Stress: Why IT Administrators Consider Switching Careers

GFI Software recently announced the results of its new IT Admin Stress Survey, which found that 67% of IT administrators have considered switching careers due to job stress. Managers, users (employees), and tight deadlines were cited as the biggest job stressors. Survey results also revealed that IT professionals tend to work long overtime hours, with one third working the equivalent of 10 additional weeks per year.

The independent blind survey, which polled 204 IT administrators in U.S. organizations ranging from 10 to more than 500 employees, gauged respondents’ stress levels at work and revealed their opinions on their main stressors, as well as how their stress level compares to friends and family, and how it affects their personal and professional lives.

Key survey findings:

• Nearly 70% of all IT administrators surveyed consider their job stressful.
• Greater than 67% of IT administrators consider switching careers on either an occasional (43%) or regular (25%) basis due to job stress.
• 72% of respondents consider themselves either just as stressed as or the most stressed compared to others in their social circle.
• While less than half (47%) of IT admins at companies with between 10 and 49 employees say their jobs are stressful, that number skyrockets to 83% when those at companies with between 50 and 99 employees are polled, representing the most stressed group in the respondent base.
• The top three sources of stress for IT admins are:
  • Management (28%)
  • Tight deadlines (20%)
  • The users they support (18%)
• IT admins in the Northeast are the most stressed in the country (74%). Midwesterners are the least stressed, with nearly two-thirds (64%) still saying their job is stressful.

IT Jobs Affect Personal Lives

Nearly 85% of respondents feel as though their job has impacted their personal life in some way. According to the survey results, respondents have:

• Lost sleep over work (42%)
• Missed out on social functions (40%)
• Missed time with their kids (39%)
• Canceled commitments to friends and family due to work (35%)

Additionally, many respondents say their job has even affected their health:

• Nearly one in four (22%) say they don’t feel great physically
• 20% say they have experienced stress-related health issues such as high blood pressure