The more the ICT professionals found their work meaningful, the less likely they were to leave their profession.

ICT professionals find work meaningful: SCS survey

About 78 per cent of ICT professionals in Singapore say their work is meaningful. This was one of the findings of the latest Singapore Computer Society (SCS) Infocomm Technology Survey, which seeks to understand the needs and issues of ICT professionals in Singapore. The survey, the third to be conducted by SCS, serves as a guide for the SCS, relevant government agencies and organisations to shape ICT polices and strategies in the country.

The study covered 2,279 people - 925 ICT professionals and 1,354 ICT students. It also captured the profile of ICT professionals in Singapore, the majority of whom (94 per cent) have tertiary education, are married (70 per cent) and hold Singapore citizenship (76 per cent).  About a third (36 per cent) earn more than S$100,000 a year. The largest proportion work in multinational corporations (37 per cent), followed by government and statutory boards (29 per cent), start-ups and small enterprises (15 per cent), large local organisations (13 per cent) and others (6 per cent).

According to SCS, this year’s survey was the first-ever attempt to determine the meaning of work for ICT professionals and students. Meaningful work, according to the respondents, meant having many opportunities to learn and develop oneself; getting a sense of satisfaction from ICT work; and working on things that one was passionate about.

For the ICT community, one implication of this was that the more the ICT professionals found their work meaningful, the less likely they were to leave their profession. Indeed, eight out 10 professionals who found their work meaningful said they would stay in the profession.

While the meaning of work ranked high in factors that keep ICT professionals within ICT, other factors included salary, job fit, career advancement and undertaking broad and varied work.

The survey also zeroed in on the different levels of engagement of the work, or what Dr Damien Joseph, Assistant Professor, Nanyang Business School,  Nanyang Technological University, described as “Say, Strive and Stay”.

As Dr Joseph explained, “Some 64 per cent of ICT professionals surveyed feel engaged with their organisations or employers. About three in five reported that they speak positively (“Say”) about their organisation to others. Seven in 10 reported they are willing to do the utmost for their organisation (“Strive”) and three in five reported their desire to continue their employment relationship (“Stay”).”

Overall, the survey also found that the engagement level of ICT professionals in Singapore was generally higher than the global average of 58 per cent, said Dr Joseph, who was in charge of the study.

The Nanyang Business School of Nanyang Technological University was a key SCS partner in conducting the survey, which was supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, the Media Development Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Workfare Development Agency.

The survey also highlighted a divergence in job preferences among ICT professionals and students. About 29 per cent of students said they preferred to work for startups or small enterprises compared with 13 per cent of ICT professionals. The sector most preferred by ICT professionals was ICT services while more students chose software development than other sectors.