#ITWoes: Why is IT treated like crap in the corporate world?
So, picture this: you’re the unsung hero of your office, the IT wizard who swoops in to save the day whenever a computer crashes or a printer jams. You’re the backbone of the entire operation, keeping everyone’s technology running smoothly. Sounds important, right? Well, tell that to the higher-ups who treat you like a glorified paperweight.
As someone who’s been in the trenches of IT support, I’ve seen firsthand how undervalued and underappreciated we can be. We’re expected to work miracles with outdated equipment, deal with constant demands from every department, and somehow still smile through it all. It’s a tough gig, folks.
But here’s the kicker: despite being crucial to the success of a company, IT is often the first department to get the short end of the stick. We’re seen as expendable, replaceable, and often overlooked when it comes to promotions and opportunities for growth. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, especially when we know how vital our skills are to keeping the whole dang ship afloat.
So, why the heck is this the case? Why are we constantly pushed to the brink while other departments get all the glory? I’m genuinely curious to hear your thoughts on this hot-button issue. Let’s get a conversation going, dive into the nitty-gritty, and figure out why IT gets treated like dirt in the corporate world.💻🔧✨
Let’s hear it, tech wizards. Why do you think IT is given the short end of the stick in the corporate world? Cast your vote below and let’s crack this case wide open! 👇🤔 #ITWoes #CorporateStruggles #TechLife #UnderappreciatedIT #CorporateDilemma
Very simple, it doesn’t generate money.
Never had an issue with IT not being respected. Sounds like you need to choose employers more carefully.
I chalk a lot of it up to a lack of fundemental understanding of the serious nature and complexity of IT infrastructure from the top down. It seems to relatively be the case that most major coorperate operations higher ups have very little, to no actually understanding of what sort of infrasturcture and resources it really takes to run a proper IT department, and shareholder value is usually what drives the distribution of major resources away from certain areas of the company. Every company Ive been in that has shitty IT practices its usually because the ceo or whoever is doing the onboarding uptop hires out of favoritims, nepotism, etc and or with a skimped budget for this department. Rather invest the big bucks on property aquisitions and 350x the average worker salary for the ceo and their bonuses
Edit: Failed to mention, most IT departments are graded based upon their numbers, not the quality of work performed. So when the higher ups are reviewing the IT department generally its just a bunch of numbers on paper so they have a limited understanding of what the actually users and agents are doing on a regular basis, and their needs/requirments
I think it’s kind of nuts that IT isn’t part of the ones viewed as making money ….
Watch a lawyers office squirm when their email system is down , or you see just how important and worth it IT is when a company gets hit with ransomware and these companies pay millions in bitcoin to maybe back
We aren’t a money making department, so we are seen as something the business just needs to operate and not integral to the companies growth. Although we know that’s not true, that’s just how it’s seen on paper.
There are good employers and bad employers and this is how you tell them apart. No matter what you do for a living, respect is required.
I always found software companies I’ve worked for have highly respected everything except help desk, they always seem to be the punching bags.
I work at a Pharma company in Boston, and I feel that IT is treated as an afterthought by upper management, so the users follow suit. For example, management has decided not to have a written, stated policy on how Tech Refreshes should proceed. So, the users do all they want to tie up assets and time of IT. And then, I’ll have a manager just mention that I have tickets over two months old, and to resolve it.
But I can’t do anything when the end user claims their schedule is booked, and they have little time to work on the new MacBook they wanted in the first place.
Never ever heard that from an employer, choose wisely and leave immediately if this disrespect happens to you again.
Sorry to say but you’re at the bottom of the IT pile (that’s anything with Support or Analyst or Officer in the title. Once you move up the ranks (usually means specializing in a particular area) you will find the level of respect increases. Sucks but that’s the reality.
Its real simple. We’re support. We’re break fixers. We don’t produce anything. We’re a cost. We’re necessary but a cost that’s hired help. It is what it is. Don’t take it personal. Go in and give it your all. Go home and forget about it.
I’m very lucky to work for a software development company and have a boss who realizes the importance of our department. Funnily I used to be a mechanic and we got treated like shit by management and the sales people a lot despite being the ones keeping the doors open, so sometimes you just can’t win.
If you’re doing your job right then you don’t need anything. If you’re not doing your job right then you’re a waste of resources.
That’s just how it is. It’s up the the person in charge of the IT team, as well as the team themselves to find a way to show the necessity of the IT team and their usefulness so people actually understand, because overall if absolutely anything goes wrong with anything even remotely related to IT, it’s your fault. We had to change everything to server based for cybersecurity insurance and every single problem that came up was a Ever since ‘you’ changed all this stuff this hasn’t worked properly’ Can you stop changing things for no reason?” sort of thing.
In my experience, it’s really dependent on WHO is your department leader. I’ve been on teams where the IT manager was a push over and we got the shit end of the stick and got a thank you and MAYBE A pizza party. My current department head questions every ask and even tells us to drag our feet and to prioritize easy work to blow off asks from teams that have every ability to do it (engineering, Product, Etc)
I don’t know why but seeing this thread today was so meaningful on so many levels.
IT is a “cost center”. It doesn’t make the company money, it just spends it.
Businesses only understand the sounds of money counters going in, not out.
This topic reminds me of the AshelyMadison data leak.
Grow the business, primary. Twist truths for marketing purposes, primary.
IT and/or Security for the sake of customers data and privacy (referencing customers that paid to have their data wiped), low priority.
How you are treated depends on the place really is what I noticed, the higher ups really set the pace for it.
>I realized they’re dealing with the same crap I did: higher-ups constantly on their ass, losing remote days for not being on time, constant workflow changes, etc…
I have to say though, losing remote days for not being on time? As in you are working remote and showing up late to work, and then act surprised when they ask you to come into the office? If you show up late to a remote job you better have a good excuse, cause there is no commute so its really internet down or power out being the only acceptable answers. Also, if power outage or internet being down is a constant problem, then you should have to go in, it is a fair condition to say “worker needs consistent access to power and internet to work remote”. I work remotely, those people who don’t actually work while remote or show up late, I hope they are forced back into office cause they are ruining it for the rest of us who do take are work time as seriously regardless if we were in office or remote.