IT morale drops to all-time low

Morale among IT workers has dipped to an all-time low, even though demand for certain skills is rising, according to a new study from Meta Group.

Seventy-two percent of the 650 organizations contacted by the research company said the continuing lack of job growth in the industry is dampening the spirits of IT staff. More than half of the companies said they lost staff this year.

Some of the companies are paying attention to retaining key performers, because doing so is less expensive than replacing staff. But the combination of fewer employees, fewer dollars for projects, and the perception that there is no need to focus on retention will not help productivity, the research company said.

Eighty-one percent of respondents, compared with 86 percent last year, said they hired staff this year. However, the overall loss of employees seems to be slowing, according to Meta Group.

The survey showed that skills in some areas, such as database management systems and Web infrastructure, are still hot this year, as companies continue to build internal IT infrastructure and feel the need for better management of the huge volumes of data they're accumulating. Also in demand are software development skills, in areas such as Oracle and Java application management and networking.

The fact that the skill sets being favored now are the same as in recent years, according to Meta Group, indicates that enough is not being done to develop these abilities.

The survey did find that IT workers' salaries are at least 20 percent higher than their non-IT counterparts'. The research company attributed this in part to three factors: Companies are willing to pay more to retain key contributors; there is a strong market for experienced individuals with critical skills; and the job market is looking up.

Companies are continuing to turn to offshore outsourcing, because it offers substantial savings on labor, with average salaries that are up to 60 percent less than in the domestic market. But hurdles such as language barriers and cultural and political differences will prevent a major increase in the use of offshore labor, even if it makes steady progress, Meta Group said.

For 55 percent of respondents, India is expected to be the major outsourcing destination for the next three to five years. But China?s ever-lower cost of labor will become more attractive in the near future, Meta Group said, because the communist country is beginning to relax its difficult, bureaucratic environment.

[beesh]

Many IT people are a pain

Let's face it, there are many overpaid & unqualified people in IT. Too many in IT management need remedial education and can't business justify a project. There are a lot of inflated prima donnas looking to use their existing companies as platform to start their own business. Look at all the Fortune 500 companies that are sick of them and letting IBM (and others) just take the whole IT department off their hands.

Sure, there are some stars out there, but there are far too few. The sad fact is that in many firms IT has been a high maintenance and high cost waste and is not strategic. Why are there so many analyst firms out there trying to make sense of all this stuff?

My take - story hits home

I've been in IT for 7 or 8 years, now. I was unaware that the morale that is so low here was so widespread in IT.
I'm on my way out, as I'm leaving to go back to my old, non-IT position.
This story is right on target.

[lcbri]

Many companies are a pain

Let's face it, there are many business managers, executives and project managers that don't have a clue how to employ IT people in their companies. Because they don't know the basics about computers themselves they have a morbid fear of appearing foolish when in the same room with IT personnel. Their usual behavior is to shut out IT from the business meetings that are important to the company and don't include them as the business partners they should be. In most board rooms certain personnel always have a seat at the table but IT has to fight to even be heard. These prima donnas harm the company because by treating IT personnel and material, as commodity items, they never realize the full potential of what the department can offer them.

Sure, there are some companies run by people that have actually upgraded thier computers skills to match the new millenium and put energy into understanding the people and technology. They even may realize that IT people are some of the few in the entire company who are required to be available 24x7 with a pager and cell phone and who often go home to only remote back to the servers to check if certain processes are done. They may realize that they have to treat them in a manner that is not reactive. They require more continuous training than any personnel in the company. They may realize that if anyone were to total the cost of what they cost the company by having to rehire the same personnel, not leveraging the human knowledge bases they already have, by not providing a greater benefits to those personnel causing them to leave the company, they would lose their job.

Same here - looking for greener pastures

After over 10 years in IT (three of them in Silicon Valley) I've become so disenchanted with this industry as a whole that I'm actively working on my own projects and are making strides to leave and never come back. Never before have I witnessed such a churning of manpower - whereas half a decade ago I had to protect myself from recruiters haunting me with job offers, I am unable to make a decent living these days. For the last three years I have only been employed for 14 months and my bank accounts are depleted. My car has been repossessed and mhy family and I are living in a small rental place now. We all need to realize that the 'cheese has moved' and that today's executives are increasing their own bottomline by outsourcing as many jobs as possible (it's being encouraged under the Bush regime). It's become very clear that American companies LOVE American consumers but do not care much for American workers - that's an outlook which will backfire big time in a few years from now when the babyboomer generation starts to retire in drones. However, I won't wait around for this to happen - I do love technology but I never imagined to be sold out like this. If this market ever swings around, hiring managers will be terrified to realize how many of my peers have taken the measures and have left the IT market. Good luck to anyone out there who's looking for a new identity and hopefully also for something a lot more fun to do (how entertaining can sitting in front of a monitor for 12 hours be after all?

[srinivasanth]

IT morale drops to all time low

Interesting. I am keen to know whether the survey is limited to USA or covers global IT industry.

[tbbrick]

I Too Thot I Was the Only One...

Dang!!! It's scary how the previous posters (with the exception of first poster aka Doody-for-Brains) expressed exactly what's been on my mind!!! And I've got 17 years in the field.

I'll tell you another reason why I'm thinking of bailing out, ageism. When I first graduated from college in 87, it was the older, experienced people that got the cream jobs. Now that I AM one of those older and experienced, it's flipped. They want the young ones, right out of college, that they can get as cheap as possible.

As much as I love computers and my job, I too am getting tired of the hamster wheel. Doody-for-Brains' and his ilk are everywhere....

Tell Me Something I Didn't Know

Very obvious issues in the article, nothing new. The article is quite bare, doesn't offer any advice as to how to improve morale. Very generic. I could have written this myself.

I attended a data center futures conference about a year ago and Katherine Spencer Lee from Robert Half provided an excellent presentation about staffing. Some of her advice:
- Look for employees who are adaptable and committed to their jobs
- Offer intellectual challenge
- Provide a competitive compensation package
- Promote from within
- Empower your employees
- Provide encouragement and recognition
- Invest in training
- Use some mentoring
- Motivate staff during times of change
- Focus on goals