Overworked IT pros have no time for a social life

Senior IT workers are neglecting to make plans to secure their financial future and maintain healthy social lives, according to a new research paper.

Accounting and advisory firm, William Buck, spoke to more than 250 senior IT people and business owners across Australia with 83 per cent saying that would forgo a 20 per cent pay rise to spend more time undertaking lifestyle and family activities.

Further, more than half lack the time to put any financial plan in place, 23 per cent regularly experienced inconsistent earnings, and 22 per cent had not saved enough money for the future.

Sam Kitchen, a senior advisor at William Buck, said the organisation wasn’t surprised by the findings.

“We’re aware that IT professionals lack the time to look after their finances, with many sacrificing personal health and family life due to long working hours and demanding job roles,” Kitchen said.

IT workers also face other unique challenges that adversely impact their financial difficulties and underpin their lifestyle issues. These include working as contractors with inconsistent bonus payments often paid in two or three year increments, William Buck found.

Workers are also expected to be available around-the-clock to service client accounts. This eats into weekend time, which had resulted in divorce for some of the interviewees.

“Financial stability is clearly a problem that a significant number of IT professionals face,” said Kitchen. “Tax and structural asset planning are two major areas we often find have not been addressed by this cohort of professionals.

“IT workers have a high level of intellect but simply lack the time to adequately plan for their financial future.”

Although half of the research respondents said they conducting their own research when implementing financial strategies, when it came to applying a plan, they were hampered by their own time constraints.

“There is a major disconnect between capacity and capability which needs to be addressed,” Kitchen said.

“Quick financial fixes are often implemented which, in most cases, end in disaster. Financial planning is imperative to ensure the high incomes that the IT profession enjoys are capitalised on to secure a strong financial position.”

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Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter:@ByronConnolly