HR people's own wellbeing: what the evidence supports
The note this review supportsIs HR more burnt out than everyone else? The national data don't show it.
How this was checked
The question was split into ten tiers: how common poor wellbeing is in HR, how HR compares with other workers, whether HR people like the work, what wears them down, what organisations can change, what has been tested on HR people themselves, reflection and finding the right job, individual against organisational help in other workers, whether HR people use the support they buy, and whether HR wellbeing affects anyone else.
Each tier was searched in reviews, trials, cohort studies, official statistics and professional body surveys, then graded with GRADE logic. Randomised trials start high and lose grades for risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness and imprecision. Observational studies start low. Surveys and reports from firms that sell to HR teams, and the trade press that carries them, were recorded and labelled and never allowed to set a grade.
The search and first grading were done between 4 and 6 November 2026 by AI agents. Six parallel tracks ran 330 logged searches across OpenAlex, Crossref, Europe PMC, ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN, official statistics sites, professional bodies and the web, and opened 278 source records. A seeded random sample of 79 of the 263 cited records, 30 per cent, was reopened by separate verifiers working from the link alone: 62 passed, 17 partly, none failed. On 6 November 2026 every passage in the ledger below was copied again from its source and checked by machine against the live text, and the check was repeated on 10 November, and the Health and Safety Executive figures were also checked by hand against the workbook. The full 2026 survey report was obtained by sign-up and read on 10 November 2026, after the agents’ run, and the sections on that survey were revised. Where only an abstract could be read, the ledger says so. I sell benefits to HR teams, including the employee assistance programme, and I am looking at starting a PhD in January on how organisations act on staff survey results. Every grade here is provisional.
The headline
| What is said | What the evidence says |
|---|---|
| Burnout is very likely in 62 per cent of HR professionals C1 | An open online survey C2. Its full report names validated questionnaires and does not say how respondents were recruited C55C59. Other surveys of the same profession in the same two years give 63, 52 and 23 per cent C4C5C6, and the 23 is a box ticked in a list C7. The CIPD’s figure is three in ten saying work harms their mental health C8. |
| Depression in HR is 2.4 times the general population, 44 per cent against 18 C12 | The 18 is a random national sample of all adults on a named questionnaire C13. The 44 uses the same questionnaire and cut-off C54 and is not a random sample. The anxiety comparator moved from about 25 per cent to 15 between editions C14C15. |
| HR is worse off than other workers | Not shown. In the one UK survey that asks everyone the same question, HR managers’ rate of work-related stress, depression or anxiety is higher but not significantly C16, all work-related illness is the same C17, and the larger HR job groups are too few to report C18. In Sweden, HR specialists are among the occupations with a low share C19. |
| Most HR people are passionate about the work | Unmeasured. Passion comes in two kinds with opposite links to burnout C23. |
| Supervision, coaching or an employee assistance programme helps HR people | Nothing has been tested in a controlled study of HR staff. The handful of evaluations have 8 to 37 people and no comparison group C33C34C35C36. |
| A burnt-out HR team harms the whole workforce | An assertion in vendor material C52C53. Nobody has measured it. |
How common it is
The largest figures come from a survey that anyone in HR could answer. This year’s edition, 1,447 HR professionals, reports burnout as very likely in 62 per cent and at risk in another 12 C1. Its link was posted openly on third-party websites C2, and the full report is available on a marketing sign-up C3. That report measures burnout with the four-item Burnout Assessment Tool C55, depression with the PHQ-8 C54 and anxiety with the GAD-7 C56. It does not give the burnout cut-offs, say how respondents were recruited or give a response rate C59. The survey has run for three years, with clinically significant depression at 46, 44 and 44 per cent and anxiety at 41, 38 and 40 C57. The 2025 edition reported 63 per cent C4. A software firm’s survey found 52 per cent had experienced burnout in the past five years C5. Another found 23 per cent stressed to the point of burnout and exhaustion C6, from a question where respondents ticked every cause of stress that applied C7. Abroad, a peer-reviewed survey of 232 Chinese HR managers found 34.5 per cent with mild burnout and 3.0 per cent serious C11.
The CIPD asks people professionals the questions it asks all workers. In its 2026 report, 30 per cent say their work harms their mental health and 24 per cent their physical health C8. In 2022 the figures were 31 and 29 C9, from data the CIPD says are not representative of the HR population C10.
Grade: very low, descriptive. No UK study has measured burnout or poor mental health in a representative sample of HR professionals with a validated tool. The largest survey uses validated questionnaires in a sample of people who chose to answer. A range of 23 to 63 per cent across UK surveys of the same profession in two years comes from different questions put to different samples. That is no evidence of a level, which is not evidence that the level is low.
Compared with whom
The 2026 survey compares its HR respondents with the general population: 44 per cent with clinically significant depression against 18 C12, and 40 per cent with clinically significant anxiety against 15, which it calls 2.6 times C14. The 18 per cent is the Office for National Statistics’ April 2025 figure for all adults aged 16 and over, from a random sample, on the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire C13. The HR figure uses the same questionnaire and the same cut-off of 10 or more C54, so the measures match. The samples do not. One is random and covers all adults, in work or not, and the other is people who chose to answer a survey about HR wellbeing. In 2025, the same survey called 38 per cent anxiety 1.5 times the general population C15, which implies a comparator of about 25 per cent, a calculation made here. The HR figure barely moved between editions. The comparator did.
One UK survey asks HR managers and everyone else the same question in the same way. The Labour Force Survey asks a random sample of households whether work has caused or worsened an illness. Averaged over 2020/21 to 2024/25, 2,770 in every 100,000 human resource managers and directors reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety, against 2,080 across all occupations C16. The HR estimate rests on 20 to 29 people, its interval runs from 1,590 to 3,950, and the Health and Safety Executive marks the difference as not statistically significant. For all work-related illness the two are almost identical, 4,150 against 4,180 C17. HR officers and administrators are too few in the sample to report at all C18, so the published comparison covers the senior roles only.
Sweden asks a similar question after its Labour Force Survey. Organisation developers, analysts and HR specialists are among the occupations with a low share of work-related disorders, 17 per cent against 25 for everyone in work C19, though the authority says the occupations within that table do not differ significantly from each other C20. The one HR against non-HR comparison pointing the other way is an American vendor survey, 54 per cent moderate to severe burnout against 48, with no HR sample size or test reported C21.
