HR Needs HR ~ Why Human Resource Professionals Need Support Too - EP #31

HR professionals spend so much time supporting others that they often forget to support themselves. 

In Episode 31 of The Designers of Change Podcast, we explore an important and often overlooked conversation
 HR Needs HR. 

Behind every policy, difficult conversation, workplace investigation, restructuring exercise, and employee wellness initiative is a human being carrying emotional pressure too. 

This episode highlights the mental, emotional, and professional challenges HR professionals face and why organizations must create healthier systems to support the people responsible for managing people. 

In this episode we discuss 

• The hidden emotional weight carried by HR professionals
 • Burnout, stress, and compassion fatigue in Human Resources
 • Why HR leaders also need support and safe spaces
 • Managing workplace pressure and expectations
 • Boundaries and emotional resilience in HR
 • Supporting workplace culture while protecting your own well being
 • Why healthy organizations require healthy HR teams
 • The future of people centered leadership and workplace care 

HR is not just about policies and procedures. HR is human. 

Whether you work in Human Resources, leadership, management, or organizational development, this conversation will challenge how you think about employee wellness and workplace support. 

Watch now and join the conversation. 

Like, subscribe, and share with an HR professional who needs this reminder. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Coming up on this episode of the Designers of Change podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

You are fighting a battle that only you know about because the position that you are in, confidentiality is so high that you cannot discuss certain things outside of your office, outside of certain rooms. And so that is why HR ends up suffering in silence. Welcome to the Designers of Change podcast. We are so excited that you are sharing with us. Well, at least we're spending the time together, right? As we discuss, does HR need HR? We're on episode 31 and we wanted to just touch base because I heard, you know, among my colleagues in the human resource field that we ourselves may be needing our very own HR representatives. So, you know, when I coined this topic, I know Jamar said, boy Nas, this one is excellent. But I I highly doubt he understands why I said this needs to be addressed.

SPEAKER_04 1:12

Yeah, I know, I know um HR is your fear, and so when I saw it in the for the for the production, I was like, HR need HR. And so it pique my interest. No, I wanted to tell me why does HR professional needs HR support? Because you are HR is like a Max in a doctor. Why?

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Why do you need a doctor?

SPEAKER_04 1:37

Why a doctor needs a doctor? So why does HR need?

SPEAKER_00 1:42

I think you pretty much answered the question a while ago when you said, Why does a doctor need a doctor? Because the doctor is a human being as well. And what I find is that any HR role, if not all, is so taxing, not just on the body, but the mind. Having to deal with the issues, the full onboarding. It's not just onboarding and offboarding and you know, all these different things, um, staff engagement and dealing with um, you know, employment contracts and you know, staff issues, but it's the full life cycle of any staff member. We are human beings. And I think yesterday and the day before we've been having conversations, and I keep positing to you that human beings are complex.

SPEAKER_04 2:32

Yes, we are very complex.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

We are complex. No, we're not dealing with animals, we're dealing with adults from varying backgrounds, you know, varying ways of living, have different dreams, different personalities, and they're all trying to fit in a particular space to make a common dream happen. Now, sometimes, if not most of the times, it's tumultuous for a lot of work environments. Now, what does this mean for HR? HR is the middle person, HR is the one who has to ensure that the message that management wants to send it is reaching the staff. And the issues the staff are facing that it needs to get to management. Do you understand what's happening? So the pressure is coming from both ends, and sometimes it takes so much out of that one or two individuals who may even have a large staff count to deal with all the varying demands around them. So that's why I said HR needs HR. The doctor needs a doctor because sometimes the work stress gets so much that even HR ends up being burnt out.

SPEAKER_04 3:50

I need you to talk to talk to the audience for those who are in HR, for those organizations listening, for those leaders who are listening. Take us through the burden that HR has to go through with dealing with the complexity of us human beings. Because as you say earlier, people are very complex and you have all of that burden. So take us through what are some of the burden that HR will face.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

Alright, I can share a very simple um matter or issue with you. Let's say, for example, that there is a particular staff member that the supervisor has brought up to be reprimanded, right? For whatever for whatever uh reason. Now, you as HR, you may actually know personally what is happening in the individual's life. Now, of course, this is confidential, so it can't be shared with you know others. However, you know. And so you are you're usually in a dilemma as to to carry out this person's suggestions, recommendation, sorry, versus what you know is happening in the individual's life. Sometimes it's so hard to get to a middle point or to find to do the right thing when you are aware of all the different perspectives. And so what it does, it leaves with uh an emotional burden. Do you understand? Right? When there are certain tasks or things that need to be done, however, you as HR, you understand what is happening on the back end. Emotional burden as well, because you have to be carrying the weight of you know, departments not functioning, you know, staff making demands that the companies can't meet, right? Usually HR is the one that takes the backlash for almost everything that goes wrong. Do you know? And and you know, maybe the salary can't be increased, right? Maybe the promotions can't be uh executed. Whatever the case is, HR usually feels the full impact of those things not happening, and so it causes an emotional burden, especially for an individual who wants to produce what is limited.

