Survey: Almost all HR pros are burned out — and many are thinking of leaving

Dive Brief:

A staggering 98% of HR professionals have felt burned out at work in the last six months, according to a survey of 524 HR and internal communications specialists conducted by workplace communication app Workvivo. Nearly 4 in 5 (79%) are open to leaving their jobs.
With "more stress, more resignations, [and] harder recruitment" due to the Great Resignation and the pandemic, HR leaders are unhappy at work, the survey showed. Eighty-eight percent reported they have "dreaded work" in the past six months and 97% have felt "emotionally fatigued" in the past year. Fewer than one-third (29%) feel valued at their organization.
Seventy-three percent reported they don't have the tools and resources needed to do their job well.

Dive Insight:

While HR has been expected to deal with the fallout of the Great Resignation — from remaining employees feeling overworked to the difficulty of recruiting in such a tight labor market — HR leaders have sometimes felt their own needs get lost in the workplace shuffle.

Employers have made myriad demands across the department. LinkedIn's 2022 Workplace Learning report found that every type of learning program measured is expected to see increased deployment, and while budgets are expected to rise as well, learning leaders are burned out.

Similarly, while investment in D&I has soared over the past two years, a majority of workers in one recent survey have noted a "lack of meaningful progress" regarding equity for BIPOC, and 62% of respondents to another survey felt DEI goals were mainly motivated by PR or political concerns. Last summer, Business Insider reported on a rash of burnout among D&I leaders.

Last fall, data from Indeed's Job Postings Tracker showed HR leaders are in high demand, well above workers for construction, manufacturing and food service. At the same time, HR Dive's 2021 Identity of HR Survey found that 75% of respondents said they were performing duties outside of HR, either on an ad hoc basis or regularly.

While sources who spoke to HR Dive attributed this phenomenon to the department's growing clout among corporate leadership, HR leaders have increasingly expressed that maintaining the current workload is unsustainable.

How can HR get relief? Leaders can push to outsource more aspects of their role. Slightly more than half of respondents to HR Dive's 2021 Identity of HR Survey said they use a benefits outsourcing firm or consultant on a regular basis, while 53% said they regularly used a payroll processing service.

Part of the solution is also leading by example. HR leaders should feel free to take advantage of workplace benefits like paid time off and employee assistance programs, which can encourage workers to make more use of those resources as well, potentially improving their own mental health and retention.