Burnout rate reaches critical level
Burnout rate reaches critical level
IT employee burnout rate has reached critical levels - an issue that could spell longer-range turnover, lower productivity, and less overall shareholder value to the organisation as a whole.
According to the 2003 IT Staffing and Compensation Guide, an annual study released by META Group, among the many areas of high concern to IT organisations this year, few are as obvious as employee morale. Among those IT managers surveyed, more than 71 per cent indicate that IT employee burnout is currently a serious issue in their organisations.
"Working through this prolonged recession, which has seen budget cuts across the enterprise, numerous staff cutbacks, and general sector uncertainty, has definitely taken its toll on IT employee morale. Unfortunately, it is those same budget cuts that are impeding managers from combating the problem by way of making concrete improvements," says Maria Schafer, program director of META Group's IT Human Capital Management Strategies and author of the annual IT Staffing and Compensation Guide. "Until budgets loosen, managers will be implementing internal career-advancement incentives in the form of skill development and retention programs. Proactively addressing these issues is essential to avoid a loss of productivity over the longer term."
Up to 55 per cent of those companies surveyed have begun implementing skill development programs as a means to boost employee morale, while 24 per cent have created better overall retention programs. Monetary rewards still register as a viable "Plan B," with 11 per cent of surveyed companies raising salaries, 11 per cent hiring more staff, and 8 per cent offering cash incentives to prevent employee burnout. A few IT organisations with remote locations relied on a "change of scenery" to attract more talent and retain good people - 5 per cent moved the company to a new location altogether in an effort to lure skilled workers and reduce employee malaise.
At a minimum, the majority of organisations are at least taking steps to assess the degree of employee dissatisfaction, with 84 per cent indicating they do employee surveys, while another 18 per cent use the performance review process to obtain employee feedback, and 15% use suggestion boxes to keep the lines of communication with employees open.
Related Articles: