How to Build Emotional Resilience in HR

HR teams are in charge of looking after everyone else. They’re expected to juggle complex employee issues like burnout, political polarization, and interpersonal conflict — but the emotional resilience needed to show up day after day comes at a cost. And without the right support systems in place, there’s a risk that HR professionals will burn out. 

The unique emotional labor of HR roles means that building and maintaining emotional resilience isn’t optional; it’s essential. But HR is at a crossroads. 

Our 2026 State of People Strategy Report found that over the last 12 months, 41% of HR professionals have thought about quitting the profession. The top reason: the emotional toll of managing employee issues. Here’s how HR can build emotional resilience, plus how the organizations they work for can create systems to support the people who support everyone else. 

What is emotional resilience?

In life, some stress is inevitable. Emotional resilience is the capacity to recover from stress, navigate emotionally taxing situations, and maintain focus and wellbeing under pressure. Resilient individuals draw on their inner strength, adaptability, and coping skills to respond to and bounce back from life’s challenges.

It helps HR shift from absorbing everyone’s stress to redirecting it toward the right resources.‍

‍— Kelsey Witmer, VP of Total Rewards and People Operations at Spring Health

Why is emotional resilience so important for HR?

HR teams have to deal with a lot of emotional labor, each and every day. They might spend their morning dealing with a sensitive employee issue, before moving on to conflict mediation, compassionately breaking news of downsizing, and finishing the day by handling a complaint. 

Over time, these kinds of issues can take an emotional toll, leave HR teams feeling undervalued, and make it difficult for people to maintain a work-life balance — the top three reasons respondents gave for considering leaving HR. 

But, with strong levels of emotional resilience and support from their organization, HR teams can respond to crises, model healthy workplace cultures, and lead organizational change.

But emotional resilience in HR isn’t about being unshakeable, said Kelsey Witmer, VP of total rewards and people operations at Spring Health: “It’s about learning to ride the waves of emotional intensity without losing your empathy or your edge.”

She added that HR sits at the crossroads of real human emotion and the business imperative to scale and sustain. “We absorb others’ stress, uncertainty, and hope and then translate all of it into strategy, structure, and systems,” she added. 

Because HR is a window into an organization and the people working within it, it also comes with a wide range of stressors. 

Common Stressors for HR Professionals 

Some of the most frequent stressors for HR teams include:

• Layoffs
• Onboarding 
• Constant context switching
• Political, social, and cultural issues
• Investigations and disciplinary actions
• Emotional transference from employees
• Lack of resources or buy-in from leadership
• Navigating executive pressure and legal risk

Witmer noted that while these baseline stressors haven’t changed over recent years, the volume and velocity have. “Today’s HR leaders are operating in a world that’s more polarized, more transparent, and more relentless.”

She added that while layoffs and organizational changes are still emotionally taxing, they now happen in public, under the scrutiny of social media. “Political and cultural issues bleed into the workplace daily. Leaders expect instant clarity and legal precision, employees expect emotional availability, and HR is expected to navigate both with grace.”

One stressor Witmer has noticed becoming louder is emotional transference. “Employees projecting their pain or burnout onto others (managers, peers, and often HR). Add constant context switching and limited resources, and it’s easy to feel like you’re living in a permanent state of triage,” she said. 

And when it gets to that point, it’s time to look at how to build and maintain emotional resilience. 

Expert Tactics for Building and Maintaining Resilience 

Emotional resilience isn’t an innate skill that we’re born with. But, for HR professionals, it’s critical. “Resilience is one of the most important skills I look for when hiring for my teams, and it’s a skill that must be honed,” said Joaquin Migliore, director of people experience at Superside. 

Here are eight expert tactics for building and maintaining emotional awareness and resilience in HR. 

1. Set emotional boundaries.

“Boundaries are the most underrated superpower in HR,” said Witmer. She explained that creating clear emotional and role boundaries lets HR teams care deeply without carrying everything.

Natalie Breece, chief people and diversity officer at ThredUp, said one mindset that has helped her is that empathy doesn’t mean absorption: “You can be fully present, compassionate, and supportive, while also protecting your own emotional wellbeing.”

She added that this balance comes from intentionally developing emotional intelligence, strengthening self-awareness, and building personal resilience over time. “HR professionals must get comfortable navigating discomfort, listening without judgment, and making tough calls rooted in both humanity and clarity,” Breece explained. 

She also encourages aspiring HR leaders to build strength in courageous communication, influencing without authority, and setting boundaries that allow for sustainable impact. “The emotional labor is real, but so is the joy of helping people grow and organizations thrive. With the right tools, perspective, and community, it is absolutely possible to do this work with heart, and stay whole while doing it,” said Breece. 

