HR professionals are facing mounting pressure and declining wellbeing as workloads increase and resources shrink.
Research has revealed that HR teams across the UK are reaching breaking point, with employee engagement falling and adoption of AI tools lagging far behind other business areas.
More than half (53 percent) of HR professionals have felt under constant strain at work over the past six months. On top of this a third said pressures have worsened in the last year.
These were some of the key findings of a survey of 367 HR professionals and senior executives conducted by organisational intelligence provider WorkBuzz.
Further results, outlined in the provider’s Future of Work Report 2026, show almost two thirds (65 percent) of respondents said they have too much to do, with six in ten telling researchers there are not enough people in the HR team to do the work. Only 11 percent of HR teams have grown, with many having reduced in size during the past 12 months.
“It’s clear that HR professionals are reaching breaking point,” said Steven Frost, CEO and founder of WorkBuzz. “The report reveals that mounting workloads and shrinking resources are placing significant strain on HR teams, with the effects felt across U.K. businesses.”
He added: “Change is accelerating faster than ever, yet four in ten in-house HR teams have actually shrunk in size. With fewer resources and rising demands, it’s no surprise many HR professionals are nearing burnout, leaving little capacity for the strategic work that truly drives long-term, sustainable performance.”
The report also shows a sharp drop in employee engagement. Only a third of HR professionals say engagement in their organisation has improved over the past year, down from 58 percent a year ago, while 16 percent say it has worsened, up four percentage points from last year.
The data points to a strong link between falling engagement and under-resourced HR teams. Misalignment between HR and executive teams appears to be a key factor: where the two sides “don’t see eye-to-eye”, fewer than 10 percent of organisations have seen an improvement in engagement, and almost 50 percent have reported a decline.
Despite hopes that technology could ease pressure on stretched HR teams, the finding show AI adoption remains limited. It found that 79 percent of HR teams are either not using AI or just beginning to explore it. Among those that have implemented AI, 38 percent are using it only for recruitment and talent acquisition. The biggest barrier to wider use is a lack of internal expertise (69 percent).
“AI is the game-changer HR needs to do more with fewer resources,” said Frost. “It can strip out administrative tasks and elevate HR’s power. But hesitation around AI use remains, and unless HR leaders confront this directly, and in partnership with AI specialists, they will struggle to safeguard their strategic role.”
The report said this is a pivotal moment for HR leaders. To stay strategic, HR will need to find ways to lighten the administrative load, invest in tools that enable smarter decision-making, and rebuild alignment with senior leadership.