Grade: very low, no clear difference. For HR managers in Britain and HR specialists in Sweden, the comparison has been made in random samples and shows no significant excess. These nulls are too imprecise to show that HR is the same as everyone else, and the HR point estimate for stress in Britain is higher. For HR officers and administrators there is no evidence either way. Claims that HR is two or more times worse than the general population compare unlike surveys.
Do HR people love the work
Nobody has measured passion in a representative group of HR people. The figure used to show that HR professionals remain passionate is that 93 per cent of one vendor survey’s respondents enjoyed supporting learning and development C22. The nearest academic measure is commitment to the profession in 363 American HR professionals from a panel, where burnout was negatively related to commitment C25 but explained about one per cent of it.
In other occupations, passion comes in two kinds. Across 15 samples and 5,296 people, harmonious passion, the kind people choose and can step back from, had a partial correlation of minus 0.44 with burnout. Obsessive passion, the kind people feel they cannot put down, had plus 0.15, and plus 0.24 in work settings alone C23. In 622 French nurses surveyed six times over five months, workload, unfairness, harassment and supervisor support were associated with how their passion changed C24. That is the nearest test of the idea that bad workplaces wear the passion down, and it is consistent with it, in nurses.
Grade: very low, mixed. Whether most HR people are passionate is unknown. Whether passion protects them depends on which kind, and has not been studied in HR.
What wears HR down
The studies of HR people are small, mostly from outside the UK, and almost all single surveys or interviews. In 232 Chinese HR managers, role stress mediated the link between listening competency and burnout C26. In 143 HR professionals at one Malaysian bank, surface acting, showing emotions that are not felt, was related to every form of burnout measured C27. In 218 HR practitioners in Indian software firms, technostress from remote work went with poorer mental health C28. A five-year insider study of four redundancy programmes describes the people delivering redundancies as doing work others may see as morally tainted C30. One study of 147 HR professionals found no association between how often their organisation changed and their burnout C29.
Grade: very low, worsens. Emotional labour, role stress and delivering redundancies go with poorer wellbeing in HR samples. Nobody has followed HR people over time, so cause has not been shown.
What organisations can change
The most useful HR-specific finding is from 2009. In more than 400 HR managers, those whose organisations had made handling emotionally charged employee problems a formal part of the HR role had lower emotional exhaustion, even when they did a lot of it C31. Same work, recognised as work. In about 200 South African industrial psychology and HR practitioners, those with more co-worker support, role clarity and autonomy reported less exhaustion C32. In the Indian technostress study, perceived organisational support moderated the harm C28. In the 2026 survey of HR professionals, respondents who felt very well supported at work were less likely to report burnout, anxiety or depression C58.
Grade: very low, direction unknown. Recognition of emotional work, support, clarity and autonomy go with lower exhaustion in HR samples. No study has tested whether changing any of them helps HR people. The 2009 study was read at abstract level.
What has been tested on HR people
Nothing in a controlled study. The searches covered six databases and two trial registers. ClinicalTrials.gov returned no study for any HR job title and none of the 66 ISRCTN records for human resources enrolled HR staff. What exists is a handful of uncontrolled evaluations. Counselling for eight HR employees in one Indonesian company C33. One group coaching session for 37 HR specialists, measuring their understanding of a concept rather than their wellbeing C34. A 42-day metabolic programme in nine HR professionals whose authors say the changes cannot be attributed to it C35. A supervision provider’s own programme with a People team of 18, where the provider says the sample is too small to draw conclusions C36.
Grade: very low, direction unknown. There is no evidence that supervision, coaching, peer networks, resilience training, mindfulness, job redesign or the employee assistance programme improves HR staff wellbeing. There is no evidence that they fail either, because nobody has tested them and found nothing.
Reflection and finding the right place
Neither has been tested in HR people. In other people, the evidence is less comfortable than the advice. In 111 students followed for three weeks, self-reflection predicted later rumination, and the total effect of reflection on depression was almost zero C37. Across 39 trials, expressive writing had no significant long-term effect on depressive symptoms C38. Structured reflection with others looks better. In facilitated reflective forums for NHS staff, poor psychological wellbeing fell from 25 to 12 per cent in attenders against 37 to 34 in non-attenders, in a study where people chose whether to attend C39.
Moving job lifts wellbeing for a while. In UK household panel data, wellbeing typically drops before a job change and rises in the year of the change, then totally or largely disappears a year later C40.
Grade: very low, mixed. For HR people, no evidence of effect. In other workers, open-ended reflection can turn into rumination, structured reflection with others sometimes helps, and a better job helps for about a year.
Individual or organisational, in other workers
Everything known about helping HR people is borrowed, mostly from doctors and nurses. Across 117 trials in healthcare workers, individual-level interventions may reduce stress in the short and medium term, at low certainty C41. In physicians, coaching probably reduces some aspects of burnout and mindfulness may not C42. Whether changing the job beats supporting the person depends on the review. For physicians, organisation-directed interventions did more C43. For mental health staff, person-directed interventions did more for exhaustion C44. Organisational interventions reduce exhaustion slightly on very low quality evidence, and combined ones more C45. Combined programmes last longer, and every effect fades C46.
The UK study often quoted against individual programmes compared 46,336 workers who did and did not take part in resilience training, mindfulness and wellbeing apps, and found participants no better off C47. It is a single survey of organisations that entered a competition run by a health insurer, and the author sets out that a null result could also mean the people who most needed help were the ones who took part.
Grade: very low, mixed, for HR people, because none of this is in HR. In other workers, both kinds of help show small benefits at low certainty, neither reliably beats the other, and combining them lasts longest.
Do HR people use what they buy
Nobody has measured it from records. In the 2026 survey, 24 per cent of HR respondents said they had used employee benefits for their own mental wellbeing in the last year, 68 per cent had not, and 8 per cent had no access C48C60. Among those with clinically significant anxiety or depression, about a third had. In interviews with eight American HR practitioners, every one had access to an employee assistance programme, none used it, and several referred their own staff to it C49C50. The reasons given were confidentiality and professional identity. In a small UK survey, 14 of 19 HR respondents who had experienced workplace violence said their employer gave them no support afterwards C51.
Grade: very low, descriptive. There are no usage records for HR staff and no comparison with other employees, so it is not known whether HR people use support less than anyone else.
Does it spread to everyone else
Vendor material says that when HR teams are stretched the whole organisation feels it C52, and that HR burnout creates a ripple effect C53. Neither measures it. The only adjacent finding is that the HR managers in the 2009 study who were less exhausted also rated HR as more effective, both by their own account C31.
Grade: none found.
