ITWeb, in partnership with KnowBe4, conducted a survey on cyber stress and wellness during August 2022.

The objective of the survey was to assess how a changing environment is impacting IT professionals and corporate workers, and whether mental stress and burnout are increasing cyber risk.

A total of 193 valid responses were captured, with 58% of respondents being at executive or middle management level. While 32% of respondents came from the IT sector, the remaining 68% come from a wide range of major industry sectors, with finance, government and telecoms being the best represented.

Here are some of the key findings:

1. A VMWare study showed that half (51%) of cyber security and technology professionals have felt extremely stressed and burnt out in recent months. Asked whether this was something seen in respondents’ security and IT teams, the following responses were recorded:
   
   *Very stressed (20%)
   *Somewhat stressed (53%)
   *Neutral (19%)
   *Barely (4%)
   *Not at all (4%)
   
   
2. The majority of respondents (82%) said staff mental health and wellbeing was important in their organisation.
   
   
3. Just under half of respondents (46%) said they felt a moderate amount of stress. A third (34%) said they were under a high amount of stress and 13% said they were under very high levels of stress.
   
   
4. Most people (72%) agreed that remote working had positively affected their wellbeing. 16% said they felt it had made no difference.
   
   
5. The number one reason for people making security mistakes, such as clicking on a phishing email, was cited as lack of awareness or training (52%).
   
   
6. The second most likely reason for people making security mistakes, such as clicking on a phishing email, was cited as distraction, multitasking and cognitive overload (38%).
   
   
7. The third most likely reason for people making security mistakes, such as clicking on a phishing email, was cited as stress or feeling overworked or overwhelmed (36%).
   
   
8. Seventy percent of respondents said that the most effective way to improve their company's security culture would be more security awareness and training. This was followed by in-the-moment training such as phishing simulations (54%), offering people mindfulness tools and training to be less distracted (49%) and behaviour- based monitoring and interventions (49%). Gaining more senior management support was ticked by 26% of respondents.
   
   
9. Asked how they cope with the demands of work and stress personally, respondents selected the following:
   
   
   • Exercise (57%)
     
   • Prioritising rest and sleep(54%)
     
   • Connecting with friends and family(54%)
     
   • Spending time outside in nature(49%)
     
   • Setting up boundaries(37%)
     
   • Mindfulness practices such as Yoga and/or meditation(25%)