More than half of technology staff are considering leaving their jobs due to workload strain, according to a recent survey from EDUCAUSE, an information technology company.
Three-quarters of staff working in cybersecurity and privacy, IT or teaching and learning reported having an excessive workload, a 5% increase over last year’s survey. Only 16% of respondents agreed that their department has sufficient staff.
More than a third (35%) stated that their institution has taken no action to address the issue.
These staffing challenges could lead to higher turnover and instability across technology departments, especially as many institutions lack formal succession plans. Less than half of respondents said that they are unlikely to apply for other positions in the next 12 months.
The rest are unsure (27%) or are likely to apply elsewhere (25%). Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of respondents said that their institution did not have formal succession plans in place.
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“This report is a wake-up call. Our technology leaders are vital to institutional success, but they’re exhausted and at risk of leaving,” says Mark McCormack, senior director of analytics and research at EDUCAUSE. “We need urgent investment in their capacity and well-being.”
How can institutions satisfy their technology staff?
Reducing staff workload is the primary solution to support technology leaders who feel overburdened. Support from supervisors, work-life balance and burnout are the three biggest factors impacting staff mental health and well-being at work.
- 80% of respondents who said their department was sufficiently staffed described their work-related mental health as good or excellent
- Mental health drops 18 percentage points in understaffed departments
Respondents did not seem interested in counseling, therapy and wellness programs, because staff believed their mental health was not bad enough to warrant such use.
However, respondents reacted positively to flexible work arrangements offered by their institution, such as work-from-home policies. At least two-thirds of technology staff said the opportunity to work outside the office improved work-life balance, job satisfaction and increased productivity.
Respondents were also hungry for professional development opportunities to hone their use of AI, as well as to improve data governance, privacy and compliance.