The five parts of the story
This review started from a story often told about HR, in five parts. The first, that many surveys point to burnout and poor wellbeing in HR, holds as a description of the surveys C1C8. Most are self-selected and the one national comparison does not show HR worse off C16C19.
That most HR people are passionate, and bad workplaces wear it down, cannot be checked: nobody has measured it in HR. The second half is consistent with one nurse study C24, and passion is not simply protective C23.
That HR people need to find an environment that suits them is overstated. Fit goes with lower strain in other workers, but the lift from a better job largely fades within a year C40, and nothing has been tested in HR.
That continuous, deeper self-reflection helps is overstated. Open-ended reflection can feed rumination C37, and the reflection that has helped other workers was structured and done with others C39.
That HR people also need help from their organisations is consistent with the evidence and not demonstrated. It is where the strongest HR finding points C31C32.
Claims that do not hold up
“Burnout is very likely in 62 per cent of HR professionals” C1 is a figure from an open online survey, on a short validated questionnaire with unstated cut-offs C55, from a firm that sells supervision to HR teams with a benefits broker. It describes the people who answered and is not a prevalence for the profession. “2.4 times higher than UK society as a whole” C12 and “2.6 times higher” C14 set that survey against random national samples, and the anxiety comparator changed between editions C15. “A ripple effect throughout the organisation” C53 is asserted without measurement.
In the other direction, “HR is no worse off than anyone else” is not supported either. The national comparison is imprecise, the HR point estimate for stress is higher C16, and HR officers and administrators are too few in the sample to report C18.
Limits
The 2026 survey report describes its measures and not its recruitment C59, so how far its respondents differ from HR people in general cannot be judged. About half of all sources, 126 of 278 records, were read at abstract level, including the 2009 toxin handling study C31, most of the reviews in the individual against organisational tier, and the 2026 coaching review C42. Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Business Source were not available, so HR studies indexed only there may be missing. The Labour Force Survey estimates for HR come from small samples, and the Swedish group is broader than HR. Almost all the intervention evidence is from healthcare workers. Four of the seventeen partial results in the verification sample led to corrections in the agents’ records, such as relabelling the 2022 CIPD report as produced with a software vendor. The two that touched the findings left the grades unchanged.
What would change these grades
Pooled Labour Force Survey data for HR managers, officers and administrators across enough years to report each, against similar office jobs rather than all workers. That would settle whether HR is worse off.
A UK prevalence survey of HR staff drawn from a sampling frame, such as professional body membership, using a validated burnout or common mental disorder scale, with the response rate published.
A randomised or stepped trial in HR teams of supervision, of written recognition of emotional work in the role and workload, or both, with wellbeing measured for at least a year.
Usage records from employee assistance programmes and other support, split by whether the user works in HR, set against everyone else in the same employers.
Claims ledger
Each claim is worded exactly as it was checked. Assessed claims show the source, passage, limits and date checked. If a source could not be checked, the entry records what was attempted and why. Claims still being checked are marked in review.
- C1Supported
A 2026 survey of 1,447 HR professionals, published by a firm that sells supervision to HR teams with an employee benefits broker, reports burnout as 'very likely' in 62 per cent of respondents and a further 12 per cent at risk.
- Source
- Everywhen (2026). HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026 by Ultimate Resilience, published in partnership with Everywhen. Press release. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
The survey found that burnout is ‘very likely’ in 62% of respondents, and a further 12% are ‘at risk’ of burnout.
- Where
- Section 'High risk of burnout'; the methods line reads "The survey was conducted between 23 January and 28 February 2026. It comprises responses from 1,447 HR professionals."
- Limits
- A press release, which does not name the instrument; the full report does (claim C55). Neither gives the cut-offs behind 'very likely' and 'at risk', how respondents were recruited, or a response rate. Both publishers sell services to HR teams or their employers.
- Checked
- C2Supported
The 2026 survey was an open online link, reposted on at least one third-party website for anyone who plays a role in HR.
- Source
- Shandwell (2026). The 2026 HR Mental Wellbeing Survey is now live. Blog post, 29 January 2026. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
have just launched the 2026 survey for everyone who plays a role in HR.
- Where
- Body text; the next sentence gives a public SurveyMonkey link to take part
- Limits
- Shows how one route into the survey worked. It does not show every route, or how many respondents came through each.
- Checked
- C3Supported
The full 2026 report is available only after a sign-up that consents to marketing email.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report: 2026. Download page. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
By signing up, you consent to Ultimate Resilience sending you marketing communication via email.
- Where
- Download form on the landing page, which asks for name, email, phone and whether the person works in HR
- Limits
- The report was obtained this way on 10 November 2026 and read in full; claims C54 to C60 quote it.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C4Supported
The 2025 edition of the same survey reported burnout as 'very likely' in 63 per cent of respondents and a further 15 per cent at risk.
- Source
- FM Business Daily (2025). HR profession at risk: 87% do not feel sufficiently supported at work. 9 June 2025, reproducing the publishers' release. Open source (secondary source)
- Passage
The figures show that burnout is ‘very likely’ in 63% of respondents, and a further 15% are ‘at risk’ of burnout.
- Where
- Article body
- Limits
- Trade press carrying the publishers' release. No methods.
- Checked
- C5Supported
A software firm's survey, as reported in the trade press, found 52 per cent of HR professionals had experienced burnout in the past five years.
- Source
- HRreview (2025). HR industry at risk of 'brain drain' in 2025 amid resignations. 17 January 2025. Open source (secondary source)
- Passage
Over half (52%) of HR professionals reported experiencing burnout in the past five years
- Where
- Article body; the sentence continues with the share of senior business leaders who see burnout as a significant issue in HR teams
- Limits
- The vendor's own page sits behind a bot check and was not read. A second trade report of the same survey gives the window as since 2020. A single recall question, not a burnout measure.
- Checked
- C6Supported
A second software firm's survey of over 270 HR decision makers found 23 per cent stressed to the point of burnout and exhaustion.
- Source
- Personnel Today (2025). Stress for HR specialists greater at larger organisations. 2 May 2025. Open source (secondary source)
- Passage
Nearly one in four (23%) HR professionals reported feeling stressed to the point of burnout and exhaustion.
- Where
- Article body
- Limits
- The 23 per cent is the share who ticked exhaustion or burnout in a list of causes of stress (see the next claim), not a burnout measure.
- Checked
- C7Supported
That 23 per cent came from a question asking what causes the most stress or anxiety, where respondents could tick every answer that applied.
