IT Essentials: Be a hero. No, not like that

Mental health is about teamwork, not beanbag chairs

It's not a controversial statement to say that many of us are suffering from overwork, burnout and stress.

At the Cybersecurity Festival last week Holly Foxcroft, our day two keynote speaker, called out the cyber sector as one of the most stressful in the tech industry. Burnout is common.

Many of the Festival attendees echoed this sentiment when speaking to Penny Horwood for her article about mental health in technology, pointing out that the business can go under if you take a break from security.

It's a good point, but not the most compelling one. Security teams are, after all, teams. Even the smallest company should have at least one other person capable of temporarily managing the defences while you recharge your batteries.

And this is what it comes down to: teamwork and support. Caring about mental health means more than a bring-your-dog-to-work policy, just as being a great place to work is about more than just giving everyone beanbag chairs.

The culture of tech can still lean towards being the hero, never backing down from a challenge and taking on more than you can handle.

Except that isn't how heroes work. Look at media: The Justice League, The Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The X-Men. Heck, even The Lone Ranger had Tonto, and flying solo is practically in his job description.

Some readers will decry this editorial, and Mental Health Week in general, as wishy-washy nonsense when we should be focused on real issues. But this is a challenge in every industry: the Covid-19 pandemic and rising living costs have left us with a mental health crisis. Reaching out to your team, and making sure they know they can do the same in return, is the first step in solving it.