The What Do Tech Talent Want in 2023 report from tech job marketplace Hackajob has found widespread discontent among UK tech workers, with just 11 per cent of surveyed talent being willing to stay put in their current position, while 20 per cent said they are ready to leave their jobs as soon as possible.

There was also found to be a disparity between what most UK employers are positioning as benefits and perks to attract and retain talent, and what employees actually want — salary (34 per cent), lack of learning and development (32 per cent) and not feeling valued (32 per cent) were the most frequently cited concerns among participants.

When asked what employers can do to better retain tech workers, 83 per cent of tech talent surveyed said they wanted to see a 4-day week introduced.

“Thanks to a global pandemic, a shaky economy and multiple layoffs, the report reveals a marked shift in technology industry attitudes towards job satisfaction,” said Mark Chaffey, CEO and co-founder of hackajob.

“New priorities, new ways of working and changing relationships with work are leading to a brand new set of frustrations in the workplace. Employees want to be heard, recognised and valued.

“With former perks such as flexible working now being seen as the norm, many companies are seemingly struggling to figure out what the new era of benefits means for their business. The gap between what companies are offering, and what tech workers want is causing unrest at a time when there’s no shortage of alternative job openings out there.”

>See also: Three tech careers that are recession-proof

The importance of organisational culture

Evidently, company culture plays a key role in the satisfaction of tech workers, with 44 per cent of those asked what they most enjoyed about their workplace identifying this aspect, while flexible/remote working was cited by 13 per cent.

Remote working was also the most identified aspect for enjoying a job (61 per cent), ranking above the tech stack (34 per cent), benefits (25 per cent) and location (21 per cent) — showing that tech talent still look for new ways of going about work.

What’s more, after compensation, candidates said they were most attracted to a role and organisation by the overall culture (15 per cent) and mission (13 per cent).

Chaffey added: “It’s easy to think that the tech layoffs that happened in late 2022 and early 2023 have stilled the waters in tech hiring, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Whilst many companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have made several adjustments to their staff, many more “non-tech” organisations are still gearing up to make more tech hires than ever before as every company turns to technology as a critical part of their overall business strategy.

“But what does this mean for tech talent? Quite simply, there are still plenty of organisations hiring, and now many more people searching for new roles. Whilst salary will always be key to any tech job seeker, it is crucial that companies look outside of just remuneration in order to retain the tech talent they already have.”

Hackajob surveyed over 1,000 UK technology workers, ranging from developers and engineers, to data scientists and analysts for its What Do Tech Talent Want in 2023 report.

Related:

Four ways to stop your IT staff from leaving — Over half of IT staff are considering leaving their current job because they’re unsatisfied. Here are four ways IT managers can encourage staff retention.

How to provide purpose when hiring tech talent — Providing purpose is key to recruiting top tech talent in today’s recruitment market. Here’s how you can go beyond salary when hiring candidates.