Almost nine in 10 HR practitioners do not feel supported with their mental health at work, according to a survey of around 1,400 workers in the profession, with one commentator saying that HR should ‘put on their own oxygen mask first’.
The HR Mental Wellbeing Report from Towergate Employee Benefits suggests that burnout is “very likely” for almost two-thirds (63%) of the profession, and that 15% are “at risk”.
More than half (56%) said they felt mentally exhausted at work, and 13% said this was always the case. Almost a third struggled to find enthusiasm at work, and 37% had difficulty concentrating.
The company found that 42% are considering leaving HR due to the impact it is having on their mental health, and there are low levels of wellbeing among 67% of HR professionals.
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Towergate said that HR teams were facing increased levels of uncertainty and change, leading to higher anxiety levels and severe symptoms in 17% of cases.
Dealing with difficult situations such as restructuring, grievances or accusations of bullying while remaining professional and confidential amounted to a form of “emotional labour”, according to David D’Souza, director of profession at the CIPD.
“This can cause emotional exhaustion, poor physical and mental health, and anxiety, which in turn can lead to burnout,” he said.
Almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents said they had symptoms of low mood and depression, and 59% said they feel bad about themselves. Fifty-seven per cent said they felt “down, depressed or hopeless”.
Debra Clark, head of wellbeing at Towergate, said that HR teams were often busy implementing wellbeing solutions for others but failed to take advantage of them themselves.
She said: “HR professionals are implementing wellbeing strategies for employees all the time, yet only 13% of respondents say that they feel ‘very’ supported in relation to their own mental health and wellbeing.
“It is vital that HR professionals are encouraged to ‘put on their own oxygen mask first’. If the support team is not supported, then the whole structure will collapse. But the support is available, HR just needs to put itself first for once.”
Claire Cathcart, founder of career development space ELEVATE Hub, said that this was “not a case of HR professionals being unable to cope – what is expected of them is unrealistic”.
“Unless we put structured support systems in place and change the expectations, they will be set up to fail. HR professionals are often the ones holding everyone else together, yet they’re rarely offered the same level of care or protection they’re expected to give.
“We need to move beyond ad-hoc wellbeing gestures and put structured, consistent support in place to ensure those in HR don’t reach the point of burnout.”
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