When ‘the people team’ – HR – breaks, the whole business suffers. Tracey Paxton makes the case for why HR teams need to be getting more investment: emotional, financial and practical.
It is increasingly clear that HR professionals are shouldering an unsustainable amount of pressure. Indeed, recent data from Employment Hero has shown that HR is now reporting the highest absenteeism rates across the UK workforce.
HR absence
Stress for HR specialists greater at larger organisations
Workplace stress: three in five feel mental health has worsened this year
For anyone sitting in the HR hot seat, this won’t come as a surprise. The signs have been there for some time. What we’re witnessing isn’t a sudden crisis but rather the result of a steady build-up of emotional strain, growing responsibilities, and a lack of proper support over a number of years.
The expectations placed on HR have changed dramatically. It’s no longer simply about policies or processes. HR is now seen as the custodian of workplace culture, the driver of inclusion, the champion of wellbeing, and a strategic business partner – often all at once.
While the pandemic highlighted HR’s critical role, it also intensified the demands. Furlough schemes, rapid changes to working arrangements, rising mental health concerns, and the emotional toll of supporting a workforce through crisis have left a lasting impact.
Now, even post-pandemic, the pressure hasn’t eased. If anything, it’s grown. And yet, in many organisations, investment in HR’s own wellbeing has not kept pace.
Several factors are contributing. At the heart of it is emotional workload – HR professionals are expected to manage conflict, support distressed employees, navigate grief, redundancies and more, all while keeping their own emotions in check. This emotional load is often not acknowledged or supported.
Added to this are the complexities of working life: hybrid teams, higher levels of stress and anxiety among staff, and the cost-of-living crisis.
Despite all this, many HR teams remain under-resourced and overstretched. And crucially, organisations are still under-investing in the wellbeing of those expected to care for everyone else, forgetting that, as with the old airline analogy, you have to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.
Gen Z a particular concern
Gen Z HR professionals, many of whom are in entry-level or early-career HR roles, are particularly vulnerable, according to the research.
Gen Z HR professionals, many of whom are in entry-level or early-career HR roles, are particularly vulnerable”
It’s not difficult to see why: they’re stepping into complex, emotionally demanding jobs at a time when they may not yet have the experience or support systems in place to cope. Many entered the workforce during the pandemic and missed out on in-person mentorship, team bonding and hands-on learning.
Bear in mind too, that this generation is values-driven. When they perceive a gap between what an organisation says and what it does – particularly around wellbeing, fairness, or inclusion – they can become disillusioned, which only adds to the emotional strain.
HR strain affects the entire organisation
When HR professionals are absent or unwell, the impact is felt across the business. Recruitment processes slow down, employee relations issues escalate, and line managers lose access to vital guidance and support.
The development and delivery of wellbeing and engagement strategies can stall. In effect, the people function – the part of the business designed to support others – starts to unravel, just when it’s needed most.
On top of this, it poses a risk to productivity, morale and compliance. HR plays a central role in ensuring that organisations meet legal, ethical, and cultural obligations. When that support isn’t available, mistakes can happen – whether in safeguarding, employee disputes, or legal compliance.
At the same time, morale can dip if employees see that HR itself is struggling. If the people who are supposed to be championing wellbeing are clearly overwhelmed, trust and confidence across the organisation can be affected. And when initiatives like onboarding, learning and wellbeing are put on hold, productivity inevitably suffers.
Practical strategies to care for the carers
A shift in mindset – and resource allocation – is essential. There are numerous practical steps that can be put in place to support HR, and the entire organisation.
Firstly, prioritise HR wellbeing with effective frameworks, ensuring teams have equal (or enhanced/external) access to mental health and wellbeing support, including confidential clinical services.
Helpful too is creating reflective spaces by providing supervision or peer reflection time, particularly for those who are managing trauma, conflict or complex cases.
Prioritise HR wellbeing with effective frameworks, ensuring teams have equal (or enhanced/external) access to mental health and wellbeing support, including confidential clinical services.”
A highly likely issue is that HR is under-resourced and is finding it difficult to manage the complexities of their roles. With this in mind, it is important to audit workloads and team structures to make sure individuals aren’t spread too thinly.
Helpful for more junior staff is strengthening early career support. Offer mentoring, peer networks and structured development opportunities.
It may be that outsourcing could be a potential support system, so explore flexible delivery options. These could include shared services, technology or clinical partners to take pressure off internal teams.
For individuals too, offer access to secondary mental health services/treatment pathways directly or via a referral, perhaps cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), a type of psychotherapy.
Peer support platforms or reflective practice can help HR staff share experiences and reduce isolation, while leadership development can empower line managers to handle more day-to-day people issues themselves – reducing reliance on HR.
Internal enablers like HR have long been expected to ‘just manage’ without adequate resourcing, so one very important element to bear in mind is budget limitations. But frequently, the real issue is that investment in HR is not framed as urgent or essential.
Shifting this perception requires internal advocacy, strong data, and senior leadership engagement. HR has become the emotional anchor in many organisations – but even anchors need something solid to hold on to. HR has carried organisations through some of the most challenging times in recent memory.
But HR can’t keep doing so without proper consideration and support. It’s time for organisations to recognise that looking after HR isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a strategic necessity.
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