2001 Job Satisfaction Survey: Desperate for Direction

Computerworld - It's been a challenging year. The dot-com kingdom collapsed under its own weight, and the economy took a turn for the worse. Layoffs and closings were the order of the day at many companies.

But even amid all the turmoil, IT professionals have remained overwhelmingly positive about job security, access to new technologies and their salaries, according to the results of Computerworld's 2001 Annual Job Satisfaction Survey.

First, the good news. The majority of this year's 779 respondents said they're generally satisfied with their jobs. For example, a senior consultant at an IT consulting firm in Baltimore said that he's better off now than he was a year ago and that he's working up to his full potential. The only thing he would change about his current situation is to increase company-paid training.

And the best news of all is that despite the economy's ups and downs, approximately 60% of respondents are very satisfied with their choice of a career in IT. The profession is still rewarding—from a growth and financial perspective—and few said they would switch careers.

But although the overall results are heartening, there are still some key areas that need improvement. Especially criticized were a lack of opportunities for employees to advance and insufficient communication with management.

A mere 30% of respondents said they're satisfied with opportunities for advancement at their companies. According to one disgruntled network support employee, "I'm not allowed to expand my horizons. If it wasn't for the pension, I'd be out of here."

Overall, the picture is anything but black and white. Those who rate themselves as generally satisfied in their jobs still have complaints, but others who are unhappy still give certain areas - such as salary and flexible work hours—a thumbs-up.

In addition to job security and the opportunity to use new technologies, workers' relationships with IT peers got high marks, while the frequency of bonuses and the connection between pay and performance didn't fare as well.

Don't Hold Me Back!

With the dramatic cutbacks and layoffs of the past year, companies are streamlining resources and reducing layers of middle management. For many in IT, this translates into fewer opportunities to advance. Approximately half of the IT professionals surveyed said that their opportunities to advance are less than satisfactory.

A help desk operator at one IT user organization says she wants management to realize her potential and to not restrict her to working within her job description. She also says that a lack of support from management—financial and otherwise—is taking its toll.

"[People in upper management] refuse to implement new ideas because the staff fear change," the help desk operator says. "Our budget is low, and we feel unappreciated. This feeling affects our performance and our loyalty to the organization."

But that isn't the case for everyone. Michael Heer, a senior consultant at Intelligent Technologies Inc. in Greensboro, N.C., says he's satisfied with the opportunities to advance at his company.

Like most of the respondents, David Walters, a database administrator at Science Applications International Corp. in Edgewood, Md., is basically satisfied with his job. He says he's especially content with his salary and the variety and scope of the projects he works on. But Walters says he does see room for improvement.

A 20-year industry veteran, Walters calls himself a realist and says he has learned that flexibility and reasonable job expectations are key to his success.

"If I see something that needs to be done, I'm encouraged [by management] to do it," he says. "This is a great thing. I need new challenges, and if the place where I work allows that, I'm happy."

Walters says that managers who want to retain good employees need to offer more training and bonuses attached to the successful completion of projects. And he's not alone. Training and performance-related bonuses are two areas in need of improvement, the survey found.

The connection between pay and performance is a thorn in the sides of many of the IT professionals surveyed. About half of respondents are less than satisfied with how much they earn in salary and bonuses vs. how much they think they deserve. And more than half of the respondents said they don't think that bonuses are generous or frequent enough.

A managing director at a financial services firm—who was recruited and guaranteed a substantial first-year bonus—says he feels he's been misled. "Bonuses were nowhere near what they were promised," he says.

From a business standpoint, the company is doing well and is considered an industry leader, but from a budget and operational standpoint, that hasn't filtered over to the IT department, says the director. "The budget process is absurd," he says. As of early May, the IT department still didn't have a 2001 budget, he says.

This director was recruited in an attempt to improve the IT department and introduce new technologies and make it more responsive and business-focused—none of which has happened, he says.

"What I found was that the actual appetite to take on new technology is far less than what I had expected," he says. "The tendency is to maintain legacy systems." He's looking for other job opportunities.

Everyone's Business

When it comes to understanding the business mission, IT folks are in the know. Approximately two-thirds said they have a strong grasp on the business goals and strategies of their companies. But far fewer—a little more than one-third—reported that they feel empowered to influence day-to-day company success.

