5 years ago… IT managers are stressed out, silicon.com survey reveals

01.04.99: IT managers are suffering from unacceptable levels of stress, partly caused by the unrealistic demands placed on them by board-level executives, according to silicon.com's latest survey.

The research found that 70 per cent of respondents blame stress for project delays, while 75 per cent claim to be under more pressure than they were 12 months ago.

The demands of Year 2000 compliance played a part, but the behaviour of the board was identified as a major factor.

One respondent said: "Demands seem to become more unrealistic. As people become more aware of the increasing capabilities of IT, they want more right now, totally disregarding the fact that any of these new capabilities, whilst they may be very convenient for the end user, require a lot of complicated infrastructure in the first place."

01.04.04: Unfortunately stress still seems to come with the territory of almost anyone working in IT. The TUC recently ran a national 'work your hours' day in protest at the unpaid overtime that many people work. Techies are worst hit by this, working an average 9.3 unpaid hours a week, which works out at 450 hours a year. Not surprisingly, the TUC believes this is a major factor for the high levels of stress in IT.

The CBI has even issued guidelines for firms to help them avoid the technical and human problems associated with remote working - so there's no excuse really. Go on, give yourself a break.