IT’s Stressful. Ask DevOps, They’ll Know: Stress in the IT Sector [2024 Survey Update]

There’s been much debate on social media and online forums about stress in the IT sector and who has the most stressful job.

As fascinating as such discussions are, they do little to help us understand where the stress lies and what is causing it.

That’s why we went a step further and surveyed IT and non-IT professionals to explore the situation in greater detail.

We paid close attention to DevOps professionals because they are closest to our hearts — and also because of a growing perception that DevOps is one of the most stressful areas in the IT world.

Read on to learn more about stress levels in the IT sector versus the rest of the professional world.

We asked 1,142 respondents to tell us:

• How often they felt stressed at work
• What they regarded as top stressors
• What symptoms they experienced most often
• How they coped with work-related stress

Here’s what we learned.

• IT professionals are significantly less stressed than the general population — 34% feel constantly or frequently stressed by their work, which is 20 percentage points lower than the non-IT sector. 
• Women working in the IT sector experience much less stress than those in non-IT jobs (35% vs. 53%).
• Around 31% of employees in the entire IT sector missed a workday because of stress.
• The most stressed IT area is Data Science & Machine Learning, which is 16.16 percentage points more than the average in the IT sector. The least stressed IT professionals work in IT Project Management & Business Analytics.
• DevOps engineers are stressed more frequently than the IT average. Over 40% of them admit to being stressed “often” or “very often” compared to 34% of the IT average.
• Heavy workload is the top stressor at work, with an average of 51% of all respondents identifying it as such. 
• Over 39% of DevOps engineers admit that work-related stress impacts their personal lives. This is the highest percentage in all segments we surveyed, with the others ranging between 21% (other IT) and 12% (non-IT).
• DevOps are also the most stressed because of insufficient skills to do their jobs (13% of them compared to 8% among IT average and 9% non-IT).
• Irritability has been pointed out as the most common stress symptom among IT professionals, especially DevOps (55% of them selected this answer). For non-IT professionals #1 stress symptom is depression.
• Listening to music is the most common way to cope with stress for both IT and non-IT professionals (73% and 66%).
• However, for DevOps, playing video games is the most popular stress-relieving mechanism, at 62%. Over 45% of IT professionals said the same.
• Almost 60% of DevOps deal with stress by blaming themselves. No other group reported being as self-critical. 
• The IT sector doesn’t work weekends and is less interested in changing jobs. 66% of DevOps and 52% of IT never or rarely work on the weekends, whereas only about 25% of non-IT professionals say the same. 39% of DevOps and 43% of IT would never or rarely consider changing their jobs (with only 25% of non-IT).
• DevOps take the most time off. And those who don’t take any time off are stressed on average 35% more frequently than their IT counterparts.

Our survey revealed that DevOps engineers are stressed more often than any other group of IT professionals.

Interestingly, the IT sector as a whole appears to be less stressed than non-IT employees, 55% of whom admitted to feeling stressed often or very often (compared with 34% for all IT).

Over 40% of the DevOps professionals surveyed admit to being stressed often or very often. Among IT professionals in general, 34% admit the same. For non-DevOps IT, the number is about 33%.

The most stressed IT area is Data Science & Machine Learning, with 50% of the surveyed feeling stressed often or very often.

DevOps is the second most stressed IT area. The least stressed is IT Project Management & Business Analytics.

We collected answers from 38 Data Science & Machine Learning Specialists, 89 DevOps Engineers, 113 Software Engineers & Architects, 172 IT Support, 85  Network Engineers & Cybersecurity, 18 IT Project Management & Business Analytics, and 87 other IT specialists.

Stress levels are substantially lower for women in the IT sector (35%) than those in non-IT jobs (53%).

A key question that arises is what factors contribute to DevOps feeling stressed more frequently?

First, the number of people who have no degree and work in DevOps is higher than in other IT jobs (27% vs. 20%, respectively), and they’re 10% more likely to feel stressed. This suggests that higher education may reduce the likelihood of feeling stressed in many IT-related professions.

Second, about 7.5% fewer individuals with graduate degrees work in DevOps than in other IT areas. But those who do hold a graduate degree and work in DevOps are stressed more often than any other group we surveyed, with a stress level score of 3.44 out of 5. Interestingly, those working in the IT sector (excluding DevOps) are the least stressed group (3.04 out of 5).

In terms of salaries, DevOps engineers are more content than the IT average, with as many as 75% of respondents being satisfied (or neutral) with how much they earn (vs. 71% among all IT). Interestingly, when compared with IT in general, a higher percentage of people in the non-IT sector reported that they are satisfied with their salaries (50% vs. 43%).

Furthermore, DevOps engineers on the lowest salaries(under USD 100k) are stressed on average 7% more frequently than other IT professionals on the lowest salaries. That would suggest that a quick way to reduce the frequency of stress among DevOps is to ensure they get paid fairly.

Among our respondents, DevOps engineers took the lead in delivering what was expected of them in the previous month. As many as 65% reportedt never or rarely having problems with their tasks. This compares with about 34% of non-IT and 61% of all IT respondents.

