The majority of IT professionals, six in 10, report they are less stressed now than at any point in their careers and 83% would still choose IT as a career, according to TEKsystems’ annual IT Worker Stress Test and Work/Life Balance survey.

This is aided by the fact that almost 70% of those polled said they are only expected to be accessible during traditional working hours, indicating a good work/life balance. This, coupled with the extremely low unemployment rate in IT, may be why 66% would seek other employment if stress became an issue, and why at least half would do so for less pay, according to the report.

However, nearly three-quarters of IT professionals still report that work-related stress contributes to their overall stress level. This seems to be spread evenly over three primary areas: the impact on work/life balance, keeping up with organizational requests/workload and keeping up with technology. Of particular note is that work/life balance is tied for the top stressor and nearly half of those asked report they’ve missed a significant personal event for something work related.

“Overall, it’s still a great time to be a tech pro,” said Jason Hayman, research analyst for TEKsystems. “Most IT workers are experiencing lower stress levels than in the past, and they don’t feel like their jobs require them to be accessible outside of reasonable times. We’ve seen for some time that it’s a seller’s market if you’re an IT pro, so they’re less likely to put up with a more stressful environment when they know the opportunity is out there to find something better, less stressful, even if it’s for less money.”

TEKsystems, part of the Allegis Group, tops Staffing Industry Analysts' list of largest IT staffing firms in the US.