Benefits November 25, 2002

Survey: Techies Generally Happy

November 25, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Corporate techies are generally happy with their pay, their relationships with peers and supervisors and their physical work environment despite IT layoffs and tech budget cutbacks.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

That was the picture drawn by Computerworld’s Job Satisfaction Survey for IT professionals, which found 56% admitting their companies had cut IT staff and 58% admitted to a slashed technology budget.

Despite all that, according to Computerworld, nearly half (48%) said they were generally satisfied with their job security. Four out of 10 said they weren’t even job hunting. In fact, 89% of participants didn’t regret getting into IT and only 8% said they would consider taking a position outside of technology, the survey found.

Reasons for the commitment to IT can be seen in respondents’ answers about other aspects of their job.

A strong majority – 75% – were satisfied with their relationships with their IT peers, while 59% were satisfied by their relationship with their supervisor. In terms of salary, 54% of participants were happy with their wages, while 59% were pleased with their physical work environment.

On the downside, only 24% of participants indicated that they were happy with their opportunities for career advancement, down from 30% in the 2001 survey.Some 69% did not think they were working up to their full potential, perhaps due in part to a lack of technical training, a complaint logged by 45% of survey respondents, according to the survey.

The survey data was compiled from responses to an online questionnaire, posted at Computerworld.com for one week in August 2002. The survey received 1,416 responses from professionals with titles ranging from CIO to help desk operator and represented a wide range of industries and company sizes.