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HR Burnout Crisis: Why Overworked Professionals Are Ready to Quit

The 2025 HR Mental Wellbeing Report exposes a mental health crisis among HR professionals, revealing high rates of burnout, depression, and anxiety due to relentless workloads and minimal support. Despite being responsible for employee wellbeing, HR professionals feel undervalued, emotionally exhausted, and increasingly isolated, with many considering leaving the profession altogether.

This article was written by Liam Soutar and published in HR Grapevine.

The HR Mental Wellbeing Report 2025, released by Towergate Employee Benefits and Ultimate Resilience, is based on responses from over 1,400 HR professionals across the UK. It paints a sobering picture of a profession under extreme strain, with many practitioners describing a relentless workload, emotional exhaustion, and the fear that they can no longer be the “steady hands” others rely on.

“A silent crisis is unfolding”, the report warns.

According to the findings, 87% of HR professionals said they do not feel sufficiently supported at work, while 63% said they were “very likely” experiencing burnout. A further 15% reported being at risk of burnout, bringing the total proportion of affected respondents to a staggering 78%.

A profession under pressure

Demands on HR have surged in recent years, with rising expectations around culture, wellbeing, restructures, and crisis response, often without any corresponding increase in resources or support. Ninety-one percent of HR teams reported increases in workload and hours, and nearly all HR leaders (95%) said their responsibilities had expanded.

This pressure is taking a severe toll. Forty-four percent of HR professionals surveyed met the criteria for clinically significant symptoms of depression – nearly three times the rate in the general population.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) reported symptoms of low mood and depression, while 75% showed signs of anxiety, with 38% experiencing anxiety severe enough to be classed as clinically significant.

Dr Felicity Baker and Dr Jo Burrell, clinical psychologists and co-founders of Ultimate Resilience, described the findings as a “wake-up call” for employers.

“What was once a demanding role has now become unrelenting,” they wrote in the report’s introduction. “We’ve seen the warning signs: a surge in HR professionals seeking supervision and support, often when they’re at breaking point.

“Many speak of exhaustion, isolation and the fear they can no longer be the steady hands others rely on.”

Emotional labour, unrecognised and unrewarded

One of the most striking elements of the report is the emotional isolation felt by those in HR. Many respondents spoke of “compassion fatigue” – the exhaustion that comes from offering support without receiving any in return.

“We hope that this report will lead to more support for the 87% of HR professionals who feel it is lacking and who are the backbone of support for all other employees in a business,” said Debra Clark, Head of Wellbeing at Towergate Employee Benefits.

“It must not be a one-way approach, and businesses must make sure that the HR function can continue to do just that – function.”

Fifty percent of respondents cited excessive workload as one of their top sources of stress. Poor management (41%) and lack of support (29%) also featured prominently. Many HR professionals described feeling undervalued, excluded from key decisions, or treated as an afterthought in organisational planning.

“Decisions are made at the top without consulting HR,” one respondent said. “Then we’re left to clean up the mess.”

“I work 50+ hours a week just to stay afloat,” said another. “There’s no room to breathe.”

“I feel completely alone. There’s no one” read another response.

Burnout and breakdown

Alongside high rates of emotional distress, the report highlights a more visible and measurable impact: HR attrition. Forty-two percent of HR professionals said they were considering leaving the profession. A quarter had taken time off work due to stress or other mental wellbeing challenges in the past year.

The data also reveals: