As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and the skills gap increases, one can only speculate on how long individuals working in business can endure before giving up. Burnouts occur as a result of continuous and overwhelming stress. It could result from a constant stream of concurrent initiatives, external sources, or even inherent in the job’s responsibilities. Lack of planning is one of the primary sources of burnout. Unless a “digital-first” mentality is ingrained in a company’s operations, burnouts will continue to plague their IT and cyber expertise.
Cybersecurity is unique in that the threat of cyber infiltration is almost continual. It is not simply a matter of maintaining cyber tactics implemented months ago, as numerous organizations established temporary solutions when implementing remote working arrangements. Businesses must now assess their security procedures to make them more sustainable as workers work longer hours from home, resulting in a more significant workload for security professionals.
As a security expert, one might believe that they are entirely responsible for protecting a business from cyber-breach. However, no system can be guaranteed to be fully secure. When a breach happens, the security personnel are thrust into the spotlight. Numerous cyber professionals fear being unfairly chastised, severely penalized, or even sacked. Even if no breach has occurred, the threat of one lingers big in the minds of the majority of cybersecurity specialists.
Numerous factors contribute to the highly stressful work environment found in cyber security, including frequent and increasingly complex threats/attacks, a lack of downtime, skill shortages, and regulatory changes. It is up to cybersecurity providers to make workers’ jobs more accessible and more efficient by monitoring threats using cloud technology and machine learning algorithms (low-effort solutions) rather than manually securing and monitoring each server or network. Additionally, it is about putting long-term solutions into practice. Technical cyber and information technology personnel cannot be brought in at the last minute to address pressing concerns.
While working in cybersecurity is inherently demanding, adopting a constructive attitude can help alleviate the stress. The non-Google route: It is much simpler and easier to reorganize work areas so that security teams have a place to unwind and wave away tension, without having to go through the same process that saw $5,000 sleep pods for staff to catch Z’s during their breaks. The most critical aspect in establishing a great culture is encouraging and empowering people to speak up when they are stressed out and educating the management to recognize when employees are burned out and what they can do to help.
