Over the past few years, employers have been navigating what some commentators have called a ‘permacrisis’.
From the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic – and the turbulence it caused, including sickness, furlough and remote work challenges – to the cost of living crisis, geopolitical turbulence and difficult conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion, HR has played a huge role in helping to keep workforces on track.
However, this perfect storm has taken its toll on those who are struggling through it. Earlier this year, a poll from business software specialist Sage found that workload has increased for 91% of HR teams over the last year. Meanwhile, 87% of HR teams reported feeling stressed, and 83% of HR teams reported being burned out.
In our latest HR lunchtime debate, hosted in partnership with Sage, panellists discussed how HR professionals can take care of their own wellbeing in order to continue their vital work.
1 Listen to your own advice
Although HR is excellent at giving others wellbeing support, they need to use it themselves more often, according to Rachel Thompson, senior global wellbeing manager for Sage.
She said: “There’s a good saying: ‘Put your own oxygen mask on first.’ I feel that applies here. We need to use those resources we’re signposting, and listen to our own advice.”
Research led by the wellbeing and mindfulness software business Headspace, in 2023, found that only 41% of HR leaders use mental health benefits regularly, compared to 64% of CEOs and 73% of employees.
Read more: Burnout affects a fifth of UK employees as long-term sick hits record high
Simon Miller, director of international partnerships for Headspace, said: “We saw through our own research that HR are least likely to take advantage of the very resources they are promoting. HR leaders are having a hard time supporting their own mental health when they’re shouldering the burden of encouraging mental health for employees.
“One of the reasons for that is capacity. And one of the first stages of burnout is a very strong sense of purpose and duty towards people, and therefore over-delivering for people, so this doesn’t come as a surprise, considering the nature of HR’s role.”
2 Streamline processes
As HR moves away from being a process-based function, into a strategic one, practitioners must streamline the way that process-based tasks are handled.
“HR is getting more human-focused. That means we need to step back and look at processes, and if they are still fit for purpose. Are they taking too much time? Or are there too many steps or barriers in the way?
“There’s bags of opportunity here to prevent burnout by making workflows less hassle, and prevention is better than cure. As HR, we do often have the power to make those changes because we’re the people that set processes up.”
A key way to streamline processes can be to introduce AI tools that automate repetitive administrative tasks, said Kate Palmer, HR advice and consultancy director for Peninsula. She said: “We have introduced AI to our clients and it works for me too. I don’t need to know, for example, the rate of statutory sick pay by heart. When someone asks me something like that and I am unsure, I can just tap it in to check.
“AI can really help with the simple stuff. Although it will never replace the complex and human-based situations HR deals with, it will allow us to take away some of the admin and noise.”
3 Implement wellbeing tools mindfully
Although having wellbeing tools is helpful, Miller said, the way they are implemented is important. “It’s about having the right tools, implemented in the right way and at the right time,” he continued. “It’s great having a suite of solutions for every situation, but really you want tools that engage people everyday, to help build positive habits that maintain both physical and mental health.
“Try to find tools that have continuous pathways and are integrated with one access point. Otherwise, navigating a suite of tools can become an added workload for HR and employee benefits teams.”
Thompson added that wellbeing benefits for employees should remain updated in order to support HR professionals as their role changes and as the world of work changes more generally. She said: “Life doesn’t stand still and HR doesn’t stand still.
“We need to keep wellbeing programmes agile and keep reviewing them. Using data is the key to seeing what has the biggest impact here, which is not just about how many people are using it but the impact it is having.
“To measure this, we can use things like a wellbeing survey with explicit questions. Listen to employee feedback – and don’t just listen to what you want to hear!”
4 Educate line managers on low-level HR tasks
Training line managers on low-level HR tasks can help unnecessary admin from usurping HR leaders’ time, said Palmer. “Most employees are told by line managers ‘ask HR’ pretty often, and this pushes a lot of noise towards HR.
“There are many reasons for this: they don’t have time, they’re not confident in some discussions, or maybe they can’t be bothered!
“We’ve worked with clients to upskill non-HR line managers to do some of that low-level HR work, such as letters of concern, lateness, sickness and conduct issues. This frees up senior HR leaders to do more complex work.
“You can use education through e-learning for this, or an AI platform where line managers can ask about the simple stuff.”
Empowering line managers in this way, also provides a development opportunity, Thompson added: “If you share some of this stuff out a bit, you can provide a learning opportunity that helps the line managers’ development as well as their workload. You can also get a diverse view on this stuff from people who have never looked at it before.”
Watch the video now
For those who missed the event, the webinar is available on demand, here.
This article was published in the July/August 2024 edition of HR magazine.
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