I saw a post in a professional group last week dismissing reports of HR burnout as “a load of baloney”. The argument was that HR professionals are resilient people. They have dealt with difficult industrial relations environments before. They are managers. They should be able to handle the workload.

That is not scepticism. It is a provocation.

There are legitimate questions to ask about any survey. How were people recruited? How representative was the sample? What measures were used? What conclusions can the data actually support?

But those questions are not answered by “I worked in a tough environment and people coped”.

The published summary says that, among 1,447 respondents to the 2026 survey, 74% reported symptoms of depression or low mood and 62% were assessed as being at high risk of burnout. The researchers have now gathered responses from nearly 3,000 HR professionals across three years.

That does not mean the findings should be accepted uncritically. It does mean they deserve more than a shrug and a story about personal toughness.

The World Health Organization describes burnout as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterised by exhaustion, growing distance or cynicism towards work, and a reduced sense of professional effectiveness.

That sounds rather different from simply not being resilient enough.

And this is not confined to one survey of HR professionals. The Health and Safety Executive estimates that 964,000 people in Great Britain experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety during 2024/25, leading to 22.1 million working days lost. CIPD research involving more than 5,000 UK workers found that a quarter believed work was negatively affecting their mental health.

I have my own reason for being careful with this kind of language. I live with anxiety, managed through medication and cognitive behavioural therapy. But it still has a habit of turning a minor problem into a catastrophe. I can, and have, extrapolated a faulty laptop charger into a full-blown business crisis.

Telling me I am resilient does not make that experience disappear.

So yes, question the research. Examine the measures. Challenge exaggerated headlines.

But when people describe what sustained pressure is doing to them, listen.

Resilience is not immunity. And dismissing evidence because it conflicts with your experience is not critical thinking.