Cybersecurity workers are increasingly working over the weekends — and many are ready to quit
A report from Bitdefender has revealed more than two-thirds (70%) of cybersecurity professionals are frequently working weekends to address security concerns, leading to widespread job dissatisfaction and potentially negative implications on companies’ resilience.
The study of 1,200 cyber professionals across countries including the UK, the US and Germany (via Infosecurity Magazine) highlighted significant burnout among cybersecurity workers, leading to alarmingly high turnover rates within the industry.
Bitdefender revealed the UK is the most affected nation, with four in five (81%) security workers saying they often work weekends.
Cybersecurity workers fed up of overtime
Nearly three-quarters (71%) of British workers are now seeking new employment within the next year.
More notably, nearly all of the German workers surveyed who frequently work weekends are looking for a job change. The figures stand at 77.1% for those working weekends, and 76.6% for those considering a new job.
America’s workers are in a similar position, with 70.2% working weekends, however fewer than two in three (62.2%) are looking to switch jobs, highlighting a slightly higher level of acceptance for overtime and unsociable hours across the pond.
The increased pressure on workers comes in response to mounting cybersecurity threats – more than half (57%) reported that their organizations experienced a data breach in the past year, marking a 6% increase from 2023.
The top threats included phishing and social engineering (33%), software vulnerabilities (32.2%) and ransomware (29.3%). Nearly all of the cybersecurity professionals questioned (96%) also expressed concern about artificial intelligence’s impact on cybersecurity.
Despite the seemingly desperate situation, most (94%) of the respondents said that they were confident in their organization’s ability to respond to threats – a huge increase from 54% last year.
However, while companies appear to be weathering the storm of cybersecurity threats, the intense workload is detrimental to workers’ health, which could be detrimental to companies’ cyber resilience. Looking ahead, the report highlights the emerging trend of partnering with third-party cybersecurity experts to ease the pressure on their teams.
