Nearly three-quarters (72%) of UK IT professionals say that poor IT experiences are reducing overall job satisfaction, according to new research from TOPdesk, a global provider of IT service management solutions. The findings underline how vital effective IT support has become in the hybrid working era, where daily business operations rely heavily on seamless technology.

The survey of 1,000 UK IT professionals reveals that IT performance is now a defining factor in workplace engagement. When systems or support functions fail, the impact is widespread: morale drops, workloads increase, and productivity declines.

Despite this, many IT departments report feeling overstretched and underappreciated. Sixty-four percent of respondents say their colleagues underestimate the complexity of IT work, while over half (53%) believe employees log tickets for minor issues rather than trying simple fixes. Two-thirds (66%) think that every employee should spend a day working alongside IT to gain a better understanding of the pressures the function faces.

The research also shows that reliable IT directly influences wider business success. Eighty-seven percent of respondents said that effective IT management plays a major role in helping employees perform well across the organisation. Conversely, when support systems fail, the consequences can be significant — from wasted time and rising frustration to increased burnout and staff turnover.

The study highlights that many IT teams are caught in a cycle of reactivity. Four in ten (40%) professionals say they spend most of their time firefighting rather than preventing problems, while almost a third of organisations report weekly major incidents such as system outages or hardware breakdowns. Smaller issues, such as unstable connections, occur even more frequently.

This constant firefighting limits capacity for proactive improvements, leaving systems more vulnerable to disruption over time. The impact is not limited to IT alone — 39% of professionals say these issues cause additional workload across other departments each week, turning technical challenges into broader organisational setbacks.

Hannah Salt, Head of Customer Enablement at TOPdesk, said:

“IT shouldn’t only be noticed when it fails. When technology or support teams struggle, frustration quickly spreads through the business. IT underpins everything modern organisations do, so recognising and resourcing it properly is essential. Doing so protects morale, supports retention, and sustains productivity.”

The report concludes that IT can no longer be treated as a background service. For organisations to maintain engagement and performance, senior leaders need to prioritise the employee IT experience as a strategic issue — or risk higher turnover, lower morale, and ongoing productivity loss.