The survey of 2,000 UK staff examining attitudes to change in the workplace, revealed that tech staff are some of the most positive in the UK when it comes to the impact of the recession. Only 16% of the wider UK workforce believe change brought on by the economic downturn has had a positive impact compared to 19% of those working in IT.
Mike Beresford, managing director of Randstad Technologies, said: “The recession forced many companies to look at where costs could be saved, processes could be streamlined and teams could be managed more effectively.
“Trimming the fat may have meant increased workloads and targets for those left behind. But these changes have helped staff get used to working within a leaner environment, giving them better experience and a more honed skill set than they might have developed had more staff been around to share the workload. In short, professionals say they have gained more fulfilling careers. Indeed, previous research of ours shows that 47% of professionals say a heavier workload over the course of the recession has benefited their career in some way.
“Now the UK is in recovery mode, businesses are reaping the benefits of those changes.”
The most significant changes being felt within the IT and technology industry over the last six years have been to do with workload and team sizes. Over a third (34%) of IT staff feel that changes to their targets and workload have had the greatest impact over the recession. This is closely followed by the impact of having to work within smaller teams as a result in changes to hiring policy (32%).