ISR, a leading international employee research and consulting firm, has uncovered new research that indicates employment security concerns, perceived unreasonable workloads and job stress are contributing to a growing discontentment among US IT workers and increasing wanderlust among the sector´s top performers.
ISR, which annually surveys more than 1.5 million global employees and more than 445,000 US employees, compared opinions on job stress and employment security issues between a representative population of the US workforce to those opinions of US-based IT workers. ISR defines IT workers as professionals who work within a company in the IT function and not necessarily for an IT firm or high tech company.
Job stress is a problem for 51 percent of all US IT workers, which is 10 percent greater than reported by the overall US workforce, and 53 percent say their workloads are excessive, compared to 39 percent of the US workforce.
In addition, ISR data shows that the number of IT workers that would seriously consider leaving their company increased from 16 percent in 2004 to 25 percent in 2005.
The ISR findings indicate that job stability is a growing concern among IT workers. Only 57 percent of US IT workers are sure they will continue to have a job as long as they perform well. In comparison, 68 percent of the overall US working population report confidence in keeping a job as long as they perform well.
Also supporting this notion is the ISR finding that 57 percent of IT workers are worried about being laid off within the next year, compared to 47 percent of the US workforce. Even more troubling, just 33 percent of IT workers are unworried about the consequences of a corporate reorganization.
"These responses reflect the growing perception that companies view the IT function primarily as a cost-center instead of as a source of innovation that delivers a competitive advantage," said Dr. Gary Berger, Executive Director of ISR. "As the trend of outsourcing continues to gain momentum and the tough economic conditions of recent years continue to fade, it has created a perfect storm that could lead to higher turnover among IT workers as the U.S. economy continues to gain strength."
The perception that IT jobs are at risk for outsourcing may also be responsible for the steady decline in IT workers´ belief that their employers reward innovation, as this number has declined from 64 percent in 2001 to 46 percent in 2005.
The research company Gartner has projected that 30 percent of traditional professional IT services jobs will be delivered from emerging markets by 2015.
What can a company do to maintain its competitive edge and keep its IT employees fully engaged? ISR Project Director Dr. Michael Sokol believes that US companies can still reverse these trends and re-engage IT workers. "This can be accomplished through a variety of means, first by providing clear communication about how IT contributes to a company´s success. Second, by showing a clear career path and making available the training and development needed for IT workers to pursue that career."
Other methods for maintaining a productive work-life balance, according to the ISR findings, include the ability to promote a strong workplace management culture. This management culture is based on leaders who display uncompromising integrity, set a clear direction for their organization and communicate it through a variety of channels. Strong leaders are able to accomplish this while maintaining career opportunities up and down the organization, said Dr. Sokol.
ISR leveraged two sources for its report data:
- The firm´s US Information Technology Norm, a database of survey responses collected from people who work inside companies in the IT function and comprised of 57 different companies and more than 17,000 employees of those firms.
- The firm´s US National Norm is a database of survey responses collected from more than 445,000 employees at 109 US companies.
About ISR
ISR is an international employee research and consulting firm. Founded in 1974, ISR´s solutions, including employee satisfaction surveys, help organizations to improve employee engagement, retain key talent, increase productivity, enhance customer satisfaction, and increase shareholder value. ISR has surveyed more than 35 million employees from more than 3,000 companies in 106 countries. For more information, visit ISR´s website,
