Only 29% of IT workers plan to stay with their current employer

Only 29% of IT workers plan to continue working for their current employers, by far the lowest score of any corporate job role, according to a new survey by Gartner.

The figure, which represents an average of global IT workers, is around 10% lower than that reported by non-IT workers.

When indiviudal regions are considered, the situation is far worse, with just 19.6% of IT staff in Asia planning to stay in their roles. This rises slightly in Australia and New Zealand (23.9%) and in Latin America (26.9%).

The trend has been linked to the introduction of unpopular policies that demand workers return to the office, as well as a lack of relative flexibility across IT departments when compared to the rest of the business, according to the report.

IT workers under 30 are two and a half times less likely to stay in their jobs than those over 50. A high likelihood of staying is only found among 19.9% of IT workers aged 18 to 29, as opposed to 48.1% of employees aged between 50 to 70.

Gartner says chief information officers (CIOs) are now facing mounting pressure to retain talent.

“While talent retention is a common C-level concern, CIOs are at the epicenter, with a huge chunk of their workforce at risk,” said Graham Waller, vice president and analyst at Gartner.

“We’ve heard of IT organizations implementing back-to-the-office policies only to face mass resignations and have to reverse course. CIOs may need to advocate for more flexibility in work design than the rest of the enterprise, as IT employees are more likely to leave, in greater demand and more adept at remote working than most other employees.”

A data-driven approach can help CIOs identify which workers are most at risk and tailor hybrid work policies accordingly. Gartner advises CIOs to develop human-centric work models to attract talent and improve business outcomes.

Flexible working hours, asynchronous and synchronous collaboration tools, and remote working options are among Gartner’s recommendations for promoting employee engagement.

“CIOs who adopt a human-centric work design will out-hire, out-retain and out-perform those that revert back to industrial-era work paradigms,” added Waller.