Job Security Shift | AI Paradox | Brain Drain | Work-Life Balance | What Employees Want | 2026 Outlook
The results are in from our 2025 IT Industry Survey, and they paint a striking picture of a workforce caught between two forces: the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and the growing anxiety that these same tools might make their roles obsolete.
Comparing this year’s findings with our 2024 survey reveals some encouraging signs of stabilisation, but also the emergence of entirely new concerns.
The Big Picture: Signs of Stabilisation, But Challenges Remain
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professionals considering moving offshore | 41% | 26% | ⬇️ 15 points |
| Job seekers finding the search harder | 81% | 76% | ⬇️ 5 points |
| Reporting worse work-life balance | 38% | 33% | ⬇️ 5 points |
“In a nutshell – while conditions remain tough, they’re no longer deteriorating at the rate we saw in 2024, something we can attest to. Over the last quarter we’ve seen stable increase in IT roles coming out to the market, and while we’re not out of the woods yet, we expect this trend to continue,” says Richard Vaughan, MD Younity.
A Fundamental Shift: Job Security is the New Top Stressor
Job security concerns (48%) have overtaken workload (46%) as the leading contributor to workplace stress among IT professionals.
This represents a significant psychological shift. In 2024, the stress narrative was about overwork – 69% of professionals felt pressured to “do more with less” as restructures cut headcount and stretched survivors thin. In 2025, the narrative has evolved to uncertainty – professionals are less worried about their current workload and more worried about whether they’ll have a job at all.
Among those actively seeking work, 76% report that finding an IT role is harder now than the last time they were on the market. While this is a marginal improvement from 81% in 2024, three-quarters of job seekers still face a tougher market than they’ve previously experienced.
The AI Paradox: We’re Using It, But We’re Scared of It
The most significant new finding this year is the “AI Paradox.” Adoption of AI tools is now mainstream, yet it’s coupled with significant unease.
Widespread adoption:
- 70% of employers now pay for generative AI subscriptions for their staff.
- 60% of job seekers are using AI tools to help find work.
- Microsoft Copilot (60%), ChatGPT (50%), and GitHub Copilot (29%) are now regular fixtures in the IT professional’s toolkit.
Yet alongside this adoption sits significant unease:
- 64% of professionals are concerned that AI will impact their future job security
- Nearly 8% describe themselves as “very concerned”
- Female respondents reported slightly higher concern levels (62%) compared to their male counterparts (57%)
This creates a peculiar tension: IT professionals are becoming more proficient with AI tools while simultaneously worrying those same tools will render their expertise less valuable.
“The stress hasn’t disappeared,” says Richard. “Last year people were stressed about workloads and restructures, this year it shifted to technology displacement concerns. Job security has overtaken workload as the number one stressor and AI anxiety is a major new factor.”
The Brain Drain Risk: Improving, But Not Gone
One of the most alarming findings from our 2024 survey was that 41% of IT professionals were considering leaving New Zealand for better career opportunities. This year, that figure has dropped significantly to 26%, a 15-percentage point improvement.
| Offshore Intentions | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Considering leaving | 41% | 26% |
| Not considering | 59% | 51% |
| Unsure | Not measured | 23% |
* Note: 2024 figures reflect a binary choice; 2025 introduced an “Unsure” option, which may account for some shift in responses
This is arguably the most positive shift in the data. The “brain drain” panic from 2024 appears to be easing.
However, when you factor in the 23% who remain “unsure,” nearly half the workforce (49%) is still at least open to leaving – so while the immediate risk has eased, the door remains open for many.
“I’m really happy to see this change in attitude, but we have to consider that a lot of people have left New Zealand over the last year, and we have lost IT skill sets to offshore markets There’s still a significant retention risk that employers need to address,” comments Richard.
Possible drivers for the improvement: Global tech layoffs may have made overseas markets look less attractive, improved local market sentiment, or a “wait and see” approach as professionals anticipate conditions improving in 2026.
Work-Life Balance: Pressure Easing Slightly
The intense “do more with less” pressure from 2024’s restructures appears to be stabilising:
| Work-Life Balance | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worse than last year | 38% | 33% | ⬇️ 5 points |
| About the same | 42% | 43% | ⬆️ 1 point |
| Better than last year | 20% | 24% | ⬆️ 4 points |
Fewer professionals are experiencing declining work-life balance, though a third still report worsening conditions. The stabilisation suggests the acute pressure of post-restructure workloads may be normalising.
What Employees Want: Two Years, Same Answer
There’s a notable (and now persistent) disconnect between the wellbeing perks employers are providing and what employees actually value.
What companies are offering:
- Hybrid work (1-2 days working from home)
- Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP)
- Professional development and training
What professionals actually want (unchanged from 2024):
- Extra annual leave
- Full-time work from home
- Professional development and training
| Preferred Wellbeing Perk | 2024 Ranking | 2025 Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Extra annual leave | #1 (25%) | #1 (25%) ➡️ |
| Full-time remote work | #2 (23%) | #2 (18%) ⬇️ |
| Professional development | #3 (14%) | #3 (15%) ⬆️ |
“For two consecutive years, IT professionals have asked for more time off and more flexibility. Employers who want to retain talent should take note – these aren’t just passing preferences,” says Richard.
Cautious Optimism for 2026
Despite the current challenges, there’s hope on the horizon. When asked about the 2026 job market:
- 42% expect conditions to improve
- 39% expect things to stay the same
- Only 18% anticipate things getting worse
Personal sentiment remains more divided, roughly equal portions of the workforce describe themselves as “hopeful” (27%), “stressed” (26%), or “neutral” (28%) about their career journey. But the overall trajectory suggests professionals believe the NZ IT industry is on the mend and that the job market will recover.
What This Means for the Industry
The year-on-year comparison reveals an industry that has weathered its most acute crisis but now faces a new landscape. The 2024 story was about survival – restructures, overwork, and flight risk. The 2025 story is about adaptation – AI integration, evolving stress patterns, and tentative stabilisation.
For Employers:
Be transparent about AI: address job security concerns directly.
Focus on retention: Recognise that half your workforce could still leave.
Listen to your people: Flexibility and more leave, not just EAP.
For Professionals:
Master AI tools: Become a power user, not a passive observer.
Build complementary skills: Focus on what AI can’t do, rather than compete with AI.
Take heart: Market conditions, while still tough, are stabilising.
The IT industry has weathered significant shifts before. The professionals who thrive will be those who can embrace AI as a collaborator while advocating for the uniquely human skills that no algorithm can replicate.
Looking Ahead
The NZ IT industry has weathered significant shifts before. The professionals who thrive will be those who can embrace AI as a collaborator while advocating for the uniquely human skills that no algorithm can replicate.
At Younity, we’ll continue tracking these trends to help both IT professionals and IT employers navigate what comes next.
This article is based on the Younity Tech Professional Temperature Survey 2025 (1,016 completed responses) and the 2024 Younity IT Sector Temperature Check (675 respondents), surveying IT professionals across New Zealand