- Source
- Ciphr (2025). Workloads are the leading cause of stress for HR. Press release. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
(respondents could select all that applied to them)
- Where
- Notes to editors, after the question 'What causes you to experience the most stress or anxiety in your job?'; fieldwork by a commercial online panel, 17 to 19 December 2024, 300 HR decision makers with findings for 271 at organisations of over 50 staff
- Limits
- Commercial panel. The vendor sells HR software.
- Checked
- C8Supported
In the CIPD's 2026 HR pulse report, 30 per cent of people professionals say work harms their mental health and 24 per cent their physical health.
- Source
- Peters R (2026). HR pulse report 2026: inside the people profession. CIPD, supported by Talking Talent. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Thirty per cent of people professionals say their mental health is negatively impacted by their work, while 24% say their physical health is negatively impacted
- Where
- Section 5, HR pressures and employer support, report page 25; the figures are from the 353 people professionals in wave 9 of the CIPD's UK Working Lives survey
- Limits
- Single self-report items. The subset comes from a weighted national survey of workers, which makes it the closest thing to a like-for-like figure, but it is weighted to the workforce, not to the HR population. The report is sponsored by a coaching firm that sells to HR.
- Checked
- C9Supported
In the CIPD's 2022 survey, 31 per cent of UK practitioners said work harmed their mental wellbeing and 29 per cent their physical wellbeing.
- Source
- Peters R (2022). People Profession 2022: UK and Ireland survey report. CIPD, in association with Workday. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
In the UK, three in ten practitioners said that both their mental and physical wellbeing is negatively impacted by work (31% and 29%).
- Where
- Report page 15, 'How does work impact on the health of people professionals?', Figure 4; base 1,496 UK respondents
- Limits
- Online panel survey, unweighted (see the next claim). Single self-report items.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C10Supported
The CIPD says its 2022 people profession data are unweighted and not representative of the HR population.
- Source
- Peters R (2023). People Profession 2022: international survey report. CIPD. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
The data is unweighted and therefore the sample of respondents is not representative of the total HR population.
- Where
- Section 6, Methodology
- Limits
- Applies to the same 2022 dataset as the UK report.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C11Supported
In 232 Chinese HR managers, 34.5 per cent reported mild burnout and 3.0 per cent serious burnout.
- Source
- Wang Y, Chen H (2022). Are human resource managers with good listening competency more likely to avoid job burnout? BMC Public Health, 22, 362. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
34.5% of the respondents reported mild burnout, while 3.0% respondents showed serious burnout.
- Where
- Abstract, Results (1)
- Limits
- Online survey of 232 valid responses from 500 invited in ten cities. The abstract says the managers were randomly selected and the limitations section says convenience sampling. Not the UK.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C12Supported
The 2026 survey report says 44 per cent of HR respondents had clinically significant depression symptoms, against 18 per cent in the general population.
- Source
- Everywhen (2026). HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026 by Ultimate Resilience, published in partnership with Everywhen. Press release. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Almost half the respondents (44%) have symptoms of depression deemed clinically significant, compared with 18% in the general population
- Where
- Body text; the sources note gives the Office for National Statistics (2025) for the general population figure
- Limits
- The press release does not name the instrument; the full report gives the PHQ-8 at 10 or more (claim C54), the same as the national figure. The comparison still sets an open online survey against a random national sample of all adults.
- Checked
- C13Supported
The 18 per cent is the Office for National Statistics figure for all adults aged 16 and over in April 2025, from a random sample, scored on the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire.
- Source
- Office for National Statistics (2025). Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: April 2025. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
In April 2025, just under 1 in 5 (18%) adults aged 16 years and over reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms.
- Where
- Section 4, Mental health and well-being; Section 9 says the sample was randomly selected from people who had completed earlier ONS surveys, 4,617 responding; the glossary defines the measure as a PHQ-8 score of 10 or more
- Limits
- All adults, including people not in work and people over 70. No breakdown by occupation, so there is no published working-age or office-worker comparator in this release.
- Checked
- C14Supported
The 2026 report puts clinically significant anxiety in HR at 40 per cent, 2.6 times a general population figure of 15 per cent.
- Source
- Everywhen (2026). HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026 by Ultimate Resilience, published in partnership with Everywhen. Press release. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
This is some 2.6 times higher than rates seen in the general population (15%)
- Where
- Body text; the preceding sentence reads "Symptoms of anxiety were reported by 73% of respondents, with 40% meeting the threshold for clinically significant symptoms." The sources note gives Our Future Health (2025)
- Limits
- The press release does not name the instrument; the full report gives the GAD-7 at 10 or more (claim C56). Which Our Future Health statistic was used is not stated.
- Checked
- C15Supported
The 2025 edition reported clinical-level anxiety in 38 per cent of HR respondents and called it 1.5 times the general population.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience (2025). HR on the Offensive podcast: is HR facing a silent mental health crisis? Post, 4 August 2025. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
38% reported clinical-level anxiety (1.5x higher)
- Where
- Body text, in a list after the line on depression symptoms
- Limits
- A multiple of 1.5 implies a comparator of about 25 per cent, a calculation made here. The 2026 release used 15 per cent for an almost identical HR figure.
- Checked
- C16Supported
Averaged over 2020/21 to 2024/25, the Labour Force Survey estimates work-related stress, depression or anxiety at 2,770 per 100,000 human resource managers and directors, 95 per cent interval 1,590 to 3,950, against 2,080 for all occupations; HSE marks the difference as not statistically significant and the HR estimate as resting on 20 to 29 sample cases.
- Source
- Health and Safety Executive (2025). Self-reported work-related illness by occupation (LFSILLOCC), Great Britain. Labour Force Survey tables, published 20 November 2025. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Human resource managers and directors | 1136 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 2770 | 1590 | 3950 | No | No | [Note 12]
- Where
- Table 5, 5 year period 2020/21 to 2024/25, row SOC 1136 (columns: prevalence in thousands with interval, rate per 100,000 with interval, significance against all occupations, significance against the previous period, low-sample flag). The all occupations row reads 2080, 1980 to 2180. Note 12 reads "Estimate based on low number of sample cases (Between 20-29)"
- Limits
- Self-report of an illness the person believes work caused or made worse, not a screening tool. The interval is wide enough to include a rate below the all-worker figure and one nearly twice it. Checked against the workbook by hand as well as by machine.
- Checked
- C17Supported
Over the same period, all self-reported work-related illness was 4,150 per 100,000 human resource managers and directors against 4,180 for all occupations, not a significant difference.
