Career Pathways and the Value of Work Emerge as Key Issues for the Global Information Technology Sector

The IT industry globally is experiencing the tremors from the worldwide recession while at the same time handling the transition from one generation to the next. The common themes that emerge from the latest survey of employees are a passion for their work, concern about career progression, and a desire for more meaningful work.

Introduction

Passion for work is a hallmark of those in the information technology (IT) sector, but even in such a dynamic industry, there is still room for examining how the daily work routine fits with longer term career prospects.

Latest survey findings show that IT employees globally share something in common: a desire for work that makes a real difference to them or their organization.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index reveals that there is a strong desire for jobs that fulfill vital psychological needs of employees—something that is fueling a global shift in workplace dynamics, driven by distinctive generational and geographic attitudes.

Within the IT sector, for example, more than half of the global respondents say they are prepared to accept a lower wage or a lesser role if their work contributes to something more important or meaningful.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index obtained the views of nearly 100,000 people in 34 countries including more than 6000 in the IT industry across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.

What the Survey Found

Across the global IT industry, the main findings of the survey are as follows:

• 90% of respondents say that their work gives them a sense of pride
• 85% say the work they perform raises their self-confidence
• 60% say they plan to look for a new job with another organization within the next year
• 37% say their career goals are not being advanced through their current job
• 65% say that if they could start again they would choose the same field of work
• 53% say they would take on a lesser role or a lower wage if their work contributed to something more important or meaningful to them or their organization

The Intangible Value of Work

It is clear that the value of work goes beyond direct financial rewards. IT employees derive a sense of satisfaction and pride that meets deeper psychological needs.

Interestingly, even where they recognize that the job they are doing is not ideal, they still derive a sense of purpose and self-esteem from their work. This would suggest that most employees go about their work with a mindset that compels them to meet certain standards in order to fulfill their own personal expectations.

When asked whether their work provides a sense of pride, an overwhelming 90% say “yes.”Only 7% say “no.”

It‘s a similar story when asked about the sense of self-confidence derived from work, with 85% responding affirmatively.

Job Churning

Even though the vast majority of those surveyed indicated a high degree of personal pride and self-confidence arising out of their work, a significant proportion of IT workers still plan to look for new jobs in the immediate future. A total of 60% in the IT industry say they will be searching for a new position.

It is revealing that even in the midst of the most severe economic downturn in memory, and its impact on the IT sector, more than half the respondents are still prepared to seek out alternative employment. Also, it is the older generation of workers—Gen X (age 30 – 47) and baby boomers (age 48 – 65)—who are most disposed to switch jobs, while Gen Y (age 18 – 29) workers appear relatively more content in their roles.

This dispels, to some degree, one of the stereotypes that accompany Gen Y; that they tend to be footloose and impatient when it comes to career and promotion. Rather, the findings point to something of a career crisis being experienced by Gen X and baby boomers, who plan to hit the recruitment market in significant numbers during the coming year.

Across the globe, the number of IT employees preparing to change jobs is highest in countries including Hong Kong, Ireland, Finland, Italy, and Denmark, and lowest in Canada, United States, Czech Republic, Poland, and China.

The expected jobs switch comes at a time of significant economic disruption in the industry with many major projects stalled or halted due to the economic downturn.

In the current economic circumstances, many employers may not be overly alarmed at the prospect of shedding excess staff. However, the likelihood of highly trained and experienced staff departing can exacerbate poor business performance in an economic downturn and compound problems when economies start to recover.

The Relevance of Career Selection and Career Goals

There are many factors that contribute to a person‘s desire to change jobs. Job satisfaction, career progression, compensation, and lifestyle are just a few of those.

One of the aims of the survey was to determine the extent to which those in the sector felt that their current job was meeting longer term career goals, something that will have a major impact on job performance, productivity, and ultimately retention.

While 55% of those surveyed say that their current job is meeting their career goals, 37% say it is not, and 8% are unsure.

