The way IT professionals think about their job has changed steadily over the past five years. For IT managers, job satisfaction fell dramatically from 2008 to 2009, and since then the number of managers who say they are very satisfied hit a plateau, according to InformationWeek's Art Wittmann. Wittmann examines the reasons behind the declining satisfaction.

The factors that contribute to job satisfaction have changed for IT pros since 2007, Wittman reports, based on InformationWeek's annual salary surveys. Five years ago, the number one satisfaction factor was the challenge, then pay, then the "ability to work on creating innovative IT solutions." But now, having one's opinion valued is as important as the challenge. The ability to work on innovative solutions now ranks low--the 14th most important factor.

Variables that employees have less control over have become more important, such as the stability of the company and the job, and recognition for one's work. It is reasonable to see these factors linked to the difficult conditions of the economy overall.  

"It's not hard to imagine that as IT pros made it through layoff rounds and watched their employers' financial statements head into the red that they'd start to worry more about job and company stability," Wittmann writes. "And when you worry about things you can't affect very much, your job satisfaction will suffer--along with most other measures of mental health."

However, general economic conditions aren't the only reason for the shifting priorities among IT pros. Wittmann theorizes that these managers are fed up with always being told to "do more with less," and they place a lower value on "working with the latest cool project designed to eliminate a fraction of their peers," he writes. "If top management thinks IT's attitude stinks, they're simply reaping what they've sown."

For more:
- see Art Wittmann's article at InformationWeek

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