- Source
- Health and Safety Executive (2025). Self-reported work-related illness by occupation (LFSILLOCC), Great Britain. Labour Force Survey tables, published 20 November 2025. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Human resource managers and directors | 1136 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 4150 | 2790 | 5500 | No | No
- Where
- Table 1, 5 year period 2020/21 to 2024/25, row SOC 1136; the all occupations row reads 4180, 4040 to 4310
- Limits
- Covers physical and mental conditions together. Same self-report question as Table 5.
- Checked
- C18Supported
For human resources and industrial relations officers, the stress, depression or anxiety estimate is suppressed in every period because the sample is too small.
- Source
- Health and Safety Executive (2025). Self-reported work-related illness by occupation (LFSILLOCC), Great Britain. Labour Force Survey tables, published 20 November 2025. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Human resources and industrial relations officers | 3571 | [U1] | [U1] | [U1] | [U1] | [U1] | [U1] | [U2] | [U2]
- Where
- Table 5, 5 year period 2020/21 to 2024/25, row SOC 3571; HR administrators (4136) are suppressed in the same way
- Limits
- So the published comparison for this measure covers human resource managers and directors only.
- Checked
- C19Supported
In Sweden, 17 per cent of organisation developers, analysts and HR specialists reported a work-related disorder in the past year, against 25 per cent of everyone in work, which places them among the occupations with a low share.
- Source
- Arbetsmiljöverket (2023). Arbetsorsakade besvär 2022. Arbetsmiljöstatistik Rapport 2023:02. Swedish Work Environment Authority with Statistics Sweden. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
242 Organisationsutvecklare, utredare och HR-specialister m.fl. 17 4 21 6 10 5
- Where
- Page 37, Table 1b, occupations with a low share of work-related disorders (columns: total per cent and margin, women, men); the all employed row, Samtliga, reads 25 1 30 1 21 1
- Limits
- The occupation group is broader than HR. The outcome is any work-related disorder, physical or mental. Interviews with 11,291 employed people after the Swedish Labour Force Survey, July 2022 to March 2023.
- Checked
- C20Supported
The Swedish authority states that differences between the occupations within its high and low tables are not statistically significant.
- Source
- Arbetsmiljöverket (2023). Arbetsorsakade besvär 2022. Arbetsmiljöstatistik Rapport 2023:02. Swedish Work Environment Authority with Statistics Sweden. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
är inte statistiskt signifikanta inom respektive tabell a och b.
- Where
- Page 37, text above Tables 1a and 1b. Translation: the differences in the share with disorders between the occupations reported in tables 1a and 1b are not statistically significant within each table
- Limits
- The comparison with all employed people is separate and is not tested in this sentence.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C21Supported
An American workplace mental health firm reports HR professionals more likely than other employees to report moderate to severe burnout, 54 per cent against 48.
- Source
- Mind Share Partners (2025). HR burnout: the hidden crisis behind the people profession. Blog. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
HR professionals are more likely to report moderate to severe burnout (54% vs. 48% of non-HR)
- Where
- Section: The State of HR Mental Health in the U.S.; the sentence continues with depression, 54 against 44, and anxiety, 51 against 42
- Limits
- The HR subsample size is not stated and no significance test or interval is given. Single self-ratings. The firm sells workplace mental health training. United States.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C22Supported
A software firm's survey, reported in the CIPD's magazine, is cited as showing HR professionals remain passionate, on the basis that 93 per cent enjoyed supporting learning and development.
- Source
- People Management (2025). Third of HR professionals considering quitting because of burnout, study finds. 15 January 2025. Open source (secondary source)
- Passage
The survey revealed that 93 per cent enjoyed supporting employees’ learning and development
- Where
- Section 'Balancing pressure with passion', after the line "Despite the challenges, HR professionals remain passionate about their work."
- Limits
- Enjoying one task is not a measure of passion. The vendor's own release could not be read.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C23Supported
Across 15 samples and 5,296 people, harmonious passion had a partial correlation of minus 0.44 with burnout and obsessive passion a partial correlation of plus 0.15.
- Source
- Curran T, Hill AP, Appleton PR, Vallerand RJ, Standage M (2015). The psychology of passion: a meta-analytical review of a decade of research on intrapersonal outcomes. Motivation and Emotion, 39, 631-655. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
5296 5296 15 15 -.44 .15 [-.53, -.35] [.09, .22]
- Where
- Table 3, partial correlations, burnout row (columns: N, k, partial correlation and 95 per cent interval for harmonious then obsessive passion); accepted manuscript. In work settings alone, obsessive passion and burnout were 0.24 (0.17 to 0.30) across 8 samples, Table 4
- Limits
- Mostly cross-sectional primary studies, across sport, work, education and leisure. Not HR.
- Checked
- C24Supported
In 622 French nurses surveyed six times over five months, workload, unfairness, harassment and supervisor support were associated with how their harmonious and obsessive passion changed.
- Source
- Cheyroux P, Morin AJS, Colombat P, Gillet N (2024). Nature, predictors, and outcomes of nurses' trajectories of harmonious and obsessive passion. Applied Psychology, 73(2), 809-841. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Workload, unfairness, harassment, and supervisor support were associated with these trajectories in a way that mainly supported our expectations.
- Where
- Abstract; the sample is described in the preceding sentence
- Limits
- Nurses, not HR. Observational, so the direction of influence is not established.
- Checked
- C25Supported
In 363 American HR professionals from a survey panel, burnout was negatively related to professional and organisational commitment.
- Source
- Barber E, Werner JM (2024). The impact of professional networking and burnout on the organizational and professional commitment of human resources professionals. International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research, 9(1). Open source (full text read)
- Passage
burnout was significantly and negatively related to both professional and organizational commitment
- Where
- Abstract; Table 1 gives the correlation of burnout with professional commitment as -0.093 without a significance mark, and the Results give R-square of .009 for professional and .012 for organisational commitment
- Limits
- Burnout alone explained about one per cent of commitment. Commitment to the profession is not the same as passion for it. Panel sample, no response rate.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C26Supported
In the same Chinese sample, role stress mediated the relationship between listening competency and burnout.
- Source
- Wang Y, Chen H (2022). Are human resource managers with good listening competency more likely to avoid job burnout? BMC Public Health, 22, 362. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
The role stress had a significant mediating role in the relationship between listening competency and job burnout.
- Where
- Abstract, Results (3); in the Results, role stress predicted emotional exhaustion (beta 0.510) and depersonalisation (beta 0.395), and role conflict between employer and employee was not significant
- Limits
- Cross-sectional, so a mediating role is a statistical pattern, not a shown cause.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C27Supported
In 143 HR professionals at one Malaysian bank, surface acting, showing emotions that are not felt, was related to all three forms of burnout measured.