This suggests that DevOps may be one of the best organized IT areas and that DevOps engineers have the most flexibility in managing their workload. Our survey shows that up to 86% of DevOps engineers are free to decide when to take a break during the day. The same is true for about 80% of all IT professionals, and 77% of non-IT professionals.

A similar trend appeared when we asked about having to work on the weekends.

As many as 66% of DevOps engineers reported that they never or rarely work on the weekends. This contrasts starkly with the non-IT sector, where only about 25% of respondents can fully enjoy their Saturdays and Sundays. Corresponding rates for the other IT (non-DevOps) professionals and all IT professionals were 48% and 52%, respectively.

Despite this, DevOps managers are among the most stressed professional groups in the IT sector.

On average, they are stressed 14% more frequently than DevOps specialists, which corresponds with the increased stress associated with increased responsibility. 

What’s really interesting is that DevOps managers are also 21% more frequently stressed than managers working in the other IT areas.

This suggests that the level of control over their work has no effect on stress. e

As many as 33% of DevOps professionals reported that they “rarely or never” felt that they were on top of things in the previous month. This contrasts with just 26% of IT in general and 15% of non-IT professionals.

Our analysis also shows that those DevOps workers who admitted not being on top of things were stressed on average 20% more frequently than their IT counterparts. Interestingly, those DevOps who claimed to have full control over their duties were also stressed on average 20% more frequently than the rest of IT.

In other words, regardless of whether they feel on top of things at work, people who work in DevOps are more stressed than other workers.

In DevOps, SRE, or cloud engineering, we work a lot with critical systems that are usually required by the business to be highly available, running all the time, and never go down. So when something goes wrong, everyone expects you to fix things as soon as possible, and that makes you feel really stressed. – Ioannis Moustakis, DevOps & Site Reliability Engineer

The biggest stress is knowing a DevOps process is going to affect hundreds or thousands of servers. Also, becoming an expert with multiple DevOps tools can be cumbersome and overwhelming at times, which leads to stress. – Brad Simonin, Senior Engineer at ConocoPhillips Company

DevOps is very stressful. When things go wrong, you’re on the hook to get a resolution quickly. Every minute of downtime is lost revenue. – Paul Delcogliano, VP of Technology at IPX Retirement

DevOps professionals also appear to be more sensitive to stress regarding perceptions of their work’s value.

DevOps professionals who feel their job is not worth doing (0 on a 0–5 scale) are stressed 18% more frequently than other IT professionals who feel the same.

Attitudes to potential career change was another area we explored.

With higher salaries, largely free weekends, and substantial job flexibility, it’s hardly surprising that a high percentage of DevOps engineers would never or rarely consider changing their jobs (39%). For the entire IT sector, this number is even higher (43%).

In contrast, the number of those who share this view in the non-IT sectors is only around 26%.

DevOps engineers who wouldn’t consider changing their careers are 54% more often stressed than their IT counterparts.

We found that about 31% of those working across the IT sector missed a workday because of stress. Interestingly, according to the American Institute of Stress, stress promptss around 1 million U.S. workers to miss work every day.

It is generally accepted that one of the best ways of dealing with stress is taking time off to recharge the batteries. In fact, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, proved that a resort vacation boosts your energy levels and positively impacts “molecular networks associated with stress and immune function.”

Knowing that DevOps professionals are more frequently stressed than other IT pros, we were not surprised to learn DevOps engineers take the most time off. About 72% of DevOps take at least 9 days off per year, which is 16 percentage points more than IT workers in general and 37 percentage points more than those employed in the non-IT sectors.

DevOps can be incredibly stressful, so I encourage my peers to take every day off they’re entitled to and recharge to keep things running smoothly. A well-rested mind is crucial for staying sharp and ensuring that human errors are minimized – Flavius Dinu, DevOps Lead at CapGemini

Futhermore, DevOps take on average 14.2 days off, which is 37% more than other IT workers.

DevOps professionals who don’t take any time off are stressed 35% more frequently than their IT counterparts.

Although DevOps engineers are stressed more frequently than their IT counterparts, they are the least likely to skip a workday due to stress, with over 70% admitting they’ve never done this.

In the non-IT sectors, about 55% of those surveyed skipped a work day because of stress, 32% for IT non-DevOps, and 31% for the entire IT sector.

APA’s 2020 study identifies the following as the top stressors:

• Low salary (56%)
• Long hours (54%)
• No opportunity for growth (52%)

The American Institute of Stress lists the following as the top causes of workplace stress:

• Workload (46%)
• People issues (28%)
• Juggling work and personal lives (20%)
• Lack of job security (6%)

According to our respondents, the top three workplace stressors are:

Non-IT:

• Heavy workload: 52%
• Long hours: 36%
• Tight deadlines: 30%

IT:

• Heavy workload: 50%
• Tight deadlines: 32%
• Long hours: 28%

DevOps:

• Heavy workload: 42%
• Work interfering with personal or family time: 39%
• Tight deadlines: 36%

It may sound obvious, but heavy workloads have been identified universally as the top stressor by all the groups we surveyed. In fact, this finding lines up with Statista’s study from 2017 and reveals that not much has changed over the past five years.

