Between June 2020 and March 2021, software company, Culture Amp, carried out a global survey on 4,841 people, of which 683 UK HR professionals participated. As a result of the findings, experts say that it is vital that people in the HR profession keep a check on their own wellbeing.
As HR professionals work with every department of a company - forcing them to be great at juggling different tasks and needs - and are often the people who create and implement wellness and mental health programmes, they often experience burnout themselves.
The survey showed that just 39 per cent of those polled thought that they felt well able to cope with the demands of both their work and personal life at present. This is a fall of 7 per cent from the second quarter of 2020, when 46 per cent of respondents replied that they could balance their work and personal lives.
The same percentage - 39 per cent of respondents - agreed that they were equipped to deal with the requirements of their role, such as operational and people or cultural responsibilities. This was also down from 46 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.
According to experts, short 10 to 15-minute breaks are essential for people to take a moment to relax and regroup. However, only 31 per cent of respondents stated that they were able to take regular breaks throughout the day. This was down from 43 per cent last year - whilst 31 per cent agreed they were able to effectively switch off from work, down from 36 per cent in 2020.
Nick Matthews - General Manager and Vice President for EMEA at Culture Amp - said the figures made for “concerning reading”, at a time when employers were preparing to bring their employees back to the workplace or were contemplating hybrid working.
He said:
“Business leaders need to be proactive in supporting HR teams as they recover from their heroic pandemic efforts and recognise that their roles have evolved and will be even more relevant in this new world. It’s imperative that HR takes the time to check-in on their own wellbeing and calibrate their work-life boundaries if necessary.”
Despite this however, it was found that 60 per cent of HR professionals said - in the first quarter of this year - that they could see that their work was having a positive difference. This percentage had dropped though, from 73 per cent last year.
Since HR work is outside any other department, it can have access to more than just the HR team for assistance. When help is needed assistance should be requested - and 55 per cent of respondents did say they felt supported by the other people at work when they needed it. This figure is down from 67 per cent last year. Just 49 per cent said they were feeling productive - again, down from 67 per cent last year.