- Source
- Santos A, Mustafa M, Chern GT (2015). Trait emotional intelligence, emotional labour, and burnout among Malaysian HR professionals. Management Research Review, 38(1), 67-88. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
While surface acting exhibited a significant relationship on all three forms of burnout, deep acting was only significantly related to client burnout.
- Where
- Abstract, Findings
- Limits
- One organisation, cross-sectional, abstract only.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C28Supported
In 218 HR practitioners at 28 Indian software firms, technostress from remote work was linked to poorer mental health, and perceived organisational support moderated the effects.
- Source
- Nayak S, Budhwar PS, Malik A (2025). Technostress of HR professionals: the darker implication of remote work transformations. International Journal of Human Resource Management. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Perceived organizational support (POS) moderates these effects.
- Where
- Abstract; the preceding sentence describes technostress negatively affecting mental health, increasing work-life conflict and reducing performance
- Limits
- The abstract uses causal language for what appears to be a single survey. Abstract only.
- Checked
- C29Supported
A study of 147 HR professionals found no significant association between how often their organisation changed and their burnout.
- Source
- Pappenfus BJ. How frequency of change within organizations affects burnout of human resource professionals. Dissertation, year not given in the record. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
The results indicated that the frequency of change in an organization does not have a significant effect on burnout among HR professionals.
- Where
- Abstract
- Limits
- A null association in one cross-sectional sample, not evidence that change is harmless. Year and country not given.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C30Supported
A five-year insider study of four redundancy programmes describes the people delivering redundancies as doing work others may see as morally tainted, with a disconnect between the emotions they show and feel.
- Source
- Pickles M, Hannibal C (2021). The smiling assassin?: reconceptualising redundancy envoys as quasi-dirty workers. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(16). Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Our study draws on insider research access to redundancy envoys over a five-year period during the implementation of four consecutive redundancy programmes
- Where
- Abstract; earlier sentences describe the disconnect between outward and inner emotions and tasks that may be perceived as morally tainted
- Limits
- Qualitative. Describes the experience; does not measure wellbeing.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C31Supported
In more than 400 HR managers, those whose organisations had made handling emotionally charged employee problems a formal part of the HR role reported lower emotional exhaustion, even when they did a lot of it.
- Source
- Kulik CT, Cregan C, Metz I, Brown M (2009). HR managers as toxin handlers: the buffering effect of formalizing toxin handling responsibilities. Human Resource Management, 48(5), 695-716. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
HR managers whose organizations had made handling emotionally charged employee problems a formal part of HR responsibilities experienced lower levels of emotional exhaustion and perceived HR as more effective, even when they engaged in high levels of toxin handling.
- Where
- Abstract
- Limits
- Abstract only; the full text is closed. Country, response rate and effect sizes not visible. A single survey, so formalising the work is associated with lower exhaustion, not shown to cause it. HR effectiveness is the managers' own rating.
- Checked
- C32Supported
In about 200 South African industrial psychology and HR practitioners, those with stronger capability sets had more co-worker support, role clarity and autonomy, and the strongest set reported the least exhaustion.
- Source
- Mnxuma SL, Rothmann S, Stander MW, et al. (2026). Job demands and resources, work capabilities, and burnout of industrial psychology and human resource management practitioners. Frontiers in Psychology, 17. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Practitioners with robust and constrained capability sets reported significantly higher levels of co-worker support, role clarity, and autonomy compared to those with a weak capability set.
- Where
- Abstract; a later sentence reports significantly lower exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment and emotional impairment in the robust set
- Limits
- Cross-sectional volunteer sample through professional bodies; the authors say their interpretations are not evidence of causal effects. Mixed with industrial psychologists.
- Checked
- C33Supported
One evaluation of counselling for HR staff studied eight employees in one Indonesian company, with no comparison group.
- Source
- Nabiya N, Rejeki A (2025). Counselling sessions to reduce the mental workload of human resources department employees of PT X. Observasi: Jurnal Publikasi Ilmu Psikologi, 3(4). Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
The research sample consists of eight employees selected based on the questionnaire results.
- Where
- Abstract (English); it later says the sessions had a positive impact on employee stress management, without figures
- Limits
- Full text blocked. No effect size, comparison group or follow-up visible.
- Checked
- C34Supported
A coaching evaluation surveyed 37 HR specialists at the end of a single group session, about their understanding of self-recognition rather than their wellbeing.
- Source
- Murzakhmetova GR (2025). Transformation of HR specialists' self-recognition by means of exponential coaching. Publishing house Sreda. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
В опросе приняли участие 37 специалистов системы HR
- Where
- Page 4. Translation: the survey involved 37 HR specialists. 27 of the 37 said their understanding had changed substantially
- Limits
- Run by a coach who practises the method. No wellbeing measure, no comparison group, no follow-up.
- Checked
- C35Supported
A 42-day pilot of a metabolic recovery programme in nine HR professionals reported diary well-being rising from 7.33 to 7.89 out of 10, and its authors say the changes cannot be attributed to the programme.
- Source
- Pertsiia L, Myronets S, Logvinenko A, Halushko O (2026). Biomarkers of burnout in high-workload professionals: a pilot study of a metabolic recovery program in HR leaders. Preprint, Zenodo. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
These changes are uncontrolled observations and cannot be attributed to the program.
- Where
- Abstract, Results; the well-being figures are in the preceding sentence
- Limits
- Not peer reviewed. Single group, no control, no follow-up after day 42. Run by the programme's creator.
- Checked
- C36Supported
A provider of HR supervision describes its own six-session programme with a People team of 18, and says the sample is too small to draw conclusions about effectiveness.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience (2026). Does HR supervision reduce burnout? What does the evidence tell us? Blog. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
However, the small sample size limits our ability to draw meaningful conclusions about effectiveness at this point.
- Where
- Section 'What are we learning from HR supervision in practice?', after the description of six sessions of individual and group supervision for a People team (n=18)
- Limits
- Unpublished. Instruments, scores, drop-out and follow-up not reported. The provider sells the service and co-publishes the 2026 survey.
- Checked
- C37Supported
In 111 undergraduates followed for three weeks, self-reflection predicted later self-rumination, and the total effect of self-reflection on depression was almost zero.
- Source
- Takano K, Tanno Y (2009). Self-rumination, self-reflection, and depression: self-rumination counteracts the adaptive effect of self-reflection. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(3), 260-264. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
The total effect of self-reflection on depression was almost zero.
