Work stress has reached epidemic proportions in HR as research has found 94 percent of people professionals report that at least one aspect of their job is stressful.
A poll of 270 UK HR decision makers, by HR, payroll and benefits software provider Ciphr, identified ‘workload’ as the biggest cause of stress and anxiety, highlighted by 29 percent of respondents. The second biggest driver of HR stress was ‘rising costs’ (26 percent), challenges around employee retention (24 percent), and managing budgets (24 percent).
Researchers found that 23 percent of HR professionals reported feeling stressed to the point of burnout and exhaustion. This proportion increases to 35 percent for people professionals working at organisations with more than 1,500 employees. Researchers said this indicates a potential link between workforce size and chronic stress for HR.
The issue of workload stress was also more prevalent among HR professionals at larger organisations. More than a third (34 percent) of HR leaders looking after workforces of 1,500 employees plus said they experience excessive workloads, compared to 27 percent of professions at organisations with 50 to 1,499 employees.
Recruitment and skills shortages represent another significant stressor for all poll respondents with 23 percent reporting this, while having to attend too many meetings was reported as a stress point by 20 percent.
Anxiety about conflicts at work affects 18 percent of HR, while the same percentage said stress stems from colleagues misunderstanding what HR really does and is actually responsible for.
Claire Williams, chief people and operations officer at Ciphr, said: “In recent years there’s been a lot of focus on what employers and HR can do to safeguard and support their employees’ mental health and alleviate workplace stress. And rightly so. But conversations rarely talk about the huge pressures that people in HR roles feel and how stress can impact them, and even fewer organisations offer tailored support to their HR teams.
“HR professionals often spend so much time focusing on the rest of the business that their needs aren’t always prioritised. There may also be an assumption that, because they work in HR, they know how to deal with work stresses better than other employees.”
Williams said the research emphasises the “critical need” for organisations to ensure a better work/life balance, more manageable workloads, and to provide further support for people in the HR profession.
“Now more than ever, HR teams are often being asked to achieve more with less budget, despite rising costs, and navigate increasingly complex – and changing – employment laws and reforms, all while doing what they can to meet the needs of the wider workforce,” she said.
“Organisations need to work proactively with their HR teams to help relieve stress, where possible, and give them resources and strategies to cope with prolonged or negative stress in a more targeted and positive way.
“Embracing new technologies and harnessing efficiency gains from advances in AI, automation, and employee self-service across integrated HR systems, payroll, benefits platforms, recruitment, engagement, and workforce management tools, for example, will also help reduce a raft of workload pressures for HR professionals.”
