A roundup of CHROs share advice on prioritizing well-being during Mental Health Awareness Month.
By Debbie Bolla
Although CHROs are tasked with overseeing wellness programs, they aren’t immune to workplace stress. It’s actually quite the opposite. Research finds 98% of HR professionals report burnout symptoms.
“For senior HR leaders, the strain is amplified by the scope of the role, balancing business transformation, workforce challenges, and rising employee expectations while often serving as the organization’s steady hand during disruption,” says Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, EVP and chief people officer of Dayforce. “The data makes it clear: Burnout among HR leaders is not a fringe issue, but a reflection of the growing complexity and intensity of leading the people function today.”
Andrew Dawson, CPO of BVI, agrees. “Burnout among senior HR leaders takes place due to the cumulative weight of transformation initiatives, workforce pressures, and crisis response responsibilities. HR often carries both operational demands and an emotional piece, by supporting employees while advising the executive team through uncertainty. Organizations that recognize HR as a strategic function must also resource it appropriately, ensuring clear priorities and shared accountability at the executive level,” he says.
In addition to ensuring proper resources and distributing responsibilities, Lisa Sterling, chief people officer of Perceptyx, advises rethinking how work is done and recommends smarter operating models and more simplified processes.
“HR has absorbed more responsibility, more emotion, more change, and more urgency than ever before and often without shedding legacy work that no longer drives value. That’s not sustainable,” she says.
Her advice is threefold.
Stop trying to carry everything. Prioritize work that directly impacts business performance and let go of what doesn’t.
Redesign the function itself. Use AI, automation, and smarter operating models to simplify processes and take on strategic, high-touch work.
Shift from being always available to being strategically present. Responsiveness isn’t always the answer, rather it’s the amount of support that’s provided.
And HR also needs to take the advice it is often giving others.
“To manage stress and burnout, it’s important to deliver results, but also to make work-life balance a priority,” says Patty Johns, chief people and culture officer at Meridian™. “My advice is to use your vacation days and spread them out throughout the year. Be there for important family moments because you can’t get the time back. Make your health a priority. If you don’t do this, no one else will do it for you.”
A focus on mental health is also a key piece of the puzzle. “I believe burnout is higher on average than ever before. My advice is to always be learning. Participate in therapy. Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees. Thus, having access to that neutral person who is trained to help you navigate stress, anxiety, burnout, etc., can be a game changer. Most importantly, take time to enjoy life outside of work,” recommends Kendrick Russell, chief human resources officer for UMC.
