Mental Health in HR

By: Benies Gyedu, WGU SHRM Virtual Student Chapter President (2023 – 2024)

We live in a time where many people are yearning for mental health support everywhere - in the professional world and in our personal lives. Not too long ago the CDC shared that the new “pandemic” isn’t COVID, but it is the global mental health crisis. Why, may you ask? Well since 2020 many people have been forced to drastically change their lives from what seemed normal to what is now considered the new norm. We were accustomed to waking up every morning, getting ready, and heading out to the office. You typically spend 8 or more hours associating with other people on a constant basis. Boom - the pandemic happened and now the only interaction you got was on Zoom calls for many people. Literally, it felt like we were all trapped inside of a computer screen!  

Well, mental health has really impacted HR professionals in many facets: a lot of onboarding processes have moved from human interaction to computer interaction, interviews and new hire orientations are now primarily done virtually, and lastly we are usually the heartbeat of the companies when it comes to wellness. We pour out so much to ensure that every department has their staffing and resource needs met without realizing that the new demands are causing us to burn out also. 

We are expected to produce the same work but now in a more difficult manner. Pre-pandemic we would deal with people in person. Now a lot of time is spent going back and forth in emails to troubleshoot processes or assist someone with how to make it through the process, causing more stress to be added to our role. As a result of the high demands and the sudden changes many HR professionals are either leaving the field or opting to have more PTO time to compensate for the stress that comes from the demands of the job.

 It is important that as an HR professional we are taking the extra effort to take of ourselves before offering ourselves to be a human resource support to someone else. How can you put your mental health first as an HR professional?

 Here are a few tips that could potentially help:

1. Be intentional about how you start your day. You can wake up 30 mins before, stretch, listen to something unrelated to work, pray, read something that will set your tone right for the day.
2. If you are working from home, get dressed, go for a brief walk, and start your day. It would feel like you traveled to work.
3. Set clear boundaries and expectations when working with co-workers and other stakeholders.
4. Have a schedule for the week that includes intentional breaks.
5. Opt to eat away from your work area. If you can take advantage of going in the office, look away from your screen! 
6. Seek to establish a clear time to end the day at work. If you work from home, shut everything down and walk outside and come back in.
7. It’s okay to TAKE SOME TIME OFF!

Remember, as an HR Professional, if you are empty than what can you give those seeking your support? It’s okay to say no, it’s okay to say this can wait until tomorrow. It’s okay to vocalize if you need something to no longer be virtual and in person for your mental health’s sake.