A startliing finding for DevOps was that their  second-biggest stressor is “work interfering with personal or family time” (39%). This was much lower on the list for all other groups. This may suggest that DevOps are more family-oriented than other groups.

In terms of stress symptoms, DevOps also differed from the other groups we surveyed. 

The most common stress symptom for the surveyed IT professionals is irritability, with 55% of DevOps naming it as their #1 stress symptom (44% of all IT did the same). However, for non-IT professionals, the #1 stress symptom is depression (44%).

Looking at the overall results, DevOps professionals emerge as 16% more irritated but 18% less depressed than non-IT professionals.

Another noteworthy aspect of the DevOps group: They are the most stressed about lacking the skills to do the job (about 13%), which resonates with our other finding that this group has the lowest percentage of workers with a degree.

Insufficient skills to do the job as a stressor

• DevOps: 13%
• IT: 8%
• IT non-DevOps: 7%
• Non-IT: 9%

Here are comparable figures for the same symptoms among the participants in our study:

• Irritability: DevOps (55%), IT (44%), non-IT (39%)
• Mood swings: DevOps (42%), IT (32%), non-IT (24%)
• Anxiety attacks: DevOps (33%), non-IT (29%), IT (28%)
• Depression: DevOps (26%), IT (22%), non-IT (44%)

Overall, DevOps engineers accounted for the largest percentage in four out of eleven stress symptoms.

This may be related to the fact that IT and DevOps engineers combined represent the largest professional group that is uncomfortable reporting stress issues to their employers — 45% of IT and 44% of DevOps. For the non-IT sector, the number is only 26%.

DevOps engineers top the list for not knowing whether their organizations provide mental health support (29%). Additionally, the smallest percentage of this professional group works in companies that provide such programs (37%).

To put this into perspective, about 20% of respondents from IT and 6% from non-IT sectors didn’t know if their organizations provided mental health support to their employees, and 43% to 61%, respectively, worked in companies that provide it.

How do DevOps cope with stress?

They’re the most self-critical group, with almost 60% of them criticizing themselves to relieve stress, which is more than 20% of other surveyed groups.

I feel that DevOps is supposed to be some kind of senior role, providing guidance, and helping others. So, in the end, when you fail, it is painful because you were supposed to be helping others, not failing them. I think that’s why people might choose to blame themselves as a negative way of dealing with stress. – Ioannis Moustakis, DevOps & Site Reliability Engineer

It’s also worth noting that the most popular negative way of coping with stress for all groups is excessive eating or not eating enough.

DevOps professionals are also the most solitary group: They avoid friends and family (as a coping strategy) over 20% more often than other IT professionals.

In terms of the so-called positive ways of dealing with stress, DevOps also differ from the other groups.

The most popular way to cope with stress across the IT and non-IT sectors is listening to music and exercising. Up to 62% of DevOps choose to play video games as their top stress-relieving activity. 

In addition, DevOps enjoy exercising and getting outdoors at least 19 percentage points more than other groups. DevOps professionals also laugh or cry at least 7 percentage points less frequently than others as a way to cope with stress.

My way of dealing with stress at work is to define objectives and goals, as it helps me stay focused on achieving them rather than getting digressed by minor details. Another way is to introduce a healthy lifestyle and keep a positivity induced mindset, that requires one to be very empathetic towards others. – Ali Abbas Jaffri, Machine Learning Engineer at ML Reply

I found having hobbies unrelated to IT necessary to reduce work-related stress. For example, I ride a bike and travel and often go hiking – a change of scenery helps a lot. What’s more, understanding that there are many external factors and inevitable incidents related to those factors that you can’t influence is crucial to keep the mind at ease. – Kirill Kotov, Head of Integration and Automation Department at ASAP Lab LTD

IT professionals experience workplace stress much less than people working in other sectors. The primary stressors in the IT industry include heavy workloads and tight deadlines; the most common symptoms are irritability and mood swings. Some of the best ways of coping with job-related stress are listening to music, playing video games, and exercising.

The DevOps area appears to be the 2nd-most frequently stresse- out group within the IT industry. With the highest percentage of people holding no degree, doubting their skills, and criticizing themselves, DevOps also emerges as arguably one of the unhappiest groups of IT professionals.

That said, DevOps are the only candidates surveyed who put “heavy workload” almost on a par with “work interfering with personal or family time” as the main source of work-related stress, which may suggest that they’re family-oriented people.

Methodology

To compile this stress study, we collected answers from 1,142 respondents from the United States. The survey was conducted online via Centiment (316 responses), Reddit (97 responses), and Amazon mTurk (729 responses).

Among respondents, 57% were male and 43% were female. The survey comprised 29 questions — mostly based on the Likert scale and multiple-choice.

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