Marvin OnumonuA study by employee engagement specialists Stribe found that 85% of HR professionals are burned out, with 45% saying they feel exhausted often or always.
While 65% said they were trying to stay positive about the next year, most said they were stuck in a cycle of constant firefighting and emotional strain.
This left little time for long-term planning, and HR teams were dealing with immediate problems instead of building workplace culture.
The study also found that HR teams were struggling to make changes.
Engagement surveys were regularly used in 36% of organisations, but feedback often failed to lead to action.
Budget constraints were the biggest barrier, reported by 35%, while 25% pointed to lack of leadership support.
Lucy Harvey, chief operating officer at Stribe, said: “The gap between listening and action is one of the clearest signals in the data.
“Asking for feedback isn’t the hard part anymore – acting on it consistently is.
“When employees take the time to share what’s really going on and nothing changes, it becomes harder to maintain trust.”
Harvey added: “Over time, participation and honesty drops, and engagement surveys start to feel like a tick-box exercise rather than an opportunity for real change.”
Only 22% of HR leaders felt very confident in their wellbeing strategies.
The relationship with a manager was rated as the biggest driver of wellbeing at 37%, compared to fair pay at 17%, flexible hours at 13% and flexible working location at 7%.
Growing workloads and competing priorities were reported as the main causes of burnout.
Constant reactive work was cited by 35% and too many priorities by 26%.
Supporting others through tough organisational changes was a drain for 13%.
When asked what would help, 21% said more time for strategic work and 18% said they wanted leaders to back their initiatives properly.
Budget constraints and lack of leadership support remained the main barriers to acting on employee feedback.
Harvey said: “These results really shift the conversation. HR teams very clearly feel that the strongest driver of wellbeing isn’t a programme, platform or perk – it’s people.
“Specifically, the relationship employees have with their manager.
“This reinforces a growing truth that wellbeing lives in day-to-day interactions, and if managers have that much influence over wellbeing, then consistent, honest feedback becomes essential.”
She added: “Surveys shouldn’t just measure engagement – they should help managers understand the impact they’re having day to day and where they need to adjust.
“Without that visibility, organisations are guessing at the health of their teams.”
