Data Center Staff Are Revolting

Although the economy is picking up, a large proportion of data center managers and their staff think they're underpaid and overworked [ed. note: and over here?].

This is one of the key findings in the final part of Enterprise Systems' Salary Survey 2004, which examines IT workers' attitudes towards their jobs. The research, which surveys staff at over 1,000 enterprises, reveals that dissatisfaction with salaries is growing.

For some time now, there have been rumblings of discontent that data center pay is not keeping pace with the current economic recovery (see Survey: Data Center Staff in the Dumps and Data Center Staff: Show Us the Money). This latest survey appears to confirm this perception. Some 34 percent of middle managers, including data center managers, are unhappy with their financial lot, according to Enterprise Systems.

But their underlings are even grumpier, with nearly 40 percent saying they are dissatisfied with their salaries. Yes, there are apparently some very unhappy campers in the big white room at the middle of the corporate network.

Of course, asking anyone if they are happy with the amount they are paid is akin to asking them if they would like to be hit in the face with a brick... the answers are likely to be predictable. In this light, the surprising thing is that over 60 percent of rank-and-file data center drones are happy with their pay [ed. note: or are so drunk they couldn't care less?]. What's next a survey showing employees feel they're overpaid? Striking for lower wages?One spot of enthusiasm revealed by the survey is that IT managers and professionals working in Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows environments seem happiest with their jobs – about 79 percent express contentment. The lowest levels of job satisfaction are in mainframe environments, which seems to underline the current unpopularity of the technology (see Mainframe Skills Shortage Looms).

The survey doesn't say whether these grumpy mainframers plan to do anything about their miserable existence – such as look for another job.

With the IT industry now getting back on its feet after a difficult couple of years, there is no breathing space in data center managers' work schedules. The study found that both IT managers and their staff are working just as hard as ever (or say they are). Six out of ten IT professionals are still working between 40 and 50 hours a week, much the same as when the 2001 survey was taken. There has also been little change at the high end: As in 2001, 18 percent of respondents are still working more than 50 hours a week.

And it's still a man's world (baby!) – 85 percent of those taking part in the survey were male, although this was down slightly from 89 percent in the 2001 and 2002 surveys. But the glass ceiling still predominates: Only 8 percent of top-level IT executives are women, compared to 16 percent of middle managers and 16 percent of IT staffers.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-gen Data Center Forum0