Recent research highlights that HR are ranked as the most stressed profession citing that 79% of HR professionals are negatively affected by their career.
Although this isn't confined to HR as all workers are susceptible to high levels of stress, HR seem to be the 'go to' for other workers who have concerns or issues so it is no surprise that HR suffer from stress themselves.
CIPD research cites that 62% of HR professionals claim their workload is unmanageable so what are the biggest demands on HR today.
Technology - HR systems and processes that are constantly changing, being able to keep up with the latest tech and compliance issues such as GDPR.
Constant improvement - the shifting needs of the workplace and workers means policies require constant review, new concepts and ideas.
The rogue employee - those that don't conform to the rules or live the values or behaviours of the organisation can become a challenge.
Seat at the table - the relationship between HR and the C-Suite can be a constant battle if HR aren't recognised as an important voice in decision making at a senior level.
Emotional toll - being an emotional support for employees as described above means HR often carry the weight of others on their shoulders!
The research, which was initially conducted to discover what the key causes of stress amongst younger generations were, also questioned its 16,000 respondents from over 50 UK towns about their professions. It found that whilst 63% of legal workers and 54% of retail, catering and leisure workers felt stress and anxiety, a massive 79% of HR professionals were affected negatively by their career.
https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/2019-10-01-hr-among-most-stressed-professions
