The What Do Tech Talent Want in 2023 report, by European technology talent hub hackajob, surveyed over 1,000 UK tech workers – from developers and engineers, to data scientists, analysts, designers, and product managers and more

Tech workers appear ultimately unhappy, with only 11% of UK tech talent content to stay in their current role, and 20% wanting to leave their jobs as soon as possible.

Further, the the findings reveal a concerning disparity between what most UK employers are positioning as benefits and perks to attract and retain talent, and what talent actually want.

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

Company Culture 

With flexible working now commonplace, companies have to find new ways to attract and retain talent.

After compensation, candidates were found to be most attracted to a role and organisation by the overall culture (15%) and mission (13%).

In addition, when asked what they loved most about their current company / what makes them say, almost half of all surveyed (44%) said company culture followed by flexible/remote working (13%).

New Ways of Working 

While it is becoming more common, remote working is still the number one (61%) aspect tech workers enjoy most about their job, ranking above tech stack (34%), benefits (25%) and location (21%).

Despite UK tech jobs having some of the highest baseline salaries, the biggest work-related frustrations and challenges include salary (34%), lack of learning an development (32%), and not feeling valued (32%).

What Can Companies Do?

The tech workers surveyed had some tangible ideas companies can implement to make a difference in job retention.

83% of tech talent want to see a four-day work week introduced. The idea is growing in popularity according to a study by Hayes, but companies are still often reluctant to implement the new standard due to perceived impacts on staff pressure and productivity, despite workers being keen.

Further, working on their own terms is highly important to tech talent – remote working (61%), flexible working (57%) and location (21%) are amongst some of highest aspects to why they enjoy their current roles.

Chaffey says: “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.

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“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.”

Chaffey urges companies to really nail their Employer Value Proposition – what their organisation offers that is different to anyone else.

He says: “The best benefits package really hone in on what is valuable to people. Crucially, perks shouldn’t all focus on the workplace itself. Tech talent want to spend their free time either exercising, spending time with their family and friends, working on a project or hobby and progressing their learning and development. The best benefits package will empower talent to have free time to do whatever they choose.”