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It’s no secret that the onset of the coronavirus pandemic was a challenging time for workers everywhere. IT professionals in particular faced significant difficulties in reshaping their environments for remote work. In an April 2021 survey conducted by JumpCloud, 66% of IT professionals reported feeling overwhelmed at work.
However, new data from a JumpCloud survey conducted in October of this year indicates that things are looking up for SME IT admins. Responses indicated increased happiness, lower stress, and a positive future outlook. The survey also dove into what IT professionals are thankful for and what’s on their wish list this season. Read on to learn how IT admins are faring as they close out 2021 and look forward to 2022.
Things Are Looking up for IT Admins
The onset of the pandemic was tumultuous and overwhelming for many IT professionals as they worked tirelessly to help their organizations and coworkers adopt remote work. In April 2021, we found that 66% of IT professionals felt overwhelmed at work. But now that the world has begun to settle into long-term remote work, only 55% reported feeling overwhelmed when asked this October.
While 55% is substantially less than the 66% we saw earlier this year, it’s still a significant amount of stress. This may be due to the challenges they’ve faced since the start of the pandemic; their top three were migrating to remote work, ongoing management of remote workers, and device management. Security is also an ongoing concern: security breaches, hacker attacks, and ransomware attacks were the scenarios respondents overwhelmingly deemed the scariest.
Despite these challenges, IT professionals seem to have a positive outlook: 82% of IT admins reported having the same or increased level of happiness in their job than they felt a year ago. Respondents also reported feeling confident in their work performance and voice: 79% felt that they were meeting their employers’ expectations, and 76% agreed that decision-makers listen to their recommendations.
Thanksgiving and Gifting
This positivity in the (remote) workplace radiated out to IT professionals’ take on the holidays this year. When asked what they’re most thankful for in IT, their job was the most popular answer, followed by security and remote work.
Putting work aside, when asked what kinds of gifts they would want for the holidays this year, gaming consoles and accessories were the most popular choice. The most popular console mentioned was a PlayStation 5: 47% of those who wanted a gaming console requested the PS5. The second-most popular wish list item was a laptop, and the third was a phone. However, some respondents took work home with them in terms of their wish list: some wanted software that would help them solve work challenges like IT operations, remote work, and security. Others thoughtfully mentioned gifts for family, friends, and bosses instead of gifts for themselves, some mentioned essentials like more rest, and some said they already had everything they needed.
Starting 2022 on the Right Foot
If there’s one thing nearly everyone can agree upon this holiday season, it’s that the pandemic brought on hardships, surprises, and challenges. But after nearly two years of recalibrating to sweeping change, IT professionals seem to be settling into a comfortable position with a bright future.
Despite some stress and concerns, IT admins seem to be looking on the bright side of fast-paced environments and remote work. As work-from-anywhere models grow permanent roots in today’s business landscape, IT professionals hold strong influence in the workplace and have the opportunity to shape the future of remote work.
For more insights into the IT admin’s experience, watch our on-demand webinar, IT’s New Reality: The Day-to-Day of the 2021 IT Admin.
