While increasing slightly from 2015, fewer than one in five IT professionals consider the work they are currently doing to be the most stressful of their career, according to TEKsystems’ annual IT stress and pride survey.

“The research shows the last two years have been a time of lower stress levels for IT professionals,” said TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman. “The big picture looks positive in terms of IT professionals’ satisfaction with their career choice and outlook towards future options.”

According to the survey, 14% of entry- to mid-level IT professionals and 18% of senior IT professionals consider the work they are currently doing to be the most stressful of their career, up from the 11% and 13%, respectively, who said the same in a similar survey in 2015. However, both years saw a significant drop from the 2014 survey, in which 30% of entry- to mid-level IT professionals and 32% of senior IT professionals considered their work to be the most stressful of their career.

The survey also found organizations no longer tend to abuse senior IT professionals’ downtime. Sixty percent or more of all IT professionals indicate they are only expected to be accessible during reasonable work hours, reinforcing the “maintenance” aspect of their current workloads.

The survey included 241 IT professionals and was conducted in April 2016. TEKsystems, part of the Allegis Group, is the largest IT staffing firm in the US.