SPEAKER_04 6:18

I'm I'm sitting on the on the card where it's as compassionate fatigue. It's the first time I'm you're yes, and you you wrote that HR faces compassionate burnt out. Explain to us what is compassionate burnout for HR. What does that entail?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

I'm happy you saw that and that also piqued your interest. Again, HR usually knows more than sometimes even somebody's manager or supervisor does. Why? Because HR is sometimes a safe space for a lot of employees, and I know people like to say, oh, you know, HR is for the company, not for the staff. That's not in my rule book because it has to be balanced, right? It can't just be that you are solely for the company because the staff welfare is also quite vital to the company's existence, right? And growth. Now, because you know about their personal issues, issues that they're having at work, you have to show a level of empathy, sympathy. You are required to look at, you know, um, is this going to affect the well-being of the staff? What about, you know, staff engagement? Are the people happy to be here? At some point in time, you get to a point where having compassion for so many persons, but still having to do what is right for the company, it is hard. Yeah. So again, it's that gray area right there where you have a task to carry out, but at the same time, you know the implication that it will have on stop. It is very difficult to balance and it can cause you psychological consequences.

SPEAKER_04 8:16

Well, that that that that is a lot um for HR to deal with. I mean, in terms of us, you know, the the baggage that we carry. And the thing is that when we get to our workplace in the morning, we don't lift, we don't left our baggage. Because even though human beings might be compartmentalized, some of us we still carry our baggage. Well, most of us, majority of us, we still take that baggage with us to work. Now you mentioned something you say a lot of HR HR professionals, they suffer in silence. Is it because of they suffer from compassionate fatigue or just burnout?

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Um, I mean it's a mixture of both. And it's also because half of what you're dealing with is confidential. You can't you can't say anything. You can't say that you're under pressure by the CEO, and at the same time, you're under pressure because the staff believe that you're not doing your work. When that may not be true, it's just that you are limited, whether you have limited resources in terms of um time, um, funding, or it may be limited in terms of people. Maybe you just can't act. But either way, you are fighting a battle that only you know about because the position that you are in, confidentiality is so high that you cannot discuss certain things outside of your office, outside of certain rooms. And so that is why HR ends up suffering in silence. And even if you were to mention something to another HR colleague or somebody in the profession, you would still have to be speaking in codes because HR professionals would have to sign confidentiality clauses. Yes, yeah, right? It's it's tied to their jobs, and again, a very sensitive, sensitive post. So the silence comes with it.

SPEAKER_04 10:16

No, it and and so when I think about HR, they are like the corporate therap therapist. Therapist. Yeah. So when when when individuals come to work, they are given a level of um therapy in the workplace, but it's from a corporate standpoint. And so they they go through that baggage of you know getting a lot of um, it's like people dumping their baggage to come to work with all of their problems and adds to the compassionate burnout.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

So imagine, for example, being a HR consultant, when you have companies who will commission my services, a lot of times you have to go through a period where you're collecting data, you're collecting information, you're in meetings all day long. I cannot explain to you the level of fatigue, tiredness that is felt at the end of the day. Having to go through all of the person's resentment and you know, issues they're having on the job, and with that manager, that supervisor, that colleague, what are some of the conflicts and how do we resolve them? They're exhausting. It can be very exhausting. And so, again, we you know um that's why HR suffers in silence. These things cannot be uttered, they cannot be mentioned, and let me mention something else. HR suffers in silence also because HR is often misunderstood. No one understands the cards that you are given to play with, and so people will think that you in that role, you have full autonomy to do what you need to do, and everybody's understanding and everybody's all for this policy when really and truly your back is against the wall. So that misunderstanding part also forces these professionals to remain silent.

SPEAKER_04 12:14

Yeah, I think when when we think when we when we hear of when we think of HR, our limited mindset of what HR does, we think HR is just for our leave.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Our leave. There's paper pushers, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:28

Paper pushers getting our shirt or branded corporate shirt and to increase our pay or something. Can you imagine promotion?

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Can you imagine?

SPEAKER_04 12:36

But when you look at it from a deeper perspective, you like you're like the the the workplace therapist, and you have to be dealing from both ends of the spectrum because you are like you're sm you are in the middle of the organization, and an organization is is people because without people there is no such thing as an organization, and the most difficult part of an organization is people. How do we lead people? How do we manage it?

SPEAKER_00 13:07

It's the toughest part, it is the toughest part, and so you know, HR has to have proper boundaries in place, and when I say boundaries, I'm not necessarily talking about oh, you know, during this one hour I don't take meetings and so on. That's it, that's pretty soft work, that's light work. I'm talking about ensuring that not eight o'clock in the night when you really should be resting and winding down, that's when you are on the phone for two hours dealing with staff issues all the time. So you're never resting. On the weekend, you're going through emails because again, if we have already established that compassion, fatigue exists, and burnout exists, then that means you need your you time, you need time to rest. Yes, and you have to be firm about those burn boundaries because if not, it's going to cost you so much more than your job.

