HR professionals have 'significantly higher' levels of contribution to their organisation, conviction in their role, commitment, confidence, subjective wellbeing and pride in their organisation, than their colleagues in other departments, HR magazine can exclusively reveal.
On average, in these areas - as well as trust and recognition - HR professionals are 6.6% more positive than employees working in other sectors of the economy.
More than 250 visitors to www.hrmagazine.co.uk completed the iPPQ, a questionnaire developed by the iOpener Institute for People and Performance, during April/May 2011. Their responses were compared with more than 800 non-HR professionals who responded during the same time-period. Respondents were presented with a series of statements, designed to ascertain their levels of happiness, engagement and wellbeing and marked each answer with a score between one and seven (one being 'strongly disagree' and seven being 'strongly agree').
The analysis found HR professionals also find their jobs more interesting (12.9% greater than other staff), feel a greater sense of control over day-to-day activities (10.2% greater than other staff), and have greater intentions to remain in their post (12.5% greater than other staff).
They spend 10% more time feeling energised, than their colleagues across the business and 5.2% more of their time 'on task'. Also, HR engagement levels are higher, with HR people feeling 'engaged with their organisation' 6.3% more of the time than other employees.
Breaking the findings down, the average score HR professionals recorded for 'being listened to' (4.93) was 5.1% higher than other respondents.
The score for 'job security' was lower at 4.81, but this is still 1.3% higher than other staff (4.75).
When asked if respondents felt their boss respected them, the score for HR was 5.31 - 7.5% higher than other employees.
And HR people believe their role within the business is important. When asked if they thought they were 'doing something worthwhile', HR people scored 5.23, marking a 14.2% higher average than their non-HR colleagues.
Commenting on the findings, Simon Lutterbie (pictured), director of research at iOpener, told HR magazine: "Our sense is that HR professionals are scoring higher because they find themselves increasingly close to the core of the business.
"Part of this is a general trend towards HR-related initiatives. These include placing greater emphasis on happiness at work and engagement, increased learning and development opportunities, and designing and instituting more flexible working arrangements.
"Another part may be that the recession is causing further shifts in employment conditions and HR professionals are being called upon to help manage these shifts within their companies. This may include greater involvement in strategic initiatives - especially among companies looking to be leaner or more horizontally structured. It may also include such roles as communicating changes in company direction and/or policy to employees.
"Whatever the reason, increasing employee-focused initiatives enhances the role of HR as a core business function. HR professionals may be gaining a clearer sense of their strategic importance to their organisations. Further, in order to manage employee-focused initiatives, they must understand the strategic reasons and implications of the initiative. This requires a greater understanding of the business and a closer relationships with senior leadership."
But when it comes to how far HR professionals support the vision of the leaders in their business, the results are telling. An average score of 4.13 shows them to be only 1% more supportive than the rest of the business - demonstrating HR professionals' continuing fight to have their policies recognised and promoted at board level.
Figure it out
14%
HR staff believe they are doing something worthwhile more than other staff
13%
HR staff stay in their post more than other staff
12%
HR staff enjoy their job more than other staff
10%
HR staff believe they are achieving their potential more than other staff
Source: HR magazine/iOpener
