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Three in five HR professionals consider leaving jobs due to workload, IRIS finds

Nearly half (46%) worked longer hours than contracted, while 45% felt overwhelmed. 

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Three in five HR professionals consider leaving jobs due to workload, IRIS finds
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IRIS Software Group reported that three in five (62%) HR professionals had seriously considered leaving their role or reducing responsibilities over the past year, with high workloads, inefficient systems and lack of senior support driving the pressure. 

Nearly half (46%) worked longer hours than contracted, while 45% felt overwhelmed. 

Almost half a working day (3.4 hours) was lost each week to poorly integrated systems, and only 28% had a fully or largely integrated HR platform. 

Most relied on a patchwork of systems and spreadsheets (34%) or manual processes only (24%).

Stephanie Coward, managing director, HCM at IRIS Software Group, said: “HR teams are being asked to do more than ever, from managing wellbeing and supporting hybrid working to staying on top of compliance. 

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“But many are doing it with systems that create more work rather than less. 

“When you’re losing half a day every week just to system inefficiencies, something has to give.”

Coward added: “What’s striking is that this isn’t about unrealistic expectations. 

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“HR professionals aren’t asking for the impossible, they’re asking for technology that works properly, integrates smoothly, and gives them back the time to do the people-focused parts of their job well. 

“That’s a reasonable ask, and it’s one organisations need to take seriously.”

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Among HR professionals who considered leaving, 85% said that better HR technology would have made them more likely to stay. 

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The main challenges with current systems included downtime (33%), missing features (30%) and poor integration (30%). 

42% said better technology that automated routine tasks would have made the biggest difference, followed by more budget for HR tools (35%) and better integration between existing systems (34%).

75% felt supported, but 19% said senior leadership did not understand the demands on HR. 

Among those, 44% said senior leaders overlooked the emotional labour involved, 43% cited the impact of being caught between leadership and employee needs, and 38% pointed to administrative burden and system limitations.

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Coward said: “The organisations that will retain their HR talent are those that take a hard look at whether their technology is genuinely supporting their people or just adding to the administrative burden. 

“With half of HR professionals expecting their workload to increase over the next 12 months, and nearly two thirds having already considered leaving, this isn’t something that can wait.”

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