SPEAKER_04 14:04

Yeah. And you also write that HR needs to establish boundaries. And you mentioned that that every all of us we need boundaries. And the thing is about HR is that people within the organization they'll come and if there's no boundary, they will take and take and take. You also said HR need mentorship and support.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Yeah, man. You have to have somebody in the field that you reach out to. You know, you know, during your your your season of working as a HR professional, at every interval, you have to have somebody that you can call to say, hey, how do you deal with a matter where X is happening and that is happening? To get to have the person understand the context and then to know what labor laws apply, to know whatever policy applies, to know where to go to look for, you know, maybe they need to go do some research. But you know, you need varying perspectives because again, um, you don't know everything. Yeah, no, and you need guidance, yeah. And there's always another level for you to unlock. And so, mentorship, you know, with us, we always talk about mentorship and support and so on. It's it is absolutely necessary for you to understand how to even deal with you having boundaries. You need sometimes you need somebody more mature to say, hey, go take a break. Yes, take your lunchtime and stop sitting at your decks and eating because it is literally destroying your mental health.

SPEAKER_04 15:38

Yeah, that's so um good because HR needs mentorship from other HR person as well. All of us need mentorship because mentorship is actually the shortcut, mentorship to our success, mentorship also helps us to learn from our failure, mentorship also helps us to prevent the pitfall that we have gone through happening in your life, yes. So you need mentorship no matter where you are in HR, you need mentorship, you need mentorship. You also said HR needs wellness resources, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Of course, of course, because for the work that you are doing, for the work that I am doing, we cannot be living like everybody else. If you are pouring into everybody's cup, it means that you need to be refreshed at all times. All right, so you are going to have to ensure not only that you're implementing wellness policies and you have things that staff can access so that they can replenish themselves, they can take care of themselves, but also what about you? Are you accessing those things as well so that you can show up for your employees, for your CEO, or whatever the case is, because your job is highly dependent on, so it's so important, and I think you know, you know, as I as we expound on this HR and HR and we're wrapping up, I cannot stress enough that organizations need to understand that if you don't pour into your HR supportive roles, they won't be able to be effective.

SPEAKER_04 17:24

I like that.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

So if it is that you expect HR to produce X, it means that when HR comes to you and says, hey, this is what we need right now to be able to help you. I am an HR manager, and let's say that I we are servicing 200 staff members and I only have two teammates, that's three persons for 200 people. That means each person has how many persons they have to deal with. Oh, almost 60, yeah, 60 odd persons each. That is going to be ridiculous. So when that HR manager shows up and says, Hey, I need additional persons on board to help you know carry out the mandate of this company, you don't throw it aside because you know that you need that team to work so that staff are engaged, staff are present, staff are feeling fulfilled while they're on the job because at the end of the day, that matters to the bottom line, and HR needs safe spaces. Yeah, cannot say this enough. I think over a period of time, people have resolved HR to a paper pusher position and nothing more. And in the 21st century, the role of HR has changed drastically. HR are literally, I say it all the time, they are the corporate alchemists, they're the ones who come in as coach, mentors, they're the ones, they're the career guides, they're the ones who are helping your team to get more equipped so they that they can do a better job. They're the ones who are actually asking people to stay when they want to leave. It's so important for us to understand that HR is a very strategic and vital role to the lifeline, to the bloodline of every organization. So HR needs HR, HR needs boundary, HR needs support because it's very important.

SPEAKER_04 19:26

Yeah, I like that because as as we said before, we have done so many corporate training over the last 13 years, and what we can tell you is that majority of the problems, well, we can say all of the problems that we go into an organization to solve, it is all about people.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Always.

SPEAKER_04 19:48

How do we lead people? Always, how do we create something better for the people? How do we deal with difficult people? And so it's all about people because if if the if you don't have the the culture, the right culture for the organization, and if you don't have the right support for your people within that organization, then you are going to lose your brightest staff, your most productive staff because we know in every organization 80 20% the pirate principle that 20% of your staff is producing 80% of your work across any organization. Yes. So if you lose those top 20 people because you don't have a proper HR system, then you are going to have a high turnover rate, and then you're going to have a high cost of recruiting those people and then you will have a culture that will disintegrate it. So HR needs HR. So as you go about your daily business, you need in your organization to develop a system that can develop HR and support HR. Because HR is more than requesting your leave, it's more than giving you a promotion, it's more than giving you a raise, and it's simple more than handing out your corporate branded shirt. So if you like what you're hearing today, I'm not going to wait on NASA this evening. Wherever you're listening, I want you to hit that subscription button and tell someone to subscribe because we have to pay Jace.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

All right.

SPEAKER_04 21:21

Leave it to Nas to wrap it up with this.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Alright, we thank you so much for listening to our talk on HR Needs HR because it's something that I hold dear to my heart. Of course, that's a field that I'm in. Uh, we want to say a huge thank you to our sponsors, Jace Myrie Media, Mind Food International, Super Lative Auto, Grace Creates, Amanda's Kitchen, also Caribbean Gospel TV, the self care bar, Jesse's Home Decor, MAGS24 7 Wrecking Services, Regional Consulting Services, all the way in K Man, Proactive Lifestyle Limited, and of course. Okay catering, we thank you. See you soon.