Multigenerational IT Pros Grapple with Job Discontent Despite Raises

Across age groups, technology professionals are getting raises yet feel more dissatisfied with the compensation packages and their jobs. However, the solutions to combat dissatisfaction for multigenerational IT pros may be straightforward.

These were among the insights of ITPro Today's 2024 IT Salary Survey of 455 full-time IT professionals in the United States — most falling in the 45-to-64-year-old range (Figure 1) — including a surprising reduction of 6% to 11% from nearly all age groups agreeing with the statement that they "love their current job."

Figure 1

Getting Raises: Win, Lose, or Draw?

Nearly 80% (78%) of all the respondents to this year's salary survey got a raise (Figure 2). That's a neat Pareto distribution and could easily be considered a great win for IT professionals. However, when we consider that only 36% of all respondents received a raise of 5% or more and that inflation, nationally, was 3.4% for 2023, according to the December 2023 CPI Report, the win feels more like a draw. 

Figure 2

The group making up the largest portion of that 5%+ raise (14%) was the 55-64 age group, followed by the 45-54 age group at (10%) and the 35-44 group at (6%) (Figure 3).

Figure 3

It seems surprising that the raises of the 55-64 age group would be more than double those of the 35-44 age group, especially when considering that 76% of 55-to-64-year-olds make more than $100,000 a year, in comparison to just 54% of 35-to-44-year-olds (Figure 4).

Related:ITPro Today 2024 IT Salary Survey Report

Figure 4

However, Hansa Iyengar, a senior principal analyst at Omdia, says that it isn't all that surprising when considering that "the 55-64 generation in the IT sector has experience in tech stacks that are legacy but still important since they form the backbone of many large enterprises." Many of their skills in mainframes, C++, and so on are rare and valuable since it is no longer taught or often pursued. This, too, could be applied to the 45-54 group, whose knowledge of Java and J2EE is becoming rare. "Enterprises want to retain this increasingly rare talent; hence the disparity in compensation hikes," Iyengar said.

Satisfaction with Total Compensation Package

Regarding what respondents thought of the total compensation package, a little over half (55.09%) answered that they were satisfied or very satisfied.

However, when we dig into those who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, 28% of 35-to-44-year-old respondents marked that they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, as well as 18% of the respondents in the 55-64 age group. However, between those two groups, only 9% of 45-to-54-year-olds responded the same, which makes them one of the happiest age groups in IT (Figure 5). "They may not have the biggest raises," Iyengar said, "but most of them already make plenty of money, so it doesn't bother them that much."

Related:Closing the Gender Pay Gap in IT: A Step Closer to Clinking Champagne Glasses

Figure 5

But what about the 55-to-64-year-olds, who come in second in dissatisfaction with their compensation packages while also being the group with the highest percentage of 5%+ raises?

One explanation for dissatisfaction is that as people approach the traditional retirement age, they worry about their ability to maintain their financial situation.

According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, "2 in 5 of today's working households are in risk after retirement," according to its yearly National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI). Since 2004, the index has been estimating the share of American households at risk of being unable to maintain their living standards after retirement. 2023's NRRI number, 39%, is a vast improvement from the 47% at risk the year before. However, the center cautions that much of this improvement is "largely due to rising home values" and "retirees purchasing a reverse mortgage — something that few actually do."

According to "The Vanguard Retirement Outlook: A national perspective on retirement readiness" (2023), the outlook for "late baby boomers" who are now in their early to mid-60s is far less optimistic. Vanguard estimates that 70% would fall short of their pre-retirement standard of living. This reality, lurking around the corner, would inspire dissatisfaction even with higher raises.

Losing That Loving Feeling

Compared to last year's salary report, the percentage of IT professionals who responded that they agree or strongly agree that they love their current job has decreased for most age groups. For 25-to-34-year-olds, the number dropped from last year's 71% to 60% (Figure 6). For 35-to-44-year-olds, the drop was from 71% to 64%. For 45-to-54-year-olds, the number dropped from 74% to 68%, and for 55-to-64-year-olds, it dropped from 68% to 62%.

Figure 6

The only group to see an increase was the 65-to-74-year-old group — albeit a small sample — which grew from 74% to 80%.

"This is a general trend," Iyengar said about the declining love for the jobs, "especially now that COVID-induced work-from-home policies are being replaced by mandated hybrid work or, in some cases, day-day in-office scenarios."

In addition, David Brodeur-Johnson, principal analyst of Forrester Research, noted: "We've seen several industry sectors, such as tech, experiencing layoffs after years of relative growth. Employees who got to keep their jobs are likely doing some of the work of people who left, adding different stressors as a result."

Who's Seeking New Jobs?

When we look at the percentages of workers seeking new jobs, 48% of 35-to-44-year-olds said they were likely or highly likely to seek new jobs, followed by 45% of 25-to-34-year-olds and 41% of 45-to-54-year-olds (Figure 7).

Figure 7

However, bucking that trend was 55-to-64-year-olds — only 21% of them remarked that they were likely or highly likely to seek new jobs. "The 55-64 age group can't be bothered to change jobs now," Iyengar said, "because demand for their skill sets is dying and they would rather stay put in a place where they are needed than go job hunting."

Takeaways

Ways IT companies can address the falling satisfaction and desire to seek new jobs is to be more flexible about where and how the work gets done, and ensure that IT professionals can get their work done during a normal 40-to-45-hour workweek — more than one-quarter of respondents say they need more hours to complete their work (Figure 8).

Figure 8

"[We] know from the behavioral research that autonomy — freedom to decide how best to do the work — is a primary intrinsic motivator," Brodeur-Johnson said. "Intrinsic motivation is the kind that comes from within and is the most powerful. Return-to-office mandates are a significant blow to autonomy, so without knowing it, organizations are taking away one of the biggest motivators that keeps people willing to push through obstacles and get things done. The price is lost productivity — exactly the opposite of what employers are hoping to achieve with the mandates."

Flexibility is beneficial for younger workers who may be grappling with the ongoing childcare crises and those in the 55+ age group. In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Ken Dychtwald, Robert Morison, and Katy Terveer argue that older and retired workers represent "a significantly under-valued and underutilized labor pool." Much of their recommendations to connect with them involve embracing flexibility in timing, location, and benefits.

Ultimately, this year's salary survey indicates declining satisfaction among IT professionals, which will need to be addressed in a manner that accounts for the nuance differences of IT's multi-generational workforce.