HR professionals in the UK are struggling with their work-life balance and feel less equipped than their global counterparts to cope with the needs of their organisation’s people function.
Analysis by employee experience platform Culture Amp found that only 36% of UK HR professionals felt their team was able to balance conflicting needs effectively, compared with 47% of HR practitioners globally.
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Perceived resilience across the HR function has dropped from 57% in 2022 to 46% in 2023 and 45% in 2024.
However, UK HR professionals are bucking this trend, with their resilience level climbing from 58% in 2023 to 64% in 2024.
Only 48% of HR professionals in the global study felt they could switch off effectively from work to make time for rest, dropping to 41% in the UK.
Despite the wellbeing challenges associated with their roles, 59% of people professionals in the UK felt they were making a positive difference in their organisation and 73% agreed they were supported effectively by their teams.
Arne Sjőstrőm, lead people scientist at Culture Amp, said: “After several years in fire-fighting mode, HR professionals have had to continue navigating a challenging and volatile market with job layoffs, return-to-office mandates, and greater scrutiny of people initiatives. It’s not surprising to see these demands ramp up pressures on people teams that are caught between limited resources and the growing demands from executives and employees alike.
“It’s essential that organisations support HR teams’ wellbeing to help deliver positive work environments, engage employees and strategies for enhanced productivity. Compromising HRs’ resilience will only hurt organisational cultures, workforce engagement, and ultimately, the profitability of companies.”
The findings were derived from a four-year global research project by Culture Amp and Thrive Global, which involved 9,900 HR professionals worldwide, including 304 in the UK.
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