HR Can’t Be Everything: The True Cost of Overstretching People Teams
We’re pretty very good at spotting burnout in other people - it’s a core part of our job. The tell tale signs: exhaustion, disengagement, that “out of the blue” resignation letter.
But sadly, HR people are burning out at a rate higher than ever before.
A recent study reported that 64% of HR professionals say they’re working beyond their limits. They’re not just stressed, that’s pretty normal, now they’re saying they feel out of their depth. And part of the pressure is that there’s always something new to learn. Employment legislation changes every few months at the moment, and there’s more coming (see the roadmap here). Each time we open our emails there’s a case law shifting how we interpret policies, and workplace trends move faster than ever.
On top of that, HR is expected to know the detail on everything from payroll systems to wellbeing strategies to DEI frameworks. No one person can hold all that knowledge perfectly, but the expectation is still there.
The Double-Edged Sword of Being a Generalist
Being a generalist can feel like both the best and worst job in the world.
On the plus side:
You learn fast. From ER to payroll to L&D, no two days look the same.
You get breadth. A generalist understands the whole employee lifecycle, not just a slice of it, so you really are a one stop shop for managers.
You’re adaptable. That “can-do” mindset makes you resourceful and solution-focused.
But here’s the flip side:
You’re spread too thin. One minute you’re advising on redundancy, the next you’re chasing a supplier for uniforms.
Depth gets sacrificed. It’s hard to build real expertise when you’re constantly context-switching.
Burnout risk is high. Being “the person for everything” means you rarely get to switch off.
And that’s where the danger lies: generalists are often so valuable because they can turn their hand to anything. But without boundaries, that same strength turns into a weakness… and a one-way ticket to burnout.
The signs of HR burnout
For me, I know it’s happening when I feel myself getting less empathetic. Instead of leaning in with curiosity, I catch myself thinking “not another issue” when someone asks for a catch up. And that’s not who I am!
For others, it shows up in different ways. Sometimes it’s the constant sense of firefighting, always reacting and never creating space for the proactive, strategic work that we actually want to do. Other times it’s decision fatigue, the feeling that every query, even the small ones, is just one too many. Burnout can also creep in as detachment: you start to feel emotionally drained, or even a little numb, in situations where you’d normally be supportive and energised. And often, there’s a quiet erosion of confidence too, second-guessing yourself because you’re juggling so many competing demands.
It’s not just mental or emotional, either. Many HR people feel the physical side of burnout: long days, poor sleep, running on fumes. The cruel irony is that HR is supposed to role-model wellbeing for everyone else, so when we’re struggling, we often hide it. We keep smiling, keep being “available,” until the cracks start to show. By the time you admit you’re running on empty, you’ve usually been there for a while.
That’s why paying attention to these early warning signs matters. Burnout doesn’t arrive all at once, it seeps in, slowly stripping away the very things that make HR effective: empathy, energy, confidence and clarity.
So what can we do?
It’s not all doom and gloom. The answer isn’t for HR to simply “work harder” or “be more resilient.” The answer is for organisations, and HR itself, to get much clearer about what we’re really here to do.
⭐ Know your value. The biggest impact HR has is through strategy: inclusion, leadership, retention, learning. These are the areas that genuinely shift organisations. When we focus here, HR moves from support to growth.
⭐ Draw boundaries. Line managers need to manage. HR can guide, coach, and support, but we can’t take their responsibilities for them. When managers lean too heavily on HR, both sides lose: managers don’t build capability, and HR drowns in tasks that aren’t ours to own.
⭐ Stop being “experts in everything.” Payroll, legal, wellbeing — there are specialists for a reason. Trying to carry it all ourselves just creates mistakes and exhaustion. Calling in the right expertise isn’t weakness, it’s confidence. It signals to staff and leaders that things are being handled properly, by the people best equipped to do so.
⭐ Invest in HR capability. If you want strategic HR, resource it like strategic HR. One person cannot be the strategist, therapist, admin assistant, and lawyer all rolled into one. Without investment in training, coaching, systems, and headcount, you don’t get a strategic people function, you get an exhausted one.
Burnout isn’t inevitable, but without boundaries and investment it’s almost guaranteed. HR works best when we’re focused on the work that really matters, supported by managers who manage, and specialists who specialise.
