT Professionals Face Reasonable Expectations During a Typical Work Week

What is the MOST stressful part of being an IT professional?
Entry- to Mid-Level	2014	2015	2016
Keeping up with organizational requests/workload	30%	27%	33%
Impact on work-life balance	23%	23%	26%
Keeping up with technology	29%	41%	23%
Coordinating, interacting with co-workers/supervisors	18%	9%	18%
Senior Level	2014	2015	2016
Keeping up with organizational requests/workload	32%	28%	39%
Impact on work-life balance	24%	28%	35%
Keeping up with technology	27%	30%	20%
Coordinating, interacting with co-workers/supervisors	17%	14%	6%

During a NORMAL WORK WEEK, I'm expected to be accessible:	2014 Entry- to Mid-Level	2015 Entry- to Mid-Level	2016 Entry- to Mid-Level
24/7 – No excuses	27%	15%	17%
6 a.m. to Midnight	8%	4%	6%
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.	17%	24%	17%
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	48%	57%	60%

During a NORMAL WORK WEEK, I'm expected to be accessible:	2014 Senior Level	2015 Senior Level	2016 Senior Level
24/7 – No excuses	61%	13%	19%
6 a.m. to Midnight	13%	5%	7%
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.	14%	15%	9%
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	12%	67%	65%

TEKsystems’ Take: One-third or more of IT professionals indicate that organizational requests/workload leapt to the top spot as top stressor. Additionally, keeping up with technology fell from No. 1 in 2015 to No. 3 in 2016. This reduction could be attributed to a shift in core IT duties as organizations transition from implementing new initiatives (keeping up with technology) into maintenance of existing programs (focusing on requests/workload). Sixty percent or more of all IT professionals indicate they are only expected to be accessible during reasonable work hours, reinforcing the “maintenance” aspect of their current workloads.

Vast Majority of IT Professionals Able to Experience Vacation Yet One-Fifth Stay Connected in Order to Manage Stress

Entry- to Mid-Level IT professionals

When ON VACATION, I'm expected to be accessible:	2014 Entry- to Mid-Level	2015 Entry- to Mid-Level	2016 Entry- to Mid-Level
24/7 – No excuses	18%	6%	6%
6 a.m. to Midnight	1%	1%	1%
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.	2%	3%	1%
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	5%	5%	5%
I'm not expected to be available	74%	85%	87%

When ON VACATION, my level of engagement on work-related activities is:	2014 Entry- to Mid-Level	2015 Entry- to Mid-Level	2016 Entry- to Mid-Level
I do not perform any work related activities while on vacation	NA	NA	56%
I respond to emergency or critical requests	NA	NA	37%
I perform most of my regular job role responsibilities	NA	NA	7%

I experience less stress if I stay in touch with my office/work while ON VACATION:	2014 Entry- to Mid-Level	2015 Entry- to Mid-Level	2016 Entry- to Mid-Level
Agree	NA	NA	21%
Neither Agree nor Disagree	NA	NA	29%
Disagree	NA	NA	50%

Senior IT professionals

When ON VACATION, I'm expected to be accessible:	2014 Senior Level	2015 Senior Level	2016 Senior Level
24/7 – No excuses	47%	5%	13%
6 a.m. to Midnight	4%	2%	2%
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.	11%	3%	2%
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.	8%	7%	5%
I'm not expected to be available	30%	83%	78%

When ON VACATION, my level of engagement on work-related activities is:	2014 Senior Level	2015 Senior Level	2016 Senior Level
I do not perform any work related activities while on vacation	NA	NA	42%
I respond to emergency or critical requests	NA	NA	56%
I perform most of my regular job role responsibilities	NA	NA	2%

I experience less stress if I stay in touch with my office/work while ON VACATION:	2014 Senior Level	2015 Senior Level	2016 Senior Level
Agree	NA	NA	21%
Neither Agree nor Disagree	NA	NA	28%
Disagree	NA	NA	51%

TEKsystems’ Take: Nearly eight of 10 IT professionals are not expected to be available on vacation, indicating that overall workloads are congruent with current staffing levels. Nearly one-quarter of all IT professionals indicate they are less stressed if they maintain some level of contact with their work/office while on vacation, yet approximately half disagree, indicating they prefer to totally “unplug.”

Vast Majority of IT Professionals are Satisfied With Their Choice of Career and Optimistic Towards the Future; Yet Majority are Not Experiencing Peak Career Satisfaction and One-Quarter are not Proud of their Current Role

If you could do it all over again, would you still go into IT?		2014	2015	2016
Entry- to Mid-Level	Yes	76%	91%	84%
Entry- to Mid-Level	No	24%	9%	16%
Senior Level	Yes	79%	85%	84%
Senior Level	No	21%	15%	16%

Which of the following statements best describe your feelings regarding "career pride"?		2014	2015	2016
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%	71%
	I am proud that I chose IT as a career BUT I am NOT proud of my current role, assignments and responsibilities.	31%	27%	26%
	I am NOT proud that I chose IT as a career.	11%	3%	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%	75%
	I am proud that I chose IT as a career BUT I am NOT proud of my current role, assignments and responsibilities.	29%	16%	24%
	I am NOT proud that I chose IT as a career.	7%	3%	1%

"I am optimistic about future job opportunities in IT."		2014	2015	2016
Entry- to Mid-Level	Agree	NA	NA	69%
	Neither Agree nor Disagree	NA	NA	19%
	Disagree	NA	NA	12%
Senior Level	Agree	NA	NA	71%
	Neither Agree nor Disagree	NA	NA	16%
	Disagree	NA	NA	13%

"I consider the work I am currently doing to be the most satisfying of my career."		2014	2015	2016
Entry- to Mid-Level	Agree	39%	47%	48%
	Neither Agree nor Disagree	29%	33%	27%
	Disagree	32%	20%	25%
Senior Level	Agree	42%	45%	38%
	Neither Agree nor Disagree	30%	33%	38%
	Disagree	28%	22%	24%

TEKsystems’ Take: Nearly three-quarters of all IT professionals remain happy with their chosen career, with almost the same amount optimistic about the future of the IT jobs market. However, approximately one-quarter state dissatisfaction with their current job, and less than half indicate they are involved with the most satisfying work of their career. The data points suggest that while the lull in IT initiatives may lessen stress, it is also contributing to low levels of satisfaction.

“The research shows the last two years have been a time of lower stress levels for IT professionals. IT may be focused on maintaining core IT programs while overall trends—appropriate staffing levels, decentralization of new LOB-focused IT programs, outsourcing, BYOD and others—have all contributed to allowing workloads to be reasonable,’ said TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman. “The big picture looks positive in terms of IT professionals’ satisfaction with their career choice and outlook towards future options.”

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@teamlewis.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.

IT Worker Stress Levels Remain Low