Apparently, there's a disconnect between knowing what needs to be done and having the opportunity to do something about it. The message to management is that communication needs to improve and that business goals and IT strategy need to be better aligned.

Not surprisingly, flexible work hours and the physical work environment rated high among the concerns of survey respondents. More than 60% said they appreciate flexible hours but would love the option to telecommute more frequently. In general, IT professionals have few complaints when it comes to their work environments.

Not everyone, however, is comfortable with the round-the-clock expectations that go along with some IT positions. A database administrator at a major retailer is having a difficult time trying to balance her family's needs with her job.

"You need to be flexible at all times—whether you are dealing with problems remotely or otherwise," she says. "When you have children, it can be tough. There have been times when I've had to bring my kids along with me on a Sunday morning when something has come up."

Additional training and resources would help, she says, as would the option to telecommute.

At the end of the day, IT professionals work hard and expect to be rewarded appropriately. Whether that means performance-linked bonuses or career development opportunities, one thing is clear: If they don't find it where they work now, they'll go looking for greener pastures elsewhere.

Cohen is a freelance writer in Washington.


How your fellow IT professionals rate their satifaction with their jobs, their bosses, and life in technology.

Despite tales of a sluggish economy and a seller's job market, IT professionals apparently aren't feeling it in the pocketbook just yet, according to the results of Computerworld's 2001 Annual Job Satisfaction Survey. In fact, IT professionals reported that their satisfaction with their salaries has increased from a year ago. The bad news: They cite growing dissatisfaction with their opportunities to advance at their current employers, as well as poor communication from supervisors on what career options are available. This isn't welcome news for IT managers, who are still wrestling with employee retention. Below are the results of this year's survey, broken out by where respondents work.

Methodology

Computerworld conducted its 2001 Annual Job Satisfaction Survey during the months of April, May and June. We asked IT professionals to visit our Web site and tell us about their satisfaction levels on a variety of job and compensation issues. Approximately 780 IT professionals took part in this year's survey, from a wide range of industries and company sizes.

All participants have been kept anonymous, unless they indicated a willingness to speak to a reporter for our anecdotal coverage of this year's survey.

The age, gender and company type of respondents to the survey can be broken out as follows:

	Men (%)	Women (%)	Age 18-24(%)	Age 25-34(%)	Age 35-44(%)	Age 45-54(%)	Age 55-64(%)
Satisfaction with salary
Very satisfied	14	18	07	15	14	17	18
Somewhat satisfied	37	30	27	35	34	35	43
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	16	11	32	12	17	13	07
Somewhat dissatisfied	23	25	20	27	21	27	16
Very dissatisfied	10	16	14	11	14	08	16
Frequency and amount of bonuses
Very satisfied	09	10	0	10	07	12	07
Somewhat satisfied	15	17	0	16	18	13	20
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	21	16	20	20	20	19	23
Somewhat dissatisfied	23	18	33	23	23	19	23
Very dissatisfied	32	39	47	31	32	37	27
Connection between pay and performance
Very satisfied	08	09	07	08	08	09	05
Somewhat satisfied	18	23	0	19	22	16	25
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	24	15	20	21	21	21	27
Somewhat dissatisfied	22	23	0	24	20	26	23
Very dissatisfied	28	30	73	28	29	28	20
Opportunities to discuss career goals
Very satisfied	16	17	20	17	18	12	18
Somewhat satisfied	22	17	13	23	19	20	23
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	17	15	07	21	14	16	25
Somewhat dissatisfied	23	23	27	20	24	27	11
Very dissatisfied	22	28	33	19	25	25	23
Opportunities for advancement
Very satisfied	08	10	0	10	08	09	07
Somewhat satisfied	18	13	07	24	17	12	11
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	20	19	06	19	22	20	21
Somewhat dissatisfied	24	21	20	22	20	26	27
Very dissatisfied	30	37	67	25	33	33	34
Opportunities to use new technologies
Very satisfied	19	22	13	27	19	16	16
Somewhat satisfied	33	29	40	28	31	37	30
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	13	13	13	08	15	11	22
Somewhat dissatisfied	21	21	07	26	21	17	25
Very dissatisfied	14	15	27	11	14	19	07
Opportunities for interesting projects
Very satisfied	20	20	20	21	22	17	18
Somewhat satisfied	28	30	27	26	30	29	27
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	17	14	07	16	12	19	28
Somewhat dissatisfied	19	19	13	19	20	19	18
Very dissatisfied	16	17	33	18	16	16	09
Workload
Very satisfied	12	11	07	15	12	09	16
Somewhat satisfied	29	27	47	32	27	29	14
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	23	19	20	18	23	22	32
Somewhat dissatisfied	24	31	13	28	25	26	27
Very dissatisfied	12	12	13	07	13	14	11
Company-sponsored training and seminars
Very satisfied	17	21	07	18	20	16	16
Somewhat satisfied	20	19	13	24	21	15	20
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	18	15	20	13	15	21	30
Somewhat dissatisfied	19	17	07	18	19	19	23
Very dissatisfied	26	28	53	27	25	29	11
Job security
Very satisfied	28	23	20	31	23	27	30
Somewhat satisfied	29	35	27	30	33	28	27
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	19	16	20	17	22	18	09
Somewhat dissatisfied	13	15	20	13	11	15	16
Very dissatisfied	11	11	13	09	11	12	18

