IT managers heading for burn-out

More than half the UK's IT managers face burn-out if companies fail to deal with stressful working conditions and low morale.

The Business Energy Survey from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) discovered that 55 per cent of IT managers believe they are overloaded with work, with 34 per cent saying that they feel exploited.

One in three said that they put in over 14 hours a week of unpaid overtime, and that work is adversely affecting their family and social lives. Almost six out of 10 had missed family commitments due to work pressures.

Half of the respondents maintained that they had no energy left on week nights, while 37 per cent admitted to using their weekends just to recover from a week at the office.

The survey also found that a negative culture and management style pervaded many organisations.

One in four respondents thought that their firms had an authoritarian culture, and almost a third indicated that management was too bureaucratic.

Many IT managers also expressed frustration at poor internal communications, with 57 per cent unable to articulate their organisation's values.

And despite almost half favouring the introduction of flexible working initiatives, only three per cent believed these would ever happen.

The survey also questioned managers in other business areas, but those in IT were by far the most negative.

Petra Cooke, head of policy at the CMI, suggested that this may be down to motivation.

"Generally managers get most satisfaction from helping their organisations develop and grow, but IT managers are far more driven by money," she said.

Cooke added that the key lesson from the findings was the need for a more forward-thinking work culture.

"Growing organisations were much more likely to have a dynamic, entrepreneurial culture," she explained.

"Companies must be creative about how they set up their work structures, particularly in non-customer facing areas that can afford to be more flexible about how they allow staff to work."

Richard Macmillan, managing director of recruitment firm Adecco, which sponsored the survey, said in a statement: "It is no wonder that many organisations have trouble finding and keeping the right people given what we've found here."