Research by Saros Consulting has found that ‘scope creep’ is a major cause of stress for IT and technology teams.
IT Consultancy Saros Consulting has published the results of a new study examining the issue of stress and mental health among IT workers, and the factors that drive them.
In partnership with Censuswide, Saros Consulting collected data from 200 IT decision makers working in large organizations based in Ireland. The findings were that three out of five participating organizations had noticed “stress or mental health problems among IT staff due to the intensity of delivery pressure”.
Saros’ research suggests that as more organizations continue to embrace AI, the pressure to roll out new products and systems is creating a difficult workplace for IT and technology teams. Only 58pc of IT leaders agreed that their leadership team has realistic expectations of how AI can benefit them.
Great expectations
Legacy systems have been found to be holding back progress for IT staff, with 59% of contributing staff commenting that they are overworked, while another 57pc describe legacy systems as holding back innovation in their company.
“Scope Creep”, which is the continuous or uncontrollable expansion of one’s work, was also noted as a major issue. One in six large participating organizations reported increased scope as a factor contributing to stress between IT and technical teams. The same proportion (61pc) agreed that these teams were working long hours due to a talent shortage.
The Saros study found, however, that there could be a financial benefit to the talent shortage, with nearly 60pc of organizations taking part in the survey saying they would give an IT or technical team member a 50pc pay rise to discourage them from leaving. According to the report, this underscores the lengths large organizations are willing to go to if it means retaining skilled IT talent.
Fill in the blank
A latest report published by The Employment and Recruitment Federation, and supported by Icon Accounting, found that temporary and contract roles have an impact on the wider workplace.
The survey found that while the Irish job market remains stagnant, “employer confidence is increasingly moderate, with temporary and contract roles now outstripping full-time employment in a clear sign of growing caution across the market”.
This change in job demands and expectations was also reflected in the Saros data which found that in order to reduce the workload, outsourcing of IT work has become the norm. About one-quarter of IT decision makers in large organizations say that outsourced project management helps reduce stress among technical team members.
Commenting on the findings, Ray Armstrong, founder and CEO of Saros Consulting, said, “Our research shows that Irish organizations are struggling to deal with the mental health issue in IT teams and the leadership team itself can make this issue worse.
“The root of this issue lies in organizations not having a proper IT strategy. This means not only coming up with a strategy that is feasible, but also one that works in line with the business and its goals. Putting the right plan in place can help reduce stress, provide clarity and lead to happy, satisfied employees.”
Justin van der Spuy, co-founder and CEO of Saros Consulting, added, “The huge increase cyber threatscombined with The rise of AI and a huge labor shortagemeans that IT teams are under so much pressure that it becomes too much.
“It has become the backbone of all organizations, if it is no longer working in a healthy way, it means that every organization is also the backbone, IT leaders must look more closely at how they can support their teams.
AI and ensuring that organizations are fully prepared to embrace future capabilities and security needs is a key topic for many organizations in 2026.
In response, Ireland’s Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Skills James Lawless, TD recently launched AIReady.ie, a new Government, AI platform for national skillsdesigned to give people across Ireland the means to learn valuable AI skills.
Developed by Solas, in partnership with the National Skills Council, the program will teach the basics of AI, with a curriculum designed to support people as they work to develop the skills needed for work, study and everyday life.
Don’t miss out on the information you need to succeed. Sign up for Daily BriefSilicon Republic’s digest of must-know sci-tech news.