	Men (%)	Women (%)	Age 18-24(%)	Age 25-34(%)	Age 35-44(%)	Age 45-54(%)	Age 55-64(%)
Ability to influence decisions that affect you
Very satisfied	14	11	07	14	13	13	16
Somewhat satisfied	31	29	27	38	33	23	23
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	16	09	19	10	15	16	22
Somewhat dissatisfied	24	29	20	20	25	30	25
Very dissatisfied	15	22	27	18	14	18	14
Ability to influence decisions that affect your department
Very satisfied	13	10	07	13	13	13	11
Somewhat satisfied	27	28	13	26	30	25	27
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	18	14	26	17	15	17	16
Somewhat dissatisfied	25	27	27	25	27	24	23
Very dissatisfied	17	21	27	19	15	21	23
Ability to influence day-to-day company success
Very satisfied	09	08	07	10	10	08	09
Somewhat satisfied	22	28	27	21	24	25	20
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	27	25	20	26	24	29	32
Somewhat dissatisfied	23	20	13	22	23	23	23
Very dissatisfied	19	19	33	21	19	15	16
Relationship with your manager
Very satisfied	28	32	33	30	28	29	32
Somewhat satisfied	30	30	20	34	32	25	32
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	20	15	13	17	19	21	16
Somewhat dissatisfied	14	12	27	15	10	18	09
Very dissatisfied	08	11	07	04	11	07	11
Communication with your manager
Very satisfied	23	24	20	29	24	18	23
Somewhat satisfied	30	27	13	24	33	30	25
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	11	09	14	12	10	10	13
Somewhat dissatisfied	23	23	40	23	17	29	23
Very dissatisfied	13	17	13	12	16	13	16
Recognition received from your manager
Very satisfied	20	17	20	20	21	15	27
Somewhat satisfied	28	30	20	29	31	28	20
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	15	17	13	15	13	18	25
Somewhat dissatisfied	21	21	27	23	19	23	14
Very dissatisfied	16	15	20	13	16	16	14
Your supervisor's managing abilities
Very satisfied	21	21	13	24	22	17	18
Somewhat satisfied	25	21	07	24	24	24	27
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	15	11	27	13	12	17	23
Somewhat dissatisfied	22	24	33	20	24	23	14
Very dissatisfied	17	23	20	19	18	19	18
Relationship with IT peers
Very satisfied	36	38	27	36	36	34	50
Somewhat satisfied	39	35	33	37	36	42	30
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	16	15	20	16	20	13	13
Somewhat dissatisfied	07	09	07	08	06	10	02
Very dissatisfied	02	03	13	03	02	01	05
Relationship with users
Very satisfied	27	30	33	26	30	24	45
Somewhat satisfied	41	42	20	43	36	52	32
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (or not answered)	22	15	07	19	24	16	07
Somewhat dissatisfied	08	10	27	10	08	07	11
Very dissatisfied	02	03	13	02	02	01	05

Men (%)

Women (%)

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