How HR can look after their own mental health: Guide for people professionals

We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Both change throughout our lives, and like our bodies, our minds can become unwell. The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes mental health as “a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”.  

According to Mind, every year one in four of us will experience a mental health problem. Anyone can experience poor mental health – including people professionals. A 2023 survey of people professionals found that nearly half of respondents said that they had experienced stress or poor mental health as a result of their work. Another CIPD survey in 2022 found that around three in ten respondents said that work negatively impacted both their physical and mental health.  

Stress is defined by the HSE as the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other demands placed upon them at work.  

Burnout is a term that is sometimes used alongside wellbeing and mental health. Burnout is more than being tired or exhausted. According to the WHO, it is a work-related syndrome that results from ‘chronic workplace stress’ that has not been managed or addressed; it leads to exhaustion and energy depletion, reduced professional efficacy and increased mental distance from work. Burnout is another risk for people professionals if they are exposed to ongoing, unmanaged stress at work.  

People professionals often have responsibility for employee health and wellbeing in their organisations. They may even be tackling issues like stress or burnout within the workforce. However, they may also experience mental health challenges themselves.  

It is important that people professionals are aware of the potential for their work to influence their wellbeing and take steps to minimise the risk of their work negatively impacting mental health and wellbeing. A failure to do so may lead to absence from work, retention issues or people leaving the profession altogether. Conversely, being aware of what keeps you well mentally and putting in place basic self-care steps can help you to avoid stress and poor health. 

The CIPD has a factsheet that provides additional information on mental health in the workplace.  

The IGLOo model can be useful here to outline the role that wider organisational context as well as individual feeling plays in wellbeing and resilience. This model, developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield and Affinity Health at Work, is covered in the CIPD’s guide on managing long-term health conditions but can equally be used to explore the wellbeing and resilience of people professionals.

Along with the challenges already discussed, HR work has a strong emotional component. People professionals have to manage their own emotions and feelings whilst dealing with potentially strong employee emotions during difficult workplace situations. Sometimes, they may also be directly affected by the same issues as employees, such as during organisational change. Despite this, there is a requirement to be professional, independent, and confidential. This is known as a form of ‘emotional labour’, where people professionals must manage or suppress their own feelings to undertake their work or to act as expected within their role. Research has found that emotional labour was positively correlated with emotional exhaustion, physical and mental health, and anxiety. This can in turn lead to job burnout. It can also impact negatively upon job satisfaction.  

Further, it can be the jobs with the most sense of purpose and emotional investment that can carry a heightened risk of stress. This can easily apply to people professionals who typically have a high level of commitment to their role and a sense of responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the wider workforce. It’s worth remembering that compassion and kindness need to start with self-care and concern for our own wellbeing before being able to support others. 

The confidential nature of HR work may also mean that people professionals, especially those in smaller teams, feel that they do not have anyone to talk to about their own feelings and challenges. Similarly, the desire to be seen as a credible people professional can act as a barrier to seeking support or telling colleagues or a manager about difficulties or the impact on mental health.  

Within the profession, it is important to acknowledge the inherent challenges that exist within HR work and their potential impact on individuals and ensure that there is no stigma in seeking support.  

These recommendations are fundamental elements in maintaining health and wellbeing. Although the advice here applies to everyone and not just people professionals, these general wellbeing techniques can be of benefit to HR, helping to develop resilience and good mental health: 

• Exercise. Being active is often described as a natural mood booster. Exercise has been found to reduce the likelihood of developing some health conditions. It can also improve mental health, and reduce the risk of stress and depression. 
• Sleep. Good sleep plays an important role in physical and mental health. Having good sleep habits, such as keeping to a regular time for going to bed and getting up, as well as avoiding blue light from devices, can help to improve sleep quality. 
• Rest, relaxation and recovery. Rest and recovery are about more than getting good sleep. Getting enough rest can help reduce anxiety and stress, improve mood, and enable recovery from work. This includes psychologically detaching from work. Recovery can be internal (short breaks during the working day) or external (longer periods of rest like holidays and weekends or undertaking activities that you enjoy). We need a mix of both internal and external recovery for good health.
• Nutrition and hydration. Eating a healthy, varied diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is essential for good health. Effective hydration also supports overall health, as well as concentration and performance.  

