HR Staff 2.5x More Likely to Suffer Clinical Depression, Summit Hears

HR professionals are 2.5 times more likely to experience clinical depression and anxiety than the general population, according to the 2026 HR Mental Wellbeing Report by Ultimate Resilience, an annual study surveying over 3,000 HR professionals. Sarah Venables, an HR veteran of 25 years, presented the figures in her keynote at the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit.

The numbers are stark. Some 44% of HR respondents meet the criteria for clinically significant symptoms of depression, against 18% of the general population. Of this year's respondents, 62% said they felt "very likely" to approach burnout, with a further 12% saying they felt "at risk". Asked for their top three sources of workplace stress, 52% cited excessive workload, 40% poor management, and 25% a lack of support. Only 13% said they felt well supported at work, leaving 87% struggling — including 21% who felt they received no support at all. Some 38% of all respondents were considering leaving the HR profession entirely.

"Those are big numbers," said Venables. "When you think about it, perhaps in this room, maybe you or maybe somebody next to you, might be likely to be in burnout or struggling with wellbeing."

What drove the warning?

Venables grounded the data in her own experience. In 2018, her mental health began a slow decline amid turnover in her HR department, new management and other workplace changes. Despite four years at the company, she found her decisions questioned without praise or constructive feedback. In 2019 she was diagnosed with severe depression and signed off work for four months.

"Mental health decline can actually be preventable," she told attendees. "If I'd sought help earlier on, if I felt comfortable to talk to somebody, if I'd realised some of the signs, then I'm pretty sure that that wouldn't have happened."

She described the accumulating pressures on HR teams: restructures, layoffs and closures affect HR staff even when they are not directly targeted, while bullying cases, sexual harassment, police or legal matters and day-to-day employee conflicts pile on top. HR is expected to "parachute in to try and help... all the while keeping an eye on the risk that might be brought to the companies that we're in". She noted HR staff regularly hold unscripted, deeply psychological conversations — a requested five minutes turning into 45 — with no formal training for situations such as terminal illness, yet are expected to handle them with professionalism.

What should HR professionals watch for?

Across the keynote and a resilience roundtable co-hosted with Sarah Brewster, managing director of people and culture specialists Fresh Seed, the pair offered self-check questions for HR staff:

• Are you working excessive hours or crunching?
• Are you striving to meet milestones outside your capability?- How often have you forgotten what you said in a meeting or withdrawn from your environment?
• How often do you feel Sunday evening dread?
• How often have you cried at work in recent weeks?
• Are you frequently setting your own wellbeing aside?
• Are you experiencing numbness, withdrawal or depression — and how often do you experience joy?

"These are key signs you're not well and need to change something," Brewster said. "Seeking help is fundamental. You're not a failure for saying you can't keep going."

What should studio leaders do?

Brewster urged leaders to invest more time and resources in HR staff, trust their guidance, and budget for HR training as they would for development teams. She set out two operating principles: "When there are employee relation issues, think fast. HR needs you to work fast, as this is a measurement of the courts." On strategy and longer-term decisions such as talent development, she advised: go slower, and do not simply follow what other studios are doing.

She also advocated HR supervision — an external specialist service, distinct from therapy or coaching, where HR professionals process day-to-day burdens with specially trained psychologists — alongside alternatives such as Fresh Seed's mentoring collective. Venables, who runs the HR Confidence Club online network, framed support across three pillars: self-recognition, informal networks, and formal employer support. Report data showed supported staff reported better mental health, lower burnout risk, less sickness absence and fewer thoughts of leaving.

"Our resilience isn't infinite," Venables concluded. "Support is crucial and it shouldn't be seen as a luxury." With 38% of the profession contemplating exit, studio leaders' next budget cycle will show whether that message lands.