Wed Mar-27-2024: Combating Burnout in IT Teams, Cyber Insurance Reckoning, Gender Equity in Tech

[00:00:00] Wednesday, March 27, 2024, and I'm Dave Solt, three things to know today. Combanding

[00:00:08] burnout IT teams suffer under a war room incident management set of tactics, LinkedIn data

[00:00:14] shows a decline in remote job postings, mid-ongling demand for work flexibility, and Nigel Frank's

[00:00:21] study highlights discrepancy in gender equality views among tech professionals. This is the

[00:00:27] Business of Tech.

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[00:01:23] We use a lot of combat terminology for security, maybe that's not such a good idea.

[00:01:29] According to a study by Dynatrace, a war room style approach to incident management,

[00:01:34] lane culture and disconnected IT teams are causing burnout among IT staff. The study found

[00:01:40] the 91% of organizations still play the blame game with IT service providers after serious

[00:01:45] incidents, leading to fractured relationships and hampering the ability to respond to emerging

[00:01:50] threats. This reliance on war rooms style meetings has left 49% of IT teams feeling burnt

[00:01:56] out with 46% admitting to missing personal time. The increasing stress has led 21% of professionals

[00:02:03] to consider switching job roles or even careers. Dynatrace suggests that this approach not

[00:02:09] only fails to remediate issues, also damages office culture and exacerbates skill shortages.

[00:02:17] No before has released its 2024 Security Culture Report, which examines the impact of cybersecurity

[00:02:22] measures on organizations at their employees. Dynatrace reveals that the overall security

[00:02:27] culture score globally remains at a low moderate level with smaller organizations performing

[00:02:33] better than larger ones. Industries such as insurance financial services and banking, lead

[00:02:39] and security culture, while government, manufacturing and education sectors struggle. And from

[00:02:45] Axios, many healthcare professionals affected by the hack of a United Health Group subsidiary

[00:02:50] are uncertain if their cyber-attack insurance will cover their losses. Cyber insurance

[00:02:55] plans may not provide adequate protection when providers are affected by attacks on third

[00:03:00] party vendors. Some providers may have been underinsured or unable to afford coverage due

[00:03:06] to rising cyber insurance rates. Surveys show that only about 15% of companies have standalone

[00:03:12] insurance plans for cyber-attacks, large health systems estimated losses above $100 million

[00:03:19] per day, while smaller providers may have limited coverage that all short the actual damage.

[00:03:26] Why do we care? Ear-rim approach characterized by high stress, blame-oriented tactics is not

[00:03:32] only ineffective, actively harmful. The significant percentage of IT staff being burnt out and

[00:03:38] considering career changes highlights an urgent need for a shift towards more constructive

[00:03:44] and empathetic incident management strategies. An organization that masters this approach will

[00:03:49] have more at long term viability. Cyber insurance is undergoing a reckoning, the uncertainty

[00:03:55] faced by providers of other coverage, it's a gap in the current cybersecurity market,

[00:04:00] the policies may not fully account for the complexities of digital supply chains and

[00:04:04] the interconnected nature of those risks. This gap compounded by rising insurance rate

[00:04:09] and the under-preparedness of some organizations points to a critical area for reform and how

[00:04:15] cyber risks are assessed, insured, and managed. Gaps are opportunities of course.

[00:04:21] I had to note this one, recessions have been found to extend people's lives with age-adjusted

[00:04:30] mortality rates dropping during economic downturns. The Great Recession for example resulted in

[00:04:35] longer lives for Americans particularly for adults over 64 and those without a college education.

[00:04:41] The surprising reason behind this is the reduction in air pollution during recessions as few

[00:04:47] are people try to work and overall activity decreases. Cleaner air was responsible for more

[00:04:53] than a third of the decline in mortality during the Great Recession. This research highlights

[00:04:58] the trade-offs between economic activity and mortality, emphasizing the need to find a balance

[00:05:03] between growth and social welfare. And how about a counterpoint to last week's shorter

[00:05:09] work week proposal? According to Liberty Vertint, a professor at Data Science studies that support

[00:05:15] the benefits of a shorter work week are flawed and unreliable. She highlighted statistical flaws in

[00:05:21] limitations in popularly cited studies such as the failure to mention additional costs incurred

[00:05:26] by the Icelandic government and the lack of randomization in assigning workers.

