One in five CISOs works over 25 hours overtime each week

According to new research from Tessian, 18 percent of UK and US security leaders work over 25 hours extra a week, double the amount of overtime they reported in 2021.

On average, they work 16.5 hours over their contracted weekly hours, up from 11 hours in 2021. Also three-quarters of security leaders say they aren't able to always switch off from work, 16 percent of these say they can rarely or never switch off.

Interestingly it's those in bigger organizations that are working longer hours. At smaller companies (10-99 employees), security leaders are working an average of 12 extra hours a week, compared to those at larger companies (1,000+ employees) who work an extra 19.

The other side of that coin is that security leaders at smaller companies have a more difficult time creating boundaries between work and home life. 20 percent of leaders at these companies say they can always switch off from work, compared to 31 percent of those at larger companies.

"Security leaders need to be all in on their jobs for the security and health of their organization," says Josh Yavor, Tessian's CISO. "As the data shows, this 'all in' mentality can turn into 'always on,' leading to overtime hours and feelings of burnout. Not only is this unsustainable, it decreases efficacy and increases risk. Like all employees, CISOs have their limits and need to advocate for themselves and time constraints to avoid burnout. As leaders, it’s critical that CISOs are able to lead by example and to set their teams up for sustainable operational work."

Overworked employees are more prone to making mistakes when they're tired or stressed. In fact, 47 percent of employees cite distraction as the top reason for falling for a phishing scam, and 41 percent say they accidentally sent an email to the wrong person because they were distracted.

You can read more on the Tessian blog.

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