By Chalsley Taylor | 3-minute read | January 10, 2023
Big Picture
From June to July 2023, Gartner Peer Community surveyed 178 information security and IT leaders who are primarily responsible for cybersecurity. Among these leaders, 62% personally experienced burnout at least once, with 44% reporting multiple instances.
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Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative responses, the survey uncovered the primary factors contributing to burnout among cybersecurity leaders along with their perspectives on potential remedies.
The pressure to work late nights or weekends was the cultural issue most commonly cited as fueling burnout among surveyed leaders, with 62% counting it among the biggest contributing factors to their burnout.
In terms of organizational factors, having too many responsibilities was one of the biggest burnout drivers, as cited by 65% of cybersecurity leaders.
37% of cybersecurity leaders say unrealistic expectations of the security function and/or for someone in their role have significantly contributed to their burnout.
Source: Gartner Peer Community, Burnout Among Cybersecurity Leaders: Causes and Resources Survey
Only 46% of cybersecurity leaders who experienced burnout told their manager about it.
Among those who did not tell their managers, 31% said their decision was due to fear of negative repercussions.
As for the leaders who did notify their managers, 27% indicated their superior did not then help them devise a remediation plan.
While 51% of respondents say there are adequate resources available to cope with or prevent burnout, 46% indicate that such resources are lacking or entirely absent at their organization.
Surveyed cybersecurity leaders believe their organizations can reduce burnout risk for their role by increasing resource allocation, executive leadership support and recognition.
“There are so many threats, and pressure is building on cybersecurity leaders to have the solutions. In some cases, that expectation is unrealistic.” — Director, healthcare industry, 10,000+ employees
“Managing the expectations of users while remaining compliant is exhausting and often goes unnoticed to a wider audience.” — VP, utilities industry, 1,000-5,000 employees
“There is a tremendous amount of (constant) pressure on cybersecurity leaders. Blame/pointing fingers, in the case of a security event, is always on your mind … Easing that fear is critical for an organization to reduce the level of burnout.” — Director, finance industry, 10,000+ employees
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Surveys are designed by Gartner Peer Community editors and appear on the Gartner Peer Community platform. Once the respondent threshold is met, survey results are summarized in a One-Minute Insight. The results of this summary are representative of the respondents who participated in the survey. It is not market representative.
3 things to tell your peers
Gartner Peer Community surveyed 178 information security and IT leaders who are primarily responsible for cybersecurity to understand their experiences with burnout at work.
Pressure to work long hours and an overabundance of responsibility are the most common factors contributing to cybersecurity leaders’ burnout.
Most cybersecurity leaders experiencing burnout don’t notify their managers for fear of negative repercussions.
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