Irish IT teams under stress amid staff shortages & AI

Saros Consulting has published research on stress and mental health issues among IT workers in large Irish organisations. The survey found that 60% of IT decision-makers are seeing such problems in their teams.

The findings point to pressure from staffing shortages, project demands and the challenge of maintaining older systems while companies push ahead with AI-related work.

The research, conducted by Censuswide, surveyed 200 IT decision-makers in large organisations in Ireland. Among respondents, 61% said scope creep was a significant cause of stress for IT and technical teams, while the same proportion said those teams were working long hours because of talent shortages.

Retention pressures also showed up in pay decisions. Some 59% said they had given an IT or technical team member a pay rise of 50% or more to stop them leaving.

The results suggest employers are paying a high price to retain staff in a market where specialist technology workers remain hard to replace. They also indicate that higher pay has not removed the strain on teams already dealing with growing workloads.

Legacy technology emerged as another source of tension. Some 59% of IT leaders said they were running too many legacy systems, and 57% said those systems were holding back innovation in their company.

That mix of old and new demands is shaping the day-to-day workload for many technology teams. Businesses are trying to keep existing systems stable while also introducing new products and services, increasing pressure on staff responsible for delivery.

AI expectations also formed part of the picture. Only 58% of IT leaders said their leadership team had realistic expectations of how AI could benefit the organisation.

The figure suggests a gap between boardroom ambition and operational reality at a time when companies are under pressure to show progress on AI projects. For IT teams, that can mean tighter deadlines and shifting project requirements, particularly where business goals are not clearly matched to technical resources.

Project strain

The survey also looked at whether organisations are seeking outside help to ease the burden on internal teams. Nearly a quarter, or 24%, said outsourced project management could help reduce stress among technical team members.

That raises a broader question for large employers about whether pressure on IT staff is being treated as a staffing problem, a planning problem or both. As deadlines grow and specialist skills remain scarce, some companies appear to be turning to external support to manage workloads.

Ray Armstrong, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Saros Consulting, linked the issue to the planning and management of technology work.

"Our research shows that organisations in Ireland are struggling to address mental health issues among IT teams - and leadership teams themselves could even be compounding the problem. The source of the issue lies in organisations not having a proper IT strategy in place. That means developing a strategy that is not only workable, but also aligned with the business and its goals. Putting a proper plan in place can help alleviate pressure, provide clarity and lead to happier, more fulfilled workers," Armstrong said.

The findings add to a wider debate over the strain facing technology staff as companies rely more heavily on digital systems across operations, customer service and security. In many large organisations, IT departments are no longer a back-office function but a central part of day-to-day business performance.

That shift has raised expectations of what technology teams can deliver, and how quickly. It has also increased the consequences when teams are overstretched, particularly in areas such as cybersecurity, systems maintenance and major change programmes.

Justin van der Spuy, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Saros Consulting, said the build-up of demands was becoming difficult for teams to absorb.

"The sharp rise in cyber threats, coupled with the AI boom and severe staff shortages, has meant that IT teams are under a lot of pressure - to the point where it is becoming too much. IT has become the backbone of every organisation: if it ceases to function healthily, the rest of the organisation does too. IT leaders must look holistically at how they can support their teams. Pay rises alone can't cure sleep deprivation," van der Spuy said.