The festive season might be in full swing, but for dozens of IT teams across the country they barely have time to unwrap their Christmas stockings before being called into action to deal with urgent system problems that crop up over the holidays.

A new survey of 378 IT professionals just published by software firm Ipswitch Inc. has found that the holiday period is one of the busiest times of the year, with up to 56 percent of respondents saying they’re either on call or working full time during Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Meanwhile, another 16 percent said they expect to spend New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day on the job too.

According to Jeff Loeb, chief marketing officer at Ipswitch, this is sadly just the reality of the situation for many IT workers. And it’s not likely to get better any time soon, as more companies come to connect mobile and wearable devices to corporate systems, leading to more potential for problems to occur.

“The job of the IT pro isn’t likely to get easier anytime soon,” Loeb told eWeek. “This is especially true during the holidays when employees are out of the office and expect to remain connected and productive at all times,”

Ipswitch’s survey also found that between 10 and 25 percent of the IT workforce is likely to be working remotely during the holidays at 47 percent of the companies surveyed. Meanwhile, another 29 percent of firms said between 26 and 50 percent of their IT staff would be working over the festive period.

“The mobile workforce has not made life any easier for IT pros,” Loeb continued. “Employees are more connected than ever before and expect to use their mobile devices for work-related activities including apps that access or manage business software and platforms,”

And that means companies require their IT staff are available to ensure network and data security while maintaining uninterrupted connectivity at all times.

Despite these demands, Loeb stressed that companies can actually help to make life easier for their IT workers over the holidays. He said it starts with education, ensuring that employees are empathetic to their IT colleagues. In other words, they should try to solve the problems themselves before calling for help.

“If they do require and receive assistance during an inconvenient time, employees should be sure to genuinely thank their IT pro who fixed the problem,” Loeb reccomended. “A little appreciation can go a long way.”

IT teams can also make their lives easier by carefully planning schedules and maintenance work, so as to avoid any delays or confusion. Loeb also said IT workers need to ensure the right tools are in place so they can maintain constant visibility over their company’s infrastructure.

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