Avoid HR Burnout With These 3 Strategies

By Liz Sheffield

Whether you’re an HR “Department of One” or the member of a large HR team, multitasking and managing multiple priorities is part of your job description. From recruiting and hiring to managing employee relations and administering benefits, today’s HR professionals are handling every aspect of the employee lifecycle. ​

On one hand, these responsibilities are great for job security. According to estimates from the Bureau of Labor, employment of HR managers will grow 9% by 2024—a rate that’s faster than average occupational growth. But even when an HR manager has job security, the seemingly endless list of responsibilities can take a toll and add to feelings of burnout.

Here are a few strategies that may help you avoid HR burnout:

1. Recognize the signs
Are you an HR professional at risk of burning out? An essential first step in avoiding burnout is recognizing the signs. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) cites the following indications of stress that can lead to burnout:

• being tired all the time
• sleepless nights
• aches and pains
• high anxiety
• weight gain
• inability to keep things in order
• anger issues at work
• depression

Like the adage about the shoemaker’s kids going without shoes, sometimes the HR team is good at diagnosing stress in other employees while burying their own stress. Make sure that as an HR team, you're watching out for signs of burnout in each another (and in yourself). If you notice that someone is getting overwhelmed, see what you can do to offer relief.

2. Cross-train HR employees to ensure equitable workloads
Make sure more than one HR employee is trained to handle the responsibilities required for the department to function. With efficient sharing of institutional knowledge about programs and processes, co-workers are equipped to help out if a colleague needs to take a personal day, or to make adjustments to work assignments and tasks if burnout occurs.

Severe cases of burnout often arise when an employee feels undue pressure because they are the only person who knows how to perform a specific task. This leads to HR employees not taking necessary time away from work to recharge. Cross-training HR employees will help reduce stress when colleagues can help each other with difficult tasks and easily share responsibilities as needed.

3. Work with expert solution providers
​Many aspects of HR strategy require in-house knowledge and insight. However, there are some areas where HR professionals can lean on vendors and solution providers to help them offer the programs and services that employees request and need. (One caveat: Interview and assess your HR vendor partners. The last thing you need is to get burned out by ineffective systems or problematic partnerships.)

An example of an area in which HR leaders can work with expert solution providers to help avoid burnout is by using a software partner with proven wellness solutions. MeYou Health provides a simple, turn-key, and affordable wellness platform that takes minutes to set up. It will not only deliver organizational results but also make HR pros look like heroes—without requiring a lot of extra work.

​When HR leaders recognize the signs of burnout in their own team, use cross-training to ensure equitable workloads, and partner with expert solution providers, they can focus on offering insight and influence around strategic HR solutions without feeling burned out or overworked.