The State of the People Profession: Supporting the Supporters — A Reflection by Sarah Venables
Sasi Venables, Founder of The HR Confidence Club, shares a powerful reflection on the emotional weight of HR work. From chronic stress to compassion fatigue, she calls for greater awareness and action to prevent burnout across the profession.
As part of our State of the People Profession 2025 report, we invited leading voices in HR to share their reflections on the current state of the profession—what’s working, what’s worrying, and where we go next.
Our State of the People Profession 2025 report surfaces powerful insights—not just about strategy and influence, but about the lived experience of those working in HR today.
In this blog, Sasi Venables, Consultant and Founder of The HR Confidence Club, reflects on the deep emotional labour of the people profession. From the toll of compassion fatigue to the rise in chronic stress, Sasi shares her perspective on how organisations—and individuals—can start doing more to protect wellbeing.
The profession continues to prove that it is strategic, commercial, adaptable and is able to add tremendous value to companies. The ability to operate proactively in this manner is where confidence is built. Therefore, it is pleasing to see statistics are up by 16.7%, in relation to HR having a dedicated Executive on the Board.
The range of skills and knowledge required and expected is vast, the majority of which could be deemed to be specialist in and of themselves, and yet, we adapt at a moments’ notice to be the specialist in the room, sometimes in highly unusual situations. With the pace of change of technology, changing legislation, changing stakeholder needs, and the need for psychological/neuroscience knowledge, is it not surprising HR professionals are struggling with chronic stress, self-doubt and a lack of confidence.
With the work I do, it is not surprising that 59.8% are operating in a range of ‘sometimes to always struggling to find the energy to face the work day’, equally it does not surprise me that compassion fatigue may well be playing out within our profession, with withdrawal, extreme tiredness, and mental and physical exertion.
I believe chronic stress and burnout are preventable, through awareness of the early signs and willingness to take action by:
- Recognising the signs in the organisation and in yourself
- Responsibility of self and others for our own care, lets advocate more
- Remembering employers have a duty of care to safeguard against harm, to provide protection for Health and Safety and Welfare. Case law is rising around stress, mental health, psychological safety,.
So, let’s ask more often, are we doing all that is reasonably practicable in it’s prevention?
Sasi’s reflection is a timely reminder that behind the strategic progress of HR lies a profession that often pushes through exhaustion in service of others.
Yes, the profession is stepping up. But that doesn’t mean we should step over our own needs. Psychological safety, wellbeing, and the prevention of burnout must be central to the future of people practice—not an afterthought.