- Where
- Abstract; the preceding sentences report that self-reflection significantly predicted self-rumination and not the reverse
- Limits
- Students, not workers. Small sample, three-week interval, abstract only.
- Checked
- C38Supported
Across 39 randomised trials in physically healthy adults, expressive writing had no significant long-term effect on depressive symptoms.
- Source
- Reinhold M, Bürkner PC, Holling H (2018). Effects of expressive writing on depressive symptoms: a meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(1), e12224. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Expressive writing did not yield significant long-term effects on depressive symptoms.
- Where
- Abstract
- Limits
- Not workers. Effects were larger with more sessions and more specific topics.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C39Supported
In an evaluation of facilitated reflective forums for NHS staff, poor psychological wellbeing fell from 25 to 12 per cent among attenders against 37 to 34 per cent among non-attenders.
- Source
- Maben J, Taylor C, Dawson J, et al. (2018). A realist informed mixed-methods evaluation of Schwartz Center Rounds in England. Health Services and Delivery Research, 6(37). Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Rounds attenders (25% to 12%) compared with non-attenders (37% to 34%)
- Where
- Abstract, Results; the measure is the 12-item General Health Questionnaire and the difference was significant at p < 0.05
- Limits
- Not randomised; people chose whether to attend and the groups differed at the start. Healthcare staff, not HR.
- Checked
- C40Supported
In UK household panel data, wellbeing typically drops before a job change, rises in the year of the change, and totally or largely disappears a year later.
- Source
- Longhi S, Nandi A, Bryan ML, Connolly S, Gedikli C (2025). Do all job changes increase wellbeing? Industrial Relations, 64(1), 23-39. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
We find that wellbeing typically drops before a job change and rises in the year of the change.
- Where
- Conclusions; the next sentence reads that the effect is short-lived and either totally or largely disappears 1 year later
- Limits
- Understanding Society, 2009 to 2019. The authors describe the estimates as longitudinal associations, not causal effects. Not broken down by occupation.
- Checked
- C41Supported
Across 117 trials in healthcare workers, individual-level interventions may reduce stress in the short and medium term, at low certainty.
- Source
- Tamminga SJ, Emal LM, Boschman JS, et al. (2023). Individual-level interventions for reducing occupational stress in healthcare workers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD002892.pub6. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Overall, such interventions may result in a reduction in stress symptoms in the short term (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.52 to -0.23; 41 RCTs; 3645 participants; low-certainty evidence)
- Where
- Abstract, Main results; medium term SMD -0.43 (-0.71 to -0.14), 19 trials, low certainty
- Limits
- Healthcare workers. Unblinded self-report outcomes.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C42Supported
In physicians, professional coaching probably reduces some aspects of burnout, and mindfulness-based interventions may not.
- Source
- Collett G, Gupta J, Eltayeb A, et al. (2026). Efficacy of individual-level interventions to mitigate the risk for burnout among health care professionals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Annals of Internal Medicine, 179, 51-66. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
but mindfulness-based interventions may not be effective
- Where
- Abstract, Data synthesis; coaching for emotional exhaustion SMD -0.37 (-0.62 to -0.13), low certainty; mindfulness SMD -0.46 (-1.28 to 0.35), very low certainty
- Limits
- Abstract only. Individual-level interventions only, so no organisational comparison.
- Checked
- C43Supported
In a review of controlled interventions for physician burnout, organisation-directed interventions had larger effects than physician-directed ones.
- Source
- Panagioti M, Panagopoulou E, Bower P, et al. (2017). Controlled interventions to reduce burnout in physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(2), 195-205. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Subgroup analyses suggested significantly improved effects for organization-directed interventions (SMD = -0.45; 95% CI, -0.62 to -0.28) compared with physician-directed interventions (SMD = -0.18; 95% CI, -0.32 to -0.03).
- Where
- Abstract, Results
- Limits
- A comparison between studies, not a head-to-head trial. 19 studies, 1,550 physicians.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C44Supported
In a review of 35 years of interventions for mental health providers, person-directed interventions did more for emotional exhaustion than organisation-directed ones.
- Source
- Dreison KC, Luther L, Bonfils KA, et al. (2018). Job burnout in mental health providers: a meta-analysis of 35 years of intervention research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23(1), 18-30. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Moderator analyses suggested that person-directed interventions were more effective than organization-directed interventions at reducing emotional exhaustion (Qbetween = 6.70, p = .010)
- Where
- Abstract
- Limits
- A comparison between studies. 27 samples, 1,894 workers. Mental health staff are a closer comparison for HR than physicians, but still not HR.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C45Supported
Across 13 studies, organisational interventions produced a small reduction in exhaustion on very low quality evidence, and combined interventions a larger one.
- Source
- Bes I, Shoman Y, Al-Gobari M, Rousson V, Guseva Canu I (2023). Organizational interventions and occupational burnout: a meta-analysis with focus on exhaustion. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 96, 1211-1223. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
corresponding to a small reduction in exhaustion with a very low quality of evidence.
- Where
- Abstract, Results; overall effect -0.30 (-0.42 to -0.18); combined interventions -0.54 (-0.76 to -0.32)
- Limits
- Few studies, high heterogeneity.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C46Supported
A review of 25 burnout prevention programmes found person-directed effects lasted six months or less, combined programmes lasted twelve months or more, and every effect faded.
- Source
- Awa WL, Plaumann M, Walter U (2010). Burnout prevention: a review of intervention programs. Patient Education and Counseling, 78(2), 184-190. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
In all cases, positive intervention effects diminished in the course of time.
- Where
- Abstract, Results; the preceding sentence gives six months or less for person-directed and twelve months and over for combined programmes
- Limits
- Only two organisation-only studies; counts results rather than pooling them.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C47Supported
Comparing 46,336 UK workers who did and did not take part in individual-level wellbeing programmes, such as resilience training, mindfulness and wellbeing apps, participants appeared no better off.
- Source
- Fleming WJ (2024). Employee well-being outcomes from individual-level mental health interventions: cross-sectional evidence from the United Kingdom. Industrial Relations Journal, 55(2), 162-182. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Across multiple subjective well-being indicators, participants appear no better off.
- Where
- Abstract; section 6.1 of the full text, seen through a search extract, sets out that a null result could mean no effect, or that people who needed more help were more likely to take part
- Limits
- Cross-sectional, 233 organisations that entered a workplace survey run by a health insurer. Selection into programmes is not random. No evidence of effect, which is not evidence of no effect.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C48Supported
In the 2026 survey, 24 per cent of HR respondents said they had used employee benefits to support their own mental wellbeing, 68 per cent had not, and 8 per cent had no access.
