Director of IT took the top spot as the most miserable of jobs, with senior Web developer and technical support analyst also making the top ten, according to a series of articles by Steve Denning based on a survey by CareerBliss. Why are these relatively high paying, in-demand jobs so bad?

“It’s the pointlessness and lack of meaning in what they doing that is the problem,” Denning writes. “These people know that they are capable of contributing more but the hierarchical bureaucracy prevents from doing it.” Trends emerge in the list of complaints. Lack of direction from superiors, lack of respect for technical expertise, lack of room for advancement, perceived cronyism and nepotism and a lack of input into day to day working conditions. In another part of the series, Denning writes about bureaucracy and makes the case that radical organizational change is required to fix the problems disengaged workers face.

I find these results particularly interesting because software developers often top lists of the “best careers” (like this one) and most programmers I know wouldn’t dream of doing anything else for a living.

If you’re a tech worker thinking about jumping ship, J. Peter Bruzzese has a guide to leaving your IT job here. If you’re thinking of leaving the IT world completely, check out Denning’s list of the most happy professions.

If you’re a manager and you want to keep tech workers happy, the article Bored People Quit by Rands offers some helpful advice. It’s specifically about keeping developers engaged, but could be applied to other types of workers as well. I’ve also written about how to improve IT worker morale.

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A lack of engagement among tech workers affects every aspect of IT, from in-house development and operations to outsourcing to consulting. A recent study by Blessing White found that only about 31% of workers in the U.S. is engaged in their job, and last year a survey by Technisource found that about 1/3 of tech workers are thinking about jumping ship. Managers need to do more to keep skilled workers happy and engaged.