26 September 2023

HR leaders find pandemic a struggle

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New research from the Australian HR Institute (AHRI), has found more than two thirds of HR leaders believe they cannot catch up on their work load and need more hours in the day to accomplish what’s expected of them.

AHRI is the national association representing human resource and people management professionals.

The Institute said its research, which was largely targeted at HR managers or directors, revealed that respondents were persevering to solve problems and working hard to change bad situations for the better.

AHRI said a recurring theme of the report had been the immense workloads that HR practitioners have faced, combined with the loss of connection that long periods of full-time remote working has caused.

Chief Executive at AHRI, Sarah McCann-Bartlett said the research supported a number of trends the Institute had observed throughout the pandemic.

“Globally, HR has been at the centre of the organisational response to Covid19; from the beginning to the present day,” Ms McCann-Bartlett said.

“A recurring theme has been the immense workloads that HR practitioners have faced, combined with the loss of connection that long periods of full-time remote working has caused,” she said.

“While results from the research in relation to supervisor support are very encouraging, with over 80 per cent of respondents stating that they have access to psychological wellbeing support in their organisation and their supervisor is concerned about their welfare during the COVID-19 pandemic, a re-evaluation of task priorities and realistic expectations is still needed in order to help HR practitioners alleviate the ongoing pressure.”

Ms McCann-Bartlett said HR practitioners would need to focus on and strengthen their own competencies in order to continue to guide and shape their organisations, their people and their culture as the pandemic continued.

The 20-page AHRI report can be accessed at this PS News link.

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