Employee benefits have become a major focus for many companies. Even before the pandemic, management was acutely aware of how employee mental health impacted business performance.
But for cybersecurity professionals, stress is always part of the job.
One of the most concerning aspects of employee mental health is its impact on cybersecurity programs and, more broadly, on companies’ ability to defend themselves against cyberattacks, according to new research . CISOs and their teams seem to bear the brunt of unmitigated work-related stress levels that are affecting the entire organization.
A survey of CISOs from small and medium-sized businesses with teams of five or fewer employees was conducted to better understand how work-related stress impacts CISOs.
The survey results revealed:
Impact of CISO job stress levels on small businesses
Among the CISOs surveyed, there was a dismal number of respondents suffering from work-related stress. According to the report, 94% of CISOs report feeling stressed at work, and 65% believe their job stress levels reduce their ability to protect their organizations. He more than 70% of her CISOs surveyed thought their stress levels were higher than their peers in other areas of the business.
Unfortunately, CISO stress levels weren’t limited to leadership roles. Employee burnout is spreading like wildfire across security teams. Increased workload affects all levels of the department, increasing turnover and hindering recruitment efforts. Nearly three-quarters of his CISOs surveyed said an employee had left due to stress in the past year, and 47% reported multiple employees had left their jobs. increase.
CISO candidates are limited due to high turnover. This highlights the current talent shortage across the cybersecurity field. When asked about their hiring process, 83% of CISOs said they had to make compromises in selecting candidates.
CISO in action: Why many CISOs are rethinking their role
Today’s economic climate has a significant impact on the cybersecurity sector. Budget cuts, hiring freezes, and resource shortages are all making the workload of CISOs and their staff unsustainable. In fact, 38% of CISOs report they are considering or actively looking for new jobs.
The reality is, security teams are inundated with alerts. It has to manage the overwhelming number of cybersecurity threats coming from all directions. The proliferation of job responsibilities has spotlighted gaps in cybersecurity programs, leaving many outside of IT questioning the security of their organizations. Nearly 80% of his CISOs surveyed said they’ve received complaints from their superiors, colleagues, or subordinates about how their security tasks were handled.
As a result, 93% of CISOs say they spend more time on tactical tasks than they should (versus strategic high-quality work). This is a vicious circle. Lacking the right people and resources, CISOs manage too many tedious and redundant work tasks with unsatisfactory security results, opening the door to a stressful work environment.
Telecommuting for CISOs: How work-related stress impacts your personal life
Anyone who’s ever worked knows that it’s hard to leave work-related stress at work. But for CISOs, managing a healthy work-life balance is especially difficult because of the weight and pressure of their work responsibilities.
A whopping 84% of CISOs said they postponed or canceled vacations due to urgent security tasks, according to the survey. Work fatigue has caused 64% of CISOs to cancel private events, and 77% of his CISOs surveyed claim that work-related stress is affecting their physical health.
The study reveals how CISO stress levels impact every part of their lives. Meanwhile, cybersecurity threats continue to grow at an alarming rate.
How companies can reduce stress levels for CISOs
Employee mental health impacts every aspect of your business. According to a report in the MIT Sloan Management Review, “What outperforms other organizations is developing strong empathy and flexibility, developing new skills to address the needs of the workforce, and giving employees a holistic approach. An organization that provides mental health support.”
Stressed out security teams are not operating at full capacity, missing key threats and leaving organizations vulnerable to attacks. It should come as no surprise that improving work-related stress levels for CISOs and their staff has a direct impact on a company’s cybersecurity efforts. But what deliberate steps can businesses take to reduce work-related stress levels?
First and foremost, 100% of CISOs say they need additional resources to address their security challenges, including automation capabilities, better training opportunities, and the ability to outsource tasks. More than half of his CISOs surveyed want the ability to consolidate security technologies into his single platform. The move, they said, will directly affect their work lives and help reduce stress levels.
Ultimately, businesses fail to cope with the CISO’s stress levels, putting them at risk. It is impossible to prioritize any cybersecurity initiative without considering the mental health of the team that manages it. Protecting your CISO’s health is the first step to protecting your business.
Download Cynet’s full report today to help stop rising job stress levels for CISOs and find out how to better protect your business. Impact of Stress on CISOs in 2023 2023 Survey.
