There's no off switch for IT managers during the holidays

The lack of skilled workers in the IT industry is putting pressure on IT professionals in more ways than we'd previously imagined. A new report, recently released by Unified Security Management and AlienVault says IT managers that will take days off during the holidays will actually spend them worrying about work.

The "good news" is -- less than a third (29 percent) will actually take time off during the holidays. The rest will just keep on working.

The report is based on a poll of 464 IT professionals, and aims to better understand how the skills gap effects those currently in the business. More than half (53 percent) believe their colleagues are overstretched, and more than a third (41 percent) say they have had unfilled vacancies in their teams during the last year.

"The festive season has traditionally been a time when the vast majority of people take time off to spend with their families. But a combination of workplace pressures, the IT skills shortage, and our growing dependence on mobile computing is all forcing a cultural change for those working in IT", comments Javvad Malik, security advocate at AlienVault.

"The tech sector has long had a reputation for being a high-stress field, where employees are decently compensated but are often overworked and held to strict standards by their supervisors. But the overall business reliance on technology is turning IT teams into an emergency service for many organizations -- particularly during the holiday period, when customers may still be using online systems to conduct transactions".

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