HR/TR Pros Are Burned Out and at Their Breaking Point

When 1,000 HR and total rewards professionals across the United States were recently asked about their work, the results revealed a profession in pain.

The survey, initiated by human capital management software company isolved, laid bare the frustrations associated with managing an organization’s people function amid unprecedented changes (remote work, artificial intelligence, et al.). The data showed:

30% of surveyed HR/TR pros feel mentally drained,
24% are burned out, and
34% are considering a career change.

“HR professionals often work behind the scenes, and the survey reveals that many feel they [and their problems] are overlooked,” said Opal Wagnac, isolved’s senior vice president for market and solutions strategy. “Fifty-seven percent wish the rest of corporate America would remember that ‘we’re people, too.’”

The survey also showed only 9% of respondents report consistently completing their daily tasks, while 42% admit to working outside of regular business hours to tackle their assignments.

More than one-fourth of respondents (28%) feel overwhelmed by their workload and estimate they would need to outsource 31% of their tasks to effectively manage their job.

“Burnout is widely recognized as the No. 1 threat to a positive company culture,” Wagnac said. “This stress not only impacts HR professionals but also filters down to affect overall employee performance and organizational culture.”

So, how can the profession heal itself — on World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10) and beyond?

Progress (and perhaps a cure), according to the experts, begins with seeking out the sources of stress.

Identifying the Root Cause(s)

The isolved survey highlighted several stressors for HR/TR professionals, including dissatisfaction with salary (29%), feeling underappreciated (26%), poor work-life balance (25%) and dissatisfaction with benefits (23%).

These issues are compounded by organizational challenges such as poor communication (44%), rule violations (40%) and workplace negativity (38%). Additionally, HR teams face difficulties with recruitment, training and managing interpersonal conflicts, said Wagnac.

In addition, some organizations are enacting layoffs and/or budget cutbacks, thereby increasing workloads. As a result, Wagnac said, there can be growing pressure to effectively and efficiently perform and complete tasks.

Stressed-out professionals are increasingly engaging in what’s being called “quiet vacationing,” where they take breaks or downtime during work hours to manage burnout without informing their supervisors, said Wagnac.

“This trend reflects the growing strain on both HR professionals and the broader workforce,” she said.

HR functions have also consistently struggled to separate their reactive transactional/procedural work from more proactive, value-driven strategic work (at the individual and/or team level), said Piers Hudson, part of the HR functional strategy and management research team at Gartner.

“HR staff will also often have to manage the negative emotions that come from some types of these reactive requests, like employee conflict, sudden restructuring and employee-performance issues,” he said.

All that strain is having a negative effect on the profession’s ranks, according to Kyle Lagunas, head of strategy at Aptitude Research.

“We’re seeing two things: Young people who entered the HR profession are now stepping back out and saying, ‘No,’ which creates a gap in HR talent pipelines,” Lagunas said. “And, established HR leaders are seeing the retirement light getting brighter.”

Mitigation Tactics

To reduce burnout and keep the HR talent pipeline flowing, today’s professionals should be keenly aware of how they spend their work time to best identify (and address) when they’re being pulled in the wrong direction, said Hudson.

Regardless of whether it’s a situation where they feel comfortable — or because that’s where the loudest voices are shouting for their attention — they must ask themselves whether it’s an area where they can add the most value, he said.

“Are these the things they excel at or for which their HR knowledge is best leveraged?” Hudson asked. “If the answer is ‘no,’ then this needs conversations with both the HR leaders nearby but also maybe the business managers that the HR person is serving. Do those business managers really know what added value the HR person [brings or] could bring?”

Leveraging technology may be another way to mitigate stress, said Wagnac.

The isolved survey found 81% of surveyed HR/TR professionals that use AI report that automating routine tasks (e.g., scheduling, data entry/processing, feedback collection/analysis) has allowed them to focus more on building meaningful connections with employees.

“AI can handle an average of 34% of [base] HR tasks, which can reduce the workload and free up HR professionals to concentrate on strategic work,” Wagnac said.

Additionally, prioritizing work-life balance, seeking training in emerging HR technologies, and advocating for better support from their organizations can help mitigate burnout and maintain mental wellness, she added.

Build a Community

According to Lagunas, it is vital that HR pros address these issues because their decisions, collectively, impact most every industry, country and workforce.

“We’re the stewards of that workforce,” he said, “and if we are in a bad way, how do we make sure that big things like AI are handled correctly?”

Lagunas also stressed the importance of creating and maintaining relationships with other HR practitioners, regardless of industry, to be and access a collegial sounding board and to raise personal morale levels.

“Everything is political and personal these days, and HR work is so isolating,” he said. “We’ve got to watch out for each other. It’s easy to schedule a video call with another HR pro. You don’t need a luxurious travel budget to build a community.”

(Note: WorldatWork members can utilize the Engage online community to ask questions, share leading practices, provide and receive support, and more.)

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