When viewed on a generational basis, it is clear which groups within the IT sector are feeling most frustrated at the perceived lack of momentum in their career trajectory—Gen X and Gen Y.

A total of 54% of baby boomers complain that their job is not meeting career goals, compared with 42% of Gen X and 29% of Gen Y.

Some of this can be can attributed to the typical mid-career crisis—older workers facing the reality that early expectations will not be met; that they have hit a glass ceiling, or that intense competition at middle management level is thwarting progress.

It is one thing to harbor doubts about career progress and quite another to face the realization of a poor career choice.

Many people will inevitably reflect on their choice of career over a working life. But it seems a surprisingly large share have gone one step further and accepted the reality that their career choice was flawed.

Within the IT sector, there are a remarkably high proportion of people who express confidence in their career choice. Some 65% say they would make the same career choice if starting again, 17% say they would make a different choice, and 18% are undecided. Baby boomers would be more likely to make a different choice of career than Gen Y and Gen X.

In the IT sector, typically the share of people satisfied with their career choice has been greater than in other industry sectors, reflecting a high degree of certainty in their decision.

Employees who live with the knowledge that they have made the wrong career choice are in a difficult situation. Either they remain in their career and stoically accept their fate, or they re-train and risk starting out fresh with all the challenges that entails.

For those with high-level skills, technical qualifications, and non-transferable abilities, the prospect of starting out in a new career can be even more daunting.

Finding the Real Value in Work

One of the central aims of the survey was to explore the notion of the “value” of work; the intangible elements that enable people to derive a sense of purpose from what they do for a living, day-to-day.

At one extreme, there are those who take the utilitarian view that we work to live; that work‘s primary purpose is to fulfill the elementary human needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.

At the other extreme, there are those who believe one‘s work, or vocation, should fulfill some higher pursuit.

So where do workers in the IT sector sit on this continuum, and does it matter?

It does seem that the majority of people feel that their work has to go beyond the basics; that it must enable them to achieve some high-level goals that have real value or purpose.

Respondents were asked whether they would be prepared to give up some of their salary or position if they could do something that was important to them or their organization.

More than half said that they would be prepared to sacrifice salary or position for more meaningful work. It seems clear that across the globe, people want their jobs to provide a degree of emotional fulfillment, even if it means sacrificing money and status to achieve it.

There is a high degree of uniformity in the responses to this issue across the generations, although Gen Y is somewhat more prepared to make monetary and promotional sacrifices in return for meaningful work than either Gen X or baby boomers.

The findings highlight something that the best employers have known for some time; that workers perform at their best when they are given stimulating and meaningful work that challenges them to learn new skills and competencies.

It is also clear that employees will have different aspirations at different stages of their life and career, and that these need to be recognized and acted on.

Employees across the generations want to undertake work that has meaning and makes a contribution to them and their organization.

It is important to recognize the things that are important at each stage in order to build and maintain a motivated, stable, and high-performing workforce.

Conclusion

The survey demonstrates the value of work in building emotional strength and resilience in individuals. IT workers overwhelmingly say that the work they perform gives a sense of pride and raises self-confidence.

They also want to perform work that has meaning and relevance to both them and their organization. A significant number are actually prepared to give up some of their salary and position if they can do something that has real meaning.

Even in the midst of a crushing economic downturn, we still see many people who are actively prepared to quit their current roles and look for more engaging jobs elsewhere.

It is also clear that some labels attached to the various generations have become entrenched in workplace folklore but do not always hold true.

Rather than Gen Y being the impatient and footloose brigade that we have been led to believe, it is the Gen X and baby boomers who are signaling their impatience at stalled careers and who are planning large-scale job switching.

The statistics contain lessons for employers—recognize the requirements of people at various career stages and attempt to meet those needs.

There is a multitude of information that tells us what employees believe is important to them. They want a workplace with good morale, challenging assignments, feedback from their bosses, and the opportunity to learn new skills.

The findings show that the modern employment market is extremely dynamic and that achieving a high-performing, productive, and stable workforce means managing a complex set of cultural and geographic influences.