HR managers, are experiencing higher levels of stress than pre Covid. They are being tasked with jobs they haven’t faced before. HR managers are being thrust into a ‘parenting’ role for organisations. Staff are increasingly turning to HR to manage their anxieties regarding social distancing, sanitation and hygiene. Interpersonal relationships at work are becoming fraught with people practising varying levels of hygiene protocols, for example with some staff being more vigilant about practising protocols and others with a more nonchalant attitude. This clash of values is adding pressure to an already fraught environment, which HR is called upon to manage.
Increased stressors for HR are coming from having to ensure staff are safe. HR need to implement an unfamiliar set of rules in an ever changing workplace. These include social distancing and hygiene protocols, policing and managing staff reactions to new measures being implemented. HR managers are also being expected to manage rapidly changing landscapes at work such as working remotely themselves and managing new roles in a pared down working environment. In addition there is the very real threat of HR managers being concerned for their own job security.
The duality of an HR manager is that they are both seen as the one to ensure safety measures are in place and they now have the added duress of putting staff on furlough or even worse, retrenching staff.
If you are in HR and experiencing these difficulties, recognize when you are becoming overwhelmed. I am available for online therapy consultations https://www.louisaniehaus.com/
If you are in a working environment where you find you are experiencing higher than usual levels of stress, seek therapeutic help outside of your HR department
We are all having to adapt rapidly to a changing world and it’s important to take responsibility for your welfare by acknowledging when you aren’t coping.