As HR takes on an increasingly central role in the success of the business, it’s not immune to burnout. Ana Nikoladze looks at why people teams need to address their own wellbeing so they can deliver on their targets.
Study after study shows that supporting employees with their health and wellbeing brings long-term rewards in terms of lowering turnover, reducing sickness absence and boosting productivity. This is why billions have been invested in it over the past decade.
However, wellbeing strategies can only be effective if implemented and communicated successfully. Most of this work generally falls to the HR team.
Burnout at work
Increasing burnout fuelling demand for sabbaticals
Quarter feel their employer is ineffective at managing stress
This is only one small part of HR’s role, which has also grown hugely in recent years. They are tasked with everything from recruitment, training, career development, managing performance – basically everything to do with people management.
This increased workload is creating huge pressure. Research shows that burnout rates among HR professionals are higher than for any other job function.
This is a huge irony given they are the very people tasked with reducing it across an organisation.
Why is burnout a problem for HR?
Burnout is a state of chronic stress caused by prolonged exposure to extreme pressure in the workplace, which leads to physical and emotional exhaustion.
Symptoms can include feeling drained and worn out, overwhelmed, exhausted and can even lead to break down. Basically, it leaves someone incapable of functioning effectively and leads to disengagement and demotivation.
HR occupies a unique position within an organisation. It acts as a bridge between leadership and employees, responsible for both wellbeing and upholding organisational objectives.
This dual role means they are constantly required to help and support others, while juggling multiple roles and enacting challenging decisions. Since the pandemic, this has been exacerbated as organisations grapple with adopting new ways of working.
Research with HR leaders by Gartner discovered that 71% believe burnout among HR staff is more challenging than in pre-pandemic times, and more than half report it is harder to retain and recruit team members.
Unavoidable challenge
Other surveys paint a dire picture of the state of HR professionals. Cezanne’s latest survey of 500 HR professionals claims that burnout in HR teams is becoming an unavoidable challenge that must be addressed.
More than nine in 10 respondents claimed they had previously felt burnt out by their jobs and 73% reported experiencing emotional and physical exhaustion within the last six months. A survey by Sage found that 95% of HR leaders find working in HR overwhelming due to excessive workload and stress.
This burnout is leading to increasing difficulties in recruitment and retention of HR professionals. Those staying in post commonly report feeling overwhelmed and burnt out, and the extra workload is affecting the quality of the HR function’s performance – only 9% of HR departments are considered both highly efficient and highly aligned to the needs of their business, according to Gartner.
The simple fact is that without high-performing HR teams, organisations will fail to function efficiently and effectively, impacting every part of operations.
How to act on burnout
With HR increasingly moving from a primarily administrative function to one that plays a pivotal strategic role within their organisation, the documented risk of HR burnout is now a significant concern that businesses must address.
Richard Holmes, consultant director of wellbeing at Epassi UK puts it this way: “HR functions and professionals need to ‘put on their own oxygen masks first’. They need to understand how to better deal with work pressures themselves and ensure those in the function feel supported.
“Through doing this and establishing what initiatives actually work, they will be in a much better position to support the organisation to create a culture and environment that supports, encourages and responds better to the challenges of the modern world.”
To create an effective burnout strategy for HR, he suggests taking the following three steps:
Review the leadership of the HR function
- Consider how leadership currently works within the team and how it might be improved.
- Strong relationships within the function are important so there should be plenty of opportunities for team members to have one to one time with the managers and for the function to meet in person to support team bonding.
- Make sure there is a calendar of activity, so it is clear when the workload will be higher and when people are likely to need more support.Invest in technology to reduce onerous administrative tasks and streamline processes.
- Celebrate successes by the team and by individuals within it.
- Ensure HR leaders walk the walk and share when they are struggling or need extra support.
Establish a clear team direction
- Setting the expectations for the team is vital – make sure everyone knows what is and isn’t within the scope of their role.
- Reinforce these daily, weekly and monthly so they remain top of mind, and everyone knows what to focus on.
- Implement guidance on reasonable workloads, flexible working and career development.
- Encourage team members to work together and share the load when needed – ensure they know they can ask for help and others will be ready to step in when required.
- Create ‘black out’ days for meetings so people aren’t trying to multitask.
Develop a supportive culture
- Make it known that mental health is a priority – put this into practice by providing access to mental health resources and that everyone knows how to access them.
- Take a health comes first position – if people are ill, encourage them to step away from work until they are recovered.
Time off is important so encourage people to take their entire holiday entitlement. - Make ‘no’ an acceptable word – give permission for people to decline to take on more work than they can handle.
Good wellbeing starts with the individual. Everyone needs time to look after their physical, mental and emotional health.
Giving teams access to benefits that help them to keep fit, reduce stress and build their resilience will not only help to address HR burnout but will provide the role models to show everyone in the workplace how to turn the tide on this serious issue.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
HR business partner opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more HR business partner jobs
