Surviving is Succeeding: How Tech Workers Handle Job Insecurity During COVID-19

Abstract

This study explores how tech professionals respond to job insecurity during COVID-19. Data for this study came from 51 in-depth interviews with tech professionals employed in tech hubs on the west coast of the US. Depending on the niche market where their companies are situated, tech professionals have diverse experiences of job insecurity. While a minority of my respondents indicate that they felt secure about their job during COVID-19, most have experienced job insecurity. I found that participants responded to this experience by evaluating their (in)dispensability to their employers, working to increase their indispensability, and engaging in spiritual and religious practices. As the COVID-19 pandemic had diverse—and sometimes conflicting—impacts on the tech profession, this study offers an empirical understanding of how a group of relatively well-resourced professionals handle job market uncertainties associated with this pandemic. It also shows how macro- and meso-level factors work together, shaping tech professionals’ experiences of and responses to job insecurity. Findings from this study contribute to scholarship on job insecurity in the tech industry. These findings also offer practical implications for tech employers who seek to support their employees during times of economic instability.