Tech Workers Are Satisfied—but 65% Would Still Consider Leaving

In its October 19 analysis of technology professionals, ISACA says 76% are satisfied with their current job, yet 65% would consider changing jobs within the next two years. Willingness to consider a move measures openness to an opportunity; it does not mean those workers have decided to resign.

The finding gives employers a retention warning that a satisfaction score alone cannot provide. Many workers value their present role while facing heavy workloads, limited resources or an uncertain route upward. Those pressures help explain why satisfaction and interest in another job can coexist, although the survey does not establish that any one pressure will cause a particular worker to leave.

Why satisfaction and a possible move can coexist

The questions concern different decisions over different periods. Satisfaction describes a current job; considering a change leaves room for a better offer over the next two years. A further 71% were satisfied with their career progression, while 75% considered talent retention a concern at their organization. The published summary does not show how many of the satisfied respondents were also open to moving.

In IT Pro’s account of the survey of 1,025 technology professionals worldwide, a broader 73% grouping includes people who would consider changing employer and those who had not ruled it out; Julia Hermann, head of digital platform services at Giesecke+Devrient, described the hesitation: “People stick to their jobs, though they might not be totally satisfied.” The 73% grouping therefore answers a wider question than the 65% measure of people who would consider changing jobs. Neither figure is a count of planned departures.

Hermann pointed to economic uncertainty and long probation periods as reasons a worker might stay put despite interest in a move. Her account describes a possible brake on job changes, rather than an outcome measured for every respondent. The distinction matters to employers: a worker who stays through a difficult hiring market may still be receptive when an appealing role becomes available.

Earlier moves offer a more concrete view of what workers sought. Better career prospects were the most common reason for leaving a previous job, cited by 29%, followed by higher compensation at 28% and more interesting work at 23%. Those answers concern past departures. They cannot predict how many respondents will leave their current employer, but they identify what a competing role might offer.

Workload adds pressure to the retention picture

Fifty-nine percent had experienced work-related stress or burnout. Workload was the leading cited contributor, at 48%, followed by lack of resources at 43% and difficult or unsupportive management at 42%. Lack of appreciation and workplace culture followed at 40% and 38%. These answers locate much of the strain in the way work is assigned, supported and managed.

The responses also show why liking a job’s purpose or technical content need not make its demands sustainable. Someone can find the work interesting and still lack the time, staff or support to do it well. Employers have more direct control over those conditions than over the wider job market, though the survey does not measure which workplace changes would retain a given employee.

Among women in the survey, 64% had experienced burnout, above the overall figure. That difference cautions against treating a favorable workforce average as a uniform experience. It also puts the retention finding in a broader context: the demands associated with a role can vary across groups even when the organization receives generally positive satisfaction scores.

Advancement and influence are uneven

An unclear upward path was the leading career obstacle for both women and men, cited by 41% of women and 33% of men. The finding speaks to more than the frequency of promotions. Workers can receive a raise and still be unsure what responsibilities, authority or opportunities may follow it.

As Information Age details, 52% of women versus 65% of men were satisfied with workplace culture, while 53% of women versus 66% of men felt they had sufficient authority to contribute to company strategy. Those gaps concern day-to-day influence as well as career prospects. A promotion may change someone’s position without giving them a comparable voice in decisions.

Other measures point in the same direction. In the preceding two years, 73% of women and 71% of men had received a salary increase or promotion. Yet satisfaction with career progression stood at 67% for women and 73% for men, and satisfaction with job security at 59% and 69%, respectively. Similar rates of recent pay or promotion gains therefore sit alongside different views of what a career at the organization offers.

Women were also less likely to feel they had sufficient authority over personnel decisions, at 48% versus 59% of men, or purchasing decisions, at 32% versus 52%. Separately, 30% of women and 4% of men had encountered gender or diversity bias when entering IT. These are respondents’ experiences and perceptions, but they make clear why counting promotions alone gives an incomplete picture of advancement.

For employers, the immediate consequence is a narrower and more useful question than whether staff say they like their jobs: can people see a credible future in them, with manageable demands and meaningful authority? The survey measures attitudes rather than future resignations, but those workplace conditions are already visible in the answers of people who remain employed.

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