Kelly Kubicek is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fulcrum HR Consulting.
getty
After almost three years of dealing with new obstacles and an evolving workforce created by the pandemic, it’s no surprise that HR professionals and leaders are experiencing burnout. The exhaustion some HR strategists are feeling is real: according to a SHRM survey of 726 HR practitioners, 42% are struggling with too many projects and responsibilities.
Forbes also highlights another recent survey conducted by Workvivo, an employee experience app that increases employee engagement. “Of the HR professionals surveyed, 94% said they felt overwhelmed in the past six months, while 88% of respondents said they dreaded work. The magnitude of the Great Resignation and the large-scale transitioning of entire workplace structure and cultures has left HR departments under-resourced and under immense pressure.”
These are numbers and statements organizations can’t afford to ignore. Without a functioning and competent HR department and team, it will be difficult to navigate the future as remote work and the Great Resignation start to settle and evolve.
Some in the workforce think burnout isn’t real, but in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon. Per SHRM, the WHO clearly defines burnout and characterizes it using the following:
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion.
- Increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativity or cynicism tied to the job.
- Reduced professional efficacy.
Interestingly, a new term was coined recently to describe how the pandemic affects those in supporting roles: compassion fatigue. Pathways, an employee mental health company, defines it well: “Compassion fatigue is a condition often experienced by people who work in the helping professions such as doctors, nurses, teachers, HR professionals, and social workers. It occurs when an individual reaches a point of diminished capacity to empathize or care about others due to the constant exposure to other's pain.”
Burnout and compassion fatigue are plaguing HR, and changes need to be made to ensure HR specialists are supported enough to effectively do their jobs.
The Key To Relieving HR Burnout: Give HR A Seat In The C-Suite
In many companies, it’s common for HR to be a shared responsibility instead of an intentional strategy. I believe the biggest part of addressing and fixing HR burnout is working to ensure HR has a seat at the C-Suite table, and making it a standalone function.
Consider how much the HR function handles cross-functionally: finance (payroll/employee engagement activities), legal (HR laws, hiring/exiting and employee relations), marketing (ongoing employment branding), sales (recruiting and retaining), PR (internal communications), product development (program and benefit offerings) and leadership (coaching). It’s a massive undertaking, and frequently underappreciated. When a function is unappreciated and overworked, it doesn’t take long for exhaustion to creep in.
Giving this hugely important function a seat at the C-suite table will empower HR professionals and give voice to their incredibly valuable insight. Yet, few CEOs and leadership teams actually follow this advice. Harvard Business Review captures the problem perfectly: “CEOs know that they depend on their company’s human resources to achieve success… But if you peel back the layers at the vast majority of companies, you find CEOs who are distanced from and often dissatisfied with their chief human resources officers (CHROs) and the HR function in general.”
Given how much the CHRO oversees—and the complex cross-functional communication required—it’s critical to hire the right person for the role. A solid candidate has business acumen, excellent communication skills and a foundational understanding that businesses don’t create value, people do.
As organizations continue to become more complex post-pandemic, the HR function does as well. We must take time to counter burnout and exhaustion by encouraging growth within the HR function. CEOs should be change agents, acting as champions to encourage businesses to see HR as an authority.
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