[00:05:31] Retard also noted that no study has documented long-term productivity increases due to short

[00:05:37] and work weeks, while multiple studies have shown negative impacts on a country's GDP.

[00:05:42] Mandating shorter work weeks in the U.S. could have unseen effects on workers,

[00:05:47] potentially leading to a divide between the rich and poor and an increase in part-time unemployment.

[00:05:53] According to a report by TechSmithCourt, three out of four workers haven't received

[00:05:58] training for flexible work arrangements indicating that most employers haven't adapted their

[00:06:03] practices to support the shift to flexible work. The pandemic forced organizations into hybrid

[00:06:08] work without considering how to support new practices. Access to flexibility varies based on

[00:06:14] position and generation. Managers may not be as effective as they think in relating to their

[00:06:19] remote workers. HR professionals also face challenges in conducting remote HR functions,

[00:06:25] leading to increased total of rates and employee burnout.

[00:06:29] Those jobs may be disappearing. According to new data from LinkedIn, the share of remote positions

[00:06:34] posted on the job site has plummeted in the last 12 months. Despite this, there's a high demand

[00:06:39] for remote work among applicants. According to the BBC, U.S. salaries for fully-in-office jobs are

[00:06:47] surging, with companies offering an average of $82,000 and $37 for such roles by March 2024.

[00:06:54] An increase of over 33% compared to 2023. This trend is driven by the push for workers to return

[00:07:01] to pre-pandemic office schedules and compensate for the loss of flexibility. In contrast,

[00:07:06] the availability of remote work in the UK and Europe means the in-person premium is expected

[00:07:11] to be weaker. However, the salary discrepancy may reinforce labor market inequities as those with

[00:07:18] caring responsibilities predominantly women may be forced to give up higher paying opportunities.

[00:07:25] Why do we care? Companies that offer flexibility will attract top talent and benefit from a

[00:07:30] larger talent pool. Employers who remain remote first have the advantage of accessing a diverse

[00:07:36] range of skilled individuals. This is a more challenging and the lack of preparedness points to those

[00:07:42] realities. The increasing salary premium for in-office work, especially in the context of companies

[00:07:48] encouraging a return to those office schedules highlights the tension between flexibility and compensation.

[00:07:55] I continue to appreciate this opportunity due to the flexibility itself. There's more than one

[00:08:00] solution and needs to be matched to an organization. That's right area for both disruption and

[00:08:07] differentiation. A study from Nigel Frank International found that four-and-five male tech professionals

[00:08:15] believed men and women are treated equally in the tech industry, contradicting previous research.

[00:08:21] However, research from the FOSSA society revealed that nearly a quarter of women in tech

[00:08:26] have reported experiencing sexism in the workplace. The study emphasizes the need for male

[00:08:32] ally ship and suggest creating environments where women can openly share their experiences

[00:08:37] and be supported in leadership roles. A quarter of workers feel that generative AI tools could

[00:08:43] drive women out of the workforce according to research from code first girls. The use of AI in

[00:08:49] the workplace is widespread with many using it to improve productivity. However, concerns arise

[00:08:54] over the potential impact on female staff and the potential bias and discrimination in AI models.

[00:09:01] Crucial for businesses to prioritize diversity in tech teams to build effective and inclusive AI

[00:09:06] models. AI recruitment tools have also faced criticism from bias with examples of disproportionate

[00:09:13] favoring of men. Gender bias in large language models has also been identified. While some argue that

[00:09:19] AI can reduce bias in recruitment, others caution that it can increase uniformity rather than

[00:09:25] diversity. Why do we care? The majority of male tech professionals believing that gender equality

[00:09:31] has been achieved in the tech industry, starkly contrasting with the reports from women experiencing

[00:09:37] sexism at work. The divergence points to a lack of awareness or acknowledgement of the

[00:09:41] challenges women face in the tech sector, including barriers to entry, progression and a

[00:09:47] sometimes hostile work environment. That's a key insight for leaders.

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