Advice has emerged that work stress in technology organisations should not be left only to individuals' ability to cope, and that leaders and organisations should manage it early. Accumulated workloads, unclear roles and frequent priority changes can lead beyond weaker performance to burnout and staff departures, it said.

On Aug. 22, an IT outlet TechRadar published a contributed article by Sarah Bush (세라 부시), a professor at the University of Florida. Citing UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics, Bush wrote that about 550,000 workdays have been lost over the past 3 years due to work-related stress in the technology sector. Across the UK, the HSE estimated that about 16.4 million workdays were lost in 2023/24 due to work-related stress, depression and anxiety.

Bush stressed, "As a starting point for managing stress, we need to understand that each team member has a different way of solving problems." According to Michael Kirton (마이클 커턴)'s "Adaption-Innovation Theory", some people prefer structure and existing procedures, while others are more accustomed to finding new solutions in ambiguous environments. Neither approach is superior, but stress can grow if the work environment and mindset do not match.

An organisational culture that builds trust is also important. Keeping distance from colleagues, becoming sensitive, missing deadlines or failing to set priorities may be signs of accumulated stress rather than a simple performance issue. It also said managers should not wait for regular reviews and should adjust workloads and expectations through everyday conversations.

Providing employees with a certain level of autonomy and ensuring time to recover was also suggested as a solution. Leaders should set realistic goals and help distinguish what is actually urgent, while practising breaks, vacations and disconnecting outside working hours themselves, it said.

The goal is not to eliminate stress entirely, but to maintain long-term performance while preventing burnout.