IT pros missing weddings to fix work issues

Majority have skipped an important family engagement to resolve a problem at work, poll finds

Most IT pros have missed a wedding, funeral or "similarly important family occasion" to resolve a work issue, according to a poll.

Of the 600 US and UK IT pros who took part in the survey, conducted by security vendor AlienVault, some 63 per cent admitted they had been forced to blow out a critical family engagement to fix something at work.

Some 91 per cent of tech pros have also struggled into work when sick to ensure a project does not fail, the research found.

Meanwhile, the research also claimed to have uncovered the extent to which IT pros work in isolation, with just eight per cent of respondents saying they would ask their boss for help if they made a mistake.

Google (38 per cent), IT support group Spiceworks (23 per cent) and colleagues (21 per cent) were all more popular sources of advice for IT pros in the event of a workplace howler, the research found. Furthermore, some 61 per cent of respondents said their boss would only notice they had made a mistake if the internet goes down or users start complaining.

"IT guys are the unsung heroes of many organisations," said Javvad Malik, security advocate at AlienVault.

"Often working in isolation, they are largely considered to be supporting players in many workplaces - yet the responsibility being placed on them is huge. In the event of a cyber attack, network issue, or outage, they will drop everything to fix a problem, even forsaking important personal commitments."

But despite this, a plurality of respondents - 36 per cent - reported they were happy' or 'very happy' at work. Some 32 per cent were unhappy, while 31 per cent were 'neutral' about their work.