- Source
- Everywhen (2026). HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026 by Ultimate Resilience, published in partnership with Everywhen. Press release. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
The survey showed that only 24% of respondents said they had used employee benefits to support their own mental wellbeing. In contrast, 68% had not, and a further 8% reported having no access to employee benefits.
- Where
- Section 'HR not accessing support'
- Limits
- Self-report. Which benefits and how respondents were recruited are not stated; the full report gives the period as the last year (claim C60). No comparison with other employees.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C49Supported
In interviews with eight American HR practitioners, every one had access to an employee assistance programme, none used it, and several referred their own staff to it.
- Source
- Rendón EA (2026). HR is a helping profession. So where's our supervision? AHRD Insights, 19 October 2026. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Every HR professional I interviewed for my dissertation had access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Not one of them used it. Yet several regularly referred their own employees to that same EAP.
- Where
- Opening paragraph; the reasons given are confidentiality and a conflict with professional identity
- Limits
- The author's own summary of her dissertation. Eight people, self-report, not usage records.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C50Supported
The dissertation behind it names an 'EAP paradox' among five themes from interviews with HR generalists.
- Source
- Rendón EA (2026). Navigating the dark side: emotional labor's impact on HR professionals' wellness. Doctoral dissertation, Abilene Christian University. Open source (abstract only)
- Passage
Five themes emerged from the data: emotional labor as invisible and embodied work, role isolation, EAP paradox, desire to be seen, and self-directed coping.
- Where
- Abstract
- Limits
- Full text blocked. Eight women who were sole or main employee relations practitioners in small and medium organisations.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C51Supported
In a UK convenience survey, 14 of the 19 HR respondents who had experienced workplace violence said they received no support from their employer afterwards.
- Source
- Stacey D (2025). From threats to scars: who does HR go to? Understanding workplace violence towards HR professionals. MA dissertation, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
73.68% (n=14) expressed within the survey they didn’t feel that they received any support from their employers following WPV.
- Where
- Chapter 4, findings
- Limits
- 57 respondents recruited through social media and a university department. The same paragraph gives a percentage for those who did receive support that does not match 5 of 19.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C52Supported
An HR software vendor's report says that when HR teams are stretched, the whole organisation feels it, without workforce outcome data.
- Source
- HiBob (2025). HR Health Check Report UK 2025. Research page. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
When HR teams are stretched too thin, the entire organisation feels the impact
- Where
- Executive summary
- Limits
- An assertion. The page's date and its stated fieldwork date do not match.
- Checked
- C53Supported
Trade coverage of a second vendor's survey says HR burnout creates a ripple effect through the organisation, also without measurement.
- Source
- The HR World (2025). HR professionals buckling under pressure: report highlights burnout crisis. 21 January 2025. Open source (secondary source)
- Passage
creating a ripple effect throughout the organisation
- Where
- Section 'The human cost of neglect'
- Limits
- An assertion. Sample is a vendor's online community.
- Checked
- C54Supported
The full 2026 report measures depression with the PHQ-8 and counts a score of 10 or more as clinically significant, the same questionnaire and cut-off as the Office for National Statistics figure it is compared with.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience and Everywhen (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026. Full report, available on sign-up. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Clinically significant symptoms defined as scoring ≥10.
- Where
- Report page 8, under 'Symptoms of depression as measured by the PHQ-8.'
- Limits
- The measure matches the national figure; the samples do not. The report's respondents chose to take part and the national sample is random and covers all adults.
- Checked
- C55Supported
The full 2026 report measures burnout with the BAT-4, the four-item short form of the Burnout Assessment Tool.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience and Everywhen (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026. Full report, available on sign-up. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Burnout is measured by the BAT-4
- Where
- Report page 11, footnote, which cites the tool's 2020 manual
- Limits
- The report does not give the scores that separate 'very likely' from 'at risk'.
- Checked
- C56Supported
The full 2026 report measures anxiety with the GAD-7 and counts a score of 10 or more as clinically significant.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience and Everywhen (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026. Full report, available on sign-up. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Symptoms of anxiety as measured by the GAD-7.
- Where
- Report page 10; the next lines define mild as 5 to 9 and clinically significant as 10 or more
- Limits
- Which general population statistic the 15 per cent comparator comes from is given only as Our Future Health (2025).
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C57Supported
The survey has run for three years, 2024 to 2026, with clinically significant depression at 46, 44 and 44 per cent and clinically significant anxiety at 41, 38 and 40 per cent.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience and Everywhen (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026. Full report, available on sign-up. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Now in its third year, the HR Mental Wellbeing Survey offers the first longitudinal view of HR mental wellbeing.
- Where
- Report page 6; the yearly figures are in the four charts on the same page, and the introduction gives almost 3,000 participants across the three years
- Limits
- The report does not say whether the same people answered each year, so this is three separate samples as far as can be told.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C58Supported
In the 2026 survey, respondents who felt very well supported at work in relation to their mental wellbeing were less likely to report symptoms of burnout, anxiety or depression.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience and Everywhen (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026. Full report, available on sign-up. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
Respondents who report feeling very well supported in relation to their mental wellbeing at work are significantly less likely to experience symptoms of burnout, anxiety or depression.
- Where
- Report page 19
- Limits
- One survey at one point in time, with support and symptoms both self-reported, so the direction cannot be shown. No test statistics are given.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
- C59Supported
The full report's description of its data gives the fieldwork dates, the number of respondents and their organisation size, and does not describe how respondents were recruited or give a response rate.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience and Everywhen (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026. Full report, available on sign-up. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
It comprises responses from 1,447 HR professionals and consists of almost 84,000 data points covering all areas of mental wellbeing.
- Where
- Report page 5, 'About the Data', which also says all data were gathered anonymously; no methods or limitations section follows
- Limits
- An absence, so it rests on reading the whole report. The publishers may hold a methods note that is not in the report.
- Checked
- C60Supported
The benefits question in the 2026 survey asked about the last year, and about a third of respondents with clinically significant anxiety or depression had used employee benefits for their own mental health.
- Source
- Ultimate Resilience and Everywhen (2026). The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2026. Full report, available on sign-up. Open source (full text read)
- Passage
However, only around one third of this group had accessed these benefits.
- Where
- Report page 18; the question reads 'In the last year, have you used your company’s employee benefits for your own mental health and wellbeing'
- Limits
- Self-report. Which benefits were used is not asked.
- Checked
Back to text↩ 1
Back to the noteIs HR more burnt out than everyone else? The national data don't show it.