Only 29.1 percent of IT workers have high intent to stay with their current employer globally, but the number is much lower in Asia (19.6 percent), according to a new Gartner report.

IT workers are more inclined to quit their jobs than employees in other functions, with a 10.2 percent lower intent to stay than non-IT employees — the lowest out of all corporate functions.

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Even in Europe, the best-performing region, only four in 10 IT workers (38.8 percent) have high intent to stay.

“While talent retention is a common C-level concern, CIOs are at the epicenter, with a huge chunk of their workforce at risk,” said Graham Waller, vice president, and distinguished analyst at Gartner.

“CIOs may need to advocate for more flexibility in work design than the rest of the enterprise, as IT employees are more likely to leave, in greater demand and more adept at remote working than most other employees,” Waller added.

The IT talent retention challenge varies by age group and region.

For example, IT workers aged under 30 report two and a half times less likely to stay than those over 50.

Only 19.9 percent of IT workers who are 18 to 29 have a high likelihood to stay, compared to 48.1 percent of those aged 50-70 years.

Data shows that more flexible and human-centric work policies can reduce attrition and increase performance.

“Progressive enterprises are empowering people and teams to decide when they do their best work and pioneering new schedules such as the four-day week,” said the report.

Most organisations are now planning for a hybrid future that recognises employees can be fully productive remotely for ‘heads-down’ work, while the office is best suited for certain work activities such as human connection and collaboration.

“CIOs who adopt a human-centric work design will out-hire, out-retain and out-perform those that revert back to industrial-era work paradigms,” said Waller.