The UK Human Resources profession is facing a critical breaking point, with mounting workloads, shrinking teams, and widespread burnout directly correlated with a stagnation in employee engagement across the country.
These are the stark findings from WorkBuzz’s Future of Work Report 2026, which surveyed 367 HR professionals and senior executives, providing an alarming benchmark for the state of the function.
The HR Burnout Epidemic
The report paints a clear picture of a workforce strategist nearing exhaustion:
- 53% of UK HR professionals have felt under constant strain at work in the last six months.
- Two-thirds (65%) cite “too much to do” as the main stressor.
- 60% lack enough people in their HR team to manage the workload.
- The problem is compounding: 4 in 10 in-house HR teams have shrunk in size over the past year.
Steven Frost, CEO and founder of WorkBuzz, warns that with resources shrinking and demands accelerating, many HR professionals are “nearing burnout, leaving little capacity for the strategic work that truly drives long-term, sustainable performance.”
Engagement Stagnates Amidst Leadership Misalignment
The crisis within the HR function appears to be directly impacting the broader employee experience.
The percentage of HR professionals reporting that engagement has improved in their organization has plummeted:
| Metric | 12 Months Ago | Current (2025) |
| Engagement Improved | 58% | 33% |
Additionally, 16% now feel engagement has actually gotten worse, up 4% from last year.
The Executive-HR Trust Gap
The report highlights a growing misalignment at the top that is crippling engagement efforts. In organizations where HR and executive leadership teams “don’t see eye-to-eye” and a lack of trust exists, fewer than 10% saw an improvement in engagement, while almost 50% reported a decline. This data suggests that strategic success in employee experience is impossible without unified executive buy-in.
The Untapped Power of AI
While drowning in administrative work, the majority of HR teams are failing to adopt the very technology that could offer relief. The report finds that 79% of HR teams are either not using AI or are just beginning to explore its usage, lagging behind many other departments.
For those few who are using AI, 38% are using it solely for recruitment and talent acquisition, leaving vast swaths of operational burden untouched. The main obstacle to adoption? A critical lack of internal expertise (69%).
“AI is the game-changer HR needs to do more with fewer resources. It can strip out administrative tasks and elevate HR’s power,” Frost comments. “Unless HR leaders confront this directly… they will struggle to safeguard their strategic role.”
The report ultimately serves as a dual warning: HR is burning out, and engagement is suffering. The pathway out of this crisis requires urgent executive alignment and a proactive, dedicated strategy to integrate AI and reclaim the HR function’s role as a strategic driver of people and performance.