A survey of 251 full-time HR and Comms employees in the UK has revealed that HR and Comms teams are disproportionately affected by burnout (76%), worsened by the expectation to be ‘always on’. Almost half (49%) of employees in HR and comms roles are contacted by managers outside of contracted working hours at least once a week. 

To combat risk of burnout and encourage HR and Comms teams to maintain a strong work-life balance by truly ‘switching off’ outside of working hours, here are some practical tips for people to combat burnout and protect their personal time.

1. Agree clarity on the scope of your role

62% of HR and Comms professionals worry that saying ‘no’ will impact how they are perceived.

It’s time to reflect on our workload by understanding the scope and impact of the work we are doing, empowering us to say ‘no’ to excess requests and tasks that are not aligned.

Author and CEO of The Curious Route, Joanna Parsons  advises: “Agreeing the purpose and scope of your role helps in the long run with mitigating the risk of burnout because you’ll have a clear focus of what you’re expected to do. You will understand how that’s helping the business, giving you permission to say ‘no’ to all the other random acts of communication that we are asked to do.”

2. Speak your leaders’ language 

A quarter (25%) of people working in HR and Comms rarely feel valued and recognised for the work they do. 

Reframe your data to appeal to the priorities of your leaders and use data for storytelling. If we talk about culture change in the context of cost savings, staff retention and quality control, leadership will take stock.

People Science Specialist, Ryan Tahmassebi explains: “We need to be better at connecting the cultural indicators with the business performance indicators. As soon as you start talking to leaders and managers about engagement, they naturally shut off. We should focus more on what you fundamentally want your people to experience working for your business and how you can demonstrate whether that’s a lived experience or just words on your website and office walls.” 

3. Overcome “passion fatigue”

58% of HR and Comms professionals feel pressure to be available outside of working hours. 

The nature of these high pressure roles is to care. What happens when we care too much and put pressure on ourselves? Don’t run the risk of burnout from over-engagement and taking responsibility for things that you can delegate.

Joanna said: “I’ve learned a phrase which really resonated: “passion fatigue”. People in internal comms are so passionate about their job, helping people and delivering great work. Finding work that energises you and gives you purpose can be detrimental if you don’t balance it well. We need to watch out for that and be aware of it in ourselves. I think it helps to reflect and think, am I causing any of this problem for myself?” 

4. Culture is bigger than comms

Overwhelming workload is the biggest contributor to burnout for 61% of Comms and HR practitioners. 

It can be tempting to try and take responsibility for culture, but real behavioural and cultural change needs to be actioned from the top-down. Management needs to lead by example! 

Joanna adds: “Research shows that in hierarchical organisations, people look to senior leaders to see what behaviours are acceptable. If your leaders are always working late, boasting about working on weekends, sending emails at midnight, you can’t fix that culture with communication because it’s based on leadership actions. If they don’t role model it, you’re in a bad place. Please don’t feel like you have to fix that through comms, because you can’t.” 

5. Speak up with your manager

53% of HR and Comms professionals have considered leaving their job to workload or burnout.

It often comes as a shock to leaders when the best performing staff resign. Really think about the aspects of your role that you most enjoy and how you can shape your role to do more of that. Tell your manager how you’re feeling. They should be supportive and helpful in reframing your role to energise you rather than stress and burn you out.

Joanna explains: “Think about it from your boss’s perspective. If you win, they look brilliant, they are accountable for you and they’re here to support you. If you are doing a great job, that makes them look like they’re doing a great job. If you’re struggling, that makes them look really bad, so their job is to help you win.” 

Will Murray, CEO at Oak Engage, adds: “Burnout is a challenge many of us face when the lines between work and personal time become blurred. Whilst leadership has a key role in driving change, every individual has the power to reassess their workload, prioritise effectively and focus on what truly energises them. When employees enjoy their work and feel motivated within realistic limits, everyone benefits.”

Will continues: “Our research shows that 69% of employees believe they would be more productive if they knew their time outside of work was protected. That’s why tools like Oak Engage are so valuable, they help streamline tasks, automate processes and cut through the noise so people can focus on what matters, complete their work efficiently during working hours and switch off. Smart features like targeted news delivery and personalised updates ensure employees only receive what’s relevant to them, reducing overwhelm and helping them stay informed without distraction. By working smarter, not harder, we can all take meaningful steps to reduce burnout and reclaim our time.”

*Oak Engage has partnered with Author and CEO of The Curious Route, Joanna Parsons and People Science Specialist, Ryan Tahmassebi.