The Increasing Strain of HR in Today’s Corporate World
The role of human resources (HR) has never been easy. As the intermediaries between employees and management, HR professionals are tasked with implementing policies that may not always be well-received, such as layoffs, return-to-office mandates, and other corporate decisions. However, recent years have introduced a new level of difficulty, with increasing pressure from multiple angles.
Today’s HR departments are grappling with a confluence of challenging factors, ranging from ongoing layoffs to the growing need for AI training and navigating immigration issues. For HR workers, their job is no longer just about maintaining employee relations and enforcing company policies; it’s now about navigating a minefield of emotional and legal issues that seem to increase daily.
Evan Loveless, a senior HR partner at an ad agency in St. Louis, has felt this strain firsthand. Over the past 18 months, Loveless has been responsible for seven rounds of layoffs, during which he had to personally inform hundreds of employees that their jobs were being terminated. The emotional toll of these conversations has weighed heavily on him, especially during moments when employees expected good news, only to hear about their job loss instead. Loveless describes the process as “a chronic feeling of sadness” that has become almost routine.
One of the newer challenges HR faces today is the continuing impact of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. HR professionals, like Alexandra Valverde, an HR director for a food manufacturing company, are seeing foreign workers regularly come to them with concerns about being swept up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. The fear that even those with proper documentation could be caught in these raids has created an environment of anxiety in the workplace that HR professionals have never had to deal with before.
Moreover, the complexity of layoffs increases when employees on H1-B visas are involved. These workers, who are in the U.S. under temporary work visas, only have 60 days to find a new employer after losing their job or face deportation. For HR executives like Mike Smart from a California tech company, informing these workers that they’re being laid off, especially when they have no job options, is a particularly tough challenge.
In addition to the emotional toll that layoffs create, HR workers are now dealing with a new wave of layoffs resulting from AI automation. As AI technology continues to improve, companies are increasingly relying on it to reduce costs, resulting in widespread job cuts. Major companies like Amazon, Fiverr, and Klarna have already announced or hinted at further layoffs due to the rise of AI. Amazon, for example, has stated that the increased use of AI could lead to a reduction in its workforce, a statement that has reverberated across many industries.
For HR professionals, the emotional and mental toll of managing such situations has become unbearable at times. As noted by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), employees in organizations experiencing layoffs report an increase in workplace incivility. The stress of job losses, return-to-office mandates, and other challenges often results in more negative interactions among workers, which HR must mediate. The emotional reactions to job cuts have led to a 67% increase in workplace incivility, including issues like unnecessary silencing of colleagues and excessive monitoring.
HR professionals have always had to deal with the fallout of unpopular decisions, but these recent trends have escalated tensions. Former HR professionals, such as Rebecca Taylor, have left the industry due to the increasing hostility and stress that comes with enforcing difficult decisions. Taylor recounts an incident where an employee who was laid off went to extreme lengths to contact her family to voice his anger. The personal nature of this aggression is becoming increasingly common, as workers often lash out at the messenger when facing such difficult news.
The increased pressure on HR has contributed to a significant decline in interest in HR jobs. According to data from Indeed, searches for HR positions in 2025 were down nearly 5% from the previous year. A 2022 study from LinkedIn further revealed that HR had the highest turnover rate of any job function. With all the emotional and legal demands of the job, it’s no wonder that fewer individuals are looking to stay in or enter the HR field.
Despite the challenges, HR professionals remain committed to ensuring that their organizations are compliant with legal requirements and that their employees are treated fairly. However, this balancing act has become increasingly difficult, especially when personal emotions and fears of deportation add layers of complexity to an already demanding role. With so many variables in play, it’s evident that working in HR has become even more difficult in recent years, with no signs of relief in sight.
As companies continue to adjust to the new realities of AI-driven job cuts, shifting immigration policies, and the rise of workplace tensions, HR professionals will have to remain resilient. However, it’s clear that the current landscape is forcing many to reconsider their positions in the field, with an increasing number of professionals choosing to leave a career that is, in many ways, no longer sustainable in its current form.
As the workforce and HR departments continue to evolve, it will be interesting to see how HR professionals adapt to these changing demands and whether the profession will be able to hold onto its staff in the long term.