According to research by the New Economics Foundation, individual wellbeing is also enabled by being mindful (taking notice of good things in our lives), engaging with personal learning and development, giving back (doing things for others or the wider community) and connecting with family and friends. 

Having a good understanding of your own health and wellbeing, as well as what influences it positively or negatively, can act as a preventative technique, making it possible to take steps to prevent stress or poor mental health arising. This might include reflecting on those aspects of your HR work that you find most challenging for your mental health. It is also important for people professionals to understand their personal signs or symptoms that they are experiencing as stress so that they can make early interventions should these be noticed. 

Boundaries are related to ideas about work-life balance. The term refers to systems or strategies put in place to effectively manage the lines between the work and non-work aspects of our lives. Boundary management techniques can include personal rules around working hours, switching off from work devices and notifications or creating separate spaces for work in the home for remote or hybrid workers. Everyone will have and need different boundaries to help them be at their best.  

Time with peers or work colleagues, especially when they understand the challenges of the work that you do, can be an important source of wellbeing support. Sharing experiences and engaging in peer-to-peer conversations can help people professionals to feel understood and boost wellbeing whilst reducing feelings of isolation. People professionals have opportunities to engage with their peers through CIPD Communities and the Branch network.

As well as the valuable help that can be obtained from colleagues or peers, people professionals may also require more formal mechanisms of support, such as Occupational Health or an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). People professionals may feel reluctant to engage with these services, especially if they are involved in their implementation or management – but it is important to remember that HR are employees too, and these services are confidential and can provide valuable support and guidance in the event of poor mental health. CIPD members can access a 24/7 helpline.

Research has identified some techniques that people professionals have successfully used to help them manage the emotional impact of this work: 

• Sharing your experience or emotions with others, such as colleagues or a trusted friend (within the boundaries of confidentiality and data protection).
• Taking a short break after challenging or emotional meetings to process feelings and decompress. 
• Engaging with relevant training, development activities or information on emotional regulation, which can build skills in dealing with difficult situations, and seeking out the support of a mentor.

Senior HR leaders can also play an important role in supporting their teams during such work. Regularly checking in with their team, encouraging them to seek support or engage with proactive wellbeing activities, and providing a safe and confidential space for discussing difficult issues and sharing experiences can all support HR wellbeing and mental health. They could also consider providing wellbeing interventions specifically dedicated to people professionals, especially in situations like restructuring or redundancy where it might be difficult for HR to attend alongside other employees.  

Senior HR leaders can help set the tone in their teams and act as a positive role model; sharing their own techniques and experiences can also be valuable for their teams. These activities can help to ensure that there is a culture of openness within HR, where team members feel comfortable in sharing and seeking support.

It is also important to know when to say no, or step back. From time to time, employees or even managers may have unrealistic expectations about the role of a people professional. This can take many forms such as expecting immediate resolution of complex issues, assuming availability outside of working hours, or requiring personal support beyond the scope of HR responsibilities. Saying no, re-setting expectations, or recognising when a request is inappropriate and addressing this is a form of boundary setting that can support mental health – as well as maintain professional integrity.

It is often the case that people professionals take work home – either physically by working long hours, or psychologically by thinking or worrying about work. Taking work home can increase the chance of stress and burnout by interrupting leisure and recovery time. The DRAMMA model, developed by Newman and colleagues in 2014 from a review of over 300 studies, is a model which explains six key factors to integrate into leisure time to most effectively rebuild physical and psychological resource and facilitate recovery.  

Consider increasing or focusing on each of the following in your breaks and in your leisure time: 

