A report from Cynet found that chief information security officers (CISOs) were experiencing high levels of work-related stress. The survey was comprised of results from CISOs at small to midsize businesses with security teams of five employees or less to better understand their levels of work-related stress and how their mental health is impacting their work life and personal life. The results found 94% of CISOs report being stressed at work, with 65% admitting work-related stress issues are compromising their ability to protect their organization. Among the CISOs surveyed, 100% said they needed additional resources to adequately cope with current IT security challenges.
The lack of bandwidth and resources is not only impacting CISOs, but their teams as well. According to the report, 74% say they are losing team members because of work-related stress issues, with nearly half (47%) of these CISOs having more than one team member exit their role over the last 12 months. Relentless stress levels are also affecting recruitment efforts with 83% of CISOs admitting they have had to compromise on the staff they hire to fill gaps left by employees who have quit their job. More than a third of the CISOs surveyed said they are either actively looking for or considering a new role.