Sage report reveals HR leaders are stressed and burnt out

Software and solutions company Sage has released The changing face of HR in 2024. Their survey found that 95 per cent of senior HR people believe that the HR workload is too high.

Ninety-one per cent of HR leaders surveyed revealed that “the last couple of years have been challenging”. Eighty-four per cent feel stressed often, 81 per cent are burnt out, and 62 per cent might move on from HR.

Director of human resources at Simeio Solutions Tushar Kad commented in the report: “The last couple of years have been very stressful. We’ve had to face really complex issues at work and have also had to help our people who have been going through really difficult times.

“The last few years have taught me more about HR than any textbook or any of my educational qualifications,” he said.

Start Early’s senior vice president, people and culture, Daphne Logan wrote: “[During the pandemic] there was no best practice for guidance, you had to figure it out on the fly and learn along the way. We were in unexplored territory and with so much happening, everyone looked to the HR leader.”

The vast majority of HR professionals agree that the pandemic has altered workplace practice. Ninety-one per cent of senior HR people and 96 per cent of the C-suite believe that HR’s work has changed significantly over the last five years.

Rob Wiseltier, chief financial officer at The Channel Company, recognised that “things are changing so fast. In the last five years, we’ve seen as much change as in the previous 10 or 15.”

However, this may be changing, as just 32 per cent of HR leaders and 41 per cent of the C-suite agree this change will continue over the coming five years.

Despite the stress and burnout, 57 per cent of respondents said they love working in HR.

TCC Global’s head of people, Eszter Lantos, said in the report: “I’m definitely happy to be in HR. I really love it as despite all the challenges, it’s really the time to make an impact and shaping new ways of working. I think that, with the recent changes and trends in the world, HR’s role is becoming even more important – because business leaders have really started to understand how important the people side is, and the personal touch.”

Jat Bansal, director of talent at Funding Circle, agreed: “I am highly motivated by the impact that a people function can have on a business culture and performance when executing brilliantly. The things ‘we’ can put in place, the mechanisms to help people, and the way we influence the business can be great as you can really see and feel the knock-on effect in people’s lives. That is a massive driver to try to always do the best job I can.”

The future of HR was outlined in The changing face of HR in 2024. Around three quarters of HR and C-suite believe that HR is an admin role.

This could be set to change, as 83 per cent of HR professionals and 85 per cent of the C-suite said that employee wellbeing will become an increasingly important focus of HR positions.

Ms Logan continued: “We invest in our people because they are going to be our future leaders; if they’re engaged, then we’re productive and we can achieve our strategic objectives and goals.”

The state of the economy seems to be an overwhelming fear for HR professionals. As Mr Wiseltier said: “What keeps me up at night? In a word: the economy.”

Ninety-three per cent of respondents believe economic instability will be the biggest challenge for HR in coming years.

Mr Bansal added: “There is naturally some nervousness across the industry as the UK hits record inflations levels. Companies will need to hustle harder and diversify their revenue streams as much as possible during an economic downturn.”

Sage surveyed over 1,000 HR leaders from small to medium businesses around the world. Read the full The changing face of HR in 2024 here.