Kayla
Gesek
Senior Product Manager at OneLogin
"Nurturing an Empathetic Tech Community "
"Nurturing an Empathetic Tech Community "
Tue June 8 - 4:50 PM EDT/New York (See in local time)
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05//2025 4:50 PM
05//2025 05:10 PM
America/New_York
#WTGC2025
"Nurturing an Empathetic Tech Community "
#WTGC2025
"Nurturing an Empathetic Tech Community "
https://www.womentech.net/ringcentral
https://www.womentech.net/ringcentral
"Nurturing an Empathetic Tech Community "
"Nurturing an Empathetic Tech Community "
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Session: Nurturing an Empathetic Tech Community
The importance of addressing mental health and wellness has never been more prominent than in this past year, amidst a pandemic, societal unrest and a historic economic downturn. Though IT teams have always been under pressure, it has never been more intensified than today. They have had to adjust rapidly to accommodate the new remote working culture, while cybercriminals have only ramped up their malicious efforts. Moreover, it is often a thankless job, with individuals receiving little recognition but for severe penalties should a breach occur.In light of this, OneLogin has run a survey investigating exactly how mental health among IT Execs have suffered and what they are doing to cope. The results of the study will serve as the foundation for this talk.
It will address how the current working culture within the IT/Cyber space fosters mental health issues, exacerbated only by recent events. Indeed, 73% have felt an increase in work-related stress due to the pandemic. It will then delve deep into the impact this has on an organisation’s ability to maintain a strong security posture, before ending with self-care advice for organisations and individuals alike. This includes the coping mechanisms that are working for IT Execs at present, including exercise (83%), meditation (40%) and counselling/therapy (12%).
Key Takeaways
- Survey findings examining the impact of the pandemic on stress levels among CISOs and IT decision makers, the effects this has had on their performance and their coping mechanisms.
- Why IT teams are experiencing this stress and how might women within IT may experience the stress differently to men.
- What organisations can do to support employees and promote self-care.
- What employees can do to cope, even thrive, under pressure.
Bio
Kayla Gesek is a product manager at OneLogin with over a decade of experience within Silicon Valley and a passion for balancing user experience and strong security practices. Gesek initially began her career in content and community, working as managing editor of established names, including leading recruitment platform, Monster, and global e-commerce platform, Walmart.com. It was through writing that Gesek joined the OneLogin team, producing technical documentation as well as UX interface writing across all teams, before transitioning into product. Her background in user empathy, customer focus and creativity has since allowed Gesek to rise the ranks into a role that oversees two engineering teams.