• D: Detachment: This refers to the need to switch off from work-related thoughts and tasks during leisure time. What do you do in your leisure time that absorbs you and stops you thinking about work? What are your distraction activities? It could be high energy activities such as running or mountain biking or more low energy activities like reading, playing a game, or watching a boxset. The key is to engage in those activities where you can’t think about work.
• R: Relaxation: This refers to the need to engage in activities that help you to unwind. Evidence highlights the importance of getting out into nature for this, and doing activities that you wouldn’t do at work (and therefore using different resources - called the compensation theory). This might be walking the dog or staying away from a screen.
• A: Autonomy: This refers to the need for ‘me time’. Think about ‘doing your own thing’ in your leisure time and engaging in activities that you choose and want to do. So often leisure time is taken up by fulfilling the needs of others or by ‘shoulds and musts’ like chores, but the evidence shows that for the best recovery, we need to balance this with what we want to do.
• M: Mastery: This refers to the importance of gaining a sense of proficiency and competence in our leisure time. Think about engaging in activities where you experience a sense of challenge, where you are building skills and where you need to use effort and motivation. It could be a cognitive challenge such as mastering a new recipe, completing a crossword or learning a new language, or a physical challenge such as going for a personal best in a workout or doing a step challenge. Evidence shows that so-called ‘serious leisure’ can increase life satisfaction and reduce exhaustion. 
• M: Meaning: This refers to engaging in leisure activities that feel valuable and significant and have a sense of purpose. Think about what is important to you and your values and integrating this into your leisure time. It could be volunteering, engaging in community activities, experiencing culture, or engaging in spiritual or religious activity. Meaningful leisure activities have been shown to be a vital component of sustained wellbeing. 
• A: Affiliation: All the other key factors for successful recovery in leisure time can be solitary but the final factor is about engaging in social activity to feel close and emotionally connected to people. This doesn’t have to involve the deep social connections from friends and family but could be from a team sport, or social bonding in a game of bingo (latterly adding ‘play’ to the mix has been shown to be particularly beneficial to recovery). 

• Recognise that, even though you work in HR and may have responsibility for delivering change programmes or complex situations, your health may be influenced by these activities as an employee too. 
• Take some time to reflect on your personal wellbeing – what do you believe influences it positively or negatively? What are the noticeable signs that you are experiencing poor wellbeing or mental health?  What signs might others notice that you can highlight to them? Consider what will help you to maintain good mental health at work. 
• Set aside time for self-care on a daily or weekly basis. Identify some simple activities or steps that support you being your best self and build these into your routine – making them non-negotiable. 
• When dealing with challenging situations like redundancy programmes or bullying and harassment, take additional steps to take care of your health and wellbeing. This could include taking some of the steps outlined in this guidance or other steps that will support your personal resilience. These may be personal actions or ones for which you need organisational involvement or support.
• You don’t need to look after yourself alone. Use the IGLOo model to think about what support and resources you can get from your colleagues, your manager and your organisation to better support you going forward.   
• Consider what boundaries would be helpful for you to set and maintain to ensure a healthy work-life balance. Put these in place, communicating them to others where necessary. When setting boundaries, consider whether any specific boundaries need to be set in relation to digital technologies to support switching off and psychological detachment from work. 
• Connect with other people in the HR profession. This might include colleagues in your own organisation or the broader HR community. Good working relationships can support wellbeing – but the ability to discuss the particular demands of HR work and share experiences and strategies can specifically benefit people professionals. 
• Consider whether you would find an HR mentor helpful; this could be a more experienced people professional who has themselves successfully managed challenging aspects of HR work and can share their experiences and techniques. 
• If you experience mental health symptoms or identify signs of reduced wellbeing, stress or burnout, take early action by seeking appropriate support or discussing these with your manager or colleagues. Use the DRAMMA model to really ensure that you gain the most benefit from your leisure time and better protect your wellbeing. 

• If you are experiencing severe mental health symptoms, contact your GP or doctor, attend Accident and Emergency at your local hospital, or, in an emergency, call an ambulance.
• CIPD members can find information on the support available on the CIPD website.
• Mind Charity has a range of information, guides and resources on wellbeing and mental health. 
• CIPD Communities: a place to engage with and learn from other HR professionals.
• CIPD branch network: a UK-wide network for the people profession – every branch offers activities, learning events, updates, insights and peer support.
• CIPD guide on managing employee mental health: Supporting Mental Health at Work
• CIPD thought leadership article: How do people professionals support their own wellbeing?
• CIPD/Simplyhealth report: Health and wellbeing at work
• CIPD report: People Profession 2023: International survey report
• Harvard Business Review: Resilience is about how you recharge not how you endure.  

This guide was written by Gemma Dale, Senior lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University, with input from Dr Rachel Lewis, Managing Partner at Affinity Health at Work and Reader at Birkbeck, University of London.