2. Prioritize personal energy management, not just time management.

Time blocking, deep work, and taking breaks from your desk might help you stay focused at work — but it’s also important to pay attention to how you manage your energy. Emotionally resilient people tend to understand that energy, not time, is their most valuable resource. “Mindfulness is great, but so is taking a walk between hard conversations or scheduling no-meeting blocks to recover,” said Witmer. 

“Remember that empathy isn’t a renewable resource unless you intentionally recharge it,” she added. “Build micro-practices that fill your tank — reflection, therapy, laughter, mentorship, whatever keeps you human.”

Small, consistent practices like journaling, meditation, and breathwork can help HR professionals prioritize self-compassion, develop a more positive outlook, and process stress and negative emotions before they build up. These practices might look different for each person, but they can give HR team members the tools they need to self-regulate and recover from emotionally draining situations.

3. Anchor to your work’s purpose.

A strong sense of purpose can help build the emotional resilience needed to keep going through difficult times. Lattice’s 2026 State of People Strategy Report found the top three reasons for choosing HR are connected to purpose and impact: helping people grow and develop, having an influence across the organization, and being seen as a trusted advisor. 

Despite this sense of purpose, it’s often easy to get overwhelmed by day-to-day demands. “Reconnecting to why you’re doing this work turns emotional fatigue into fuel for impact,” said Witmer. "For me, resilience is about staying grounded in the why — why we do this work, what it means for the people we support, and how it fuels both business growth and our own sense of purpose.”

4. Maintain activities outside of work.

“Work is just ONE part of our identity,” Witmer emphasized. She recommended that leaning into hobbies and relationships outside of work can help HR professionals rebalance. Whether that’s physical activity, learning a new skill, spending time outdoors, prioritizing social connections, or switching off from screens and reading a book instead, activities that help replenish energy and joy can help boost long-term mental wellbeing.

5. Find peer support networks.

HR teams are often the emotional backbone of their organizations, but sometimes they don’t have anyone to turn to when they need support. Breece mentioned the importance of creating strong peer support networks, with “people who understand the weight of the work and can help them reset, recharge, and refocus when needed.”

Regular HR roundtables, external HR communities, and problem-solving coffee chats with other departments can all help remind HR teams they’re not alone. 

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6. Focus on professional development.

Coaching, resilience training, and mental health stipends can all help HR professionals learn ways to manage stressful events, maintain perspective, and process difficult situations. When HR feels supported in their own professional and personal growth and wellbeing, they’re better equipped to model the same for everyone else in the organization.

7. Ensure roles are clearly defined.

Sometimes HR teams are overburdened with tasks outside their scope, which can leave them feeling undervalued. Leaders need to ensure HR roles are clearly defined and well-resourced, particularly during stressful situations like downsizing, layoffs, or mergers and acquisitions. 

When expectations are realistic and boundaries are respected, it’s easier for HR teams to focus their energy on what really matters.

8. Seek supervision or mentorship.

HR teams often deal with a lot of emotionally intense issues, including harassment cases, grief, and trauma. Without a way to process those experiences, the toll can quietly build up. 

Formal supervision or mentorship opportunities provide a safe, confidential space for HR professionals to process difficult cases, seek advice, and gain perspective. 

Systemic Solutions: How Organizations Can Support HR Resilience

HR professionals definitely need to work on building and maintaining emotional resilience. But the organizations they work for also have a role to play. 

Kayshia Kruger, VP of people and organizational development at O. R. Colan Associates, noted that this comes down to organizational design: “Are we structuring roles so HR professionals carry all the emotional labor? Or are we building cultures where managers share that responsibility?”

Witmer added that true resilience in HR only happens when business leaders lean in with their HR partners instead of handing off the hard, emotional work. “When leaders share ownership of the human side of leadership — having tough conversations, addressing conflict, balancing empathy with accountability — it lightens HR’s load and strengthens the entire organization,” she explained. 

In Witmer’s experience, the strongest HR teams are backed by leaders who treat them as thought partners, not cleanup crews. “That support doesn’t require grand gestures, it looks like partnership: bringing HR in early, listening without defensiveness, and recognizing that ‘people work’ is everyone’s work.” She added that when leaders model empathy, candor, and accountability, they create the conditions for HR to do its best work — sustainably and with heart.

Put People First With Lattice and Spring Health

Leaders also have a crucial role in choosing the tools and systems that help HR teams, and the people they support, work more effectively and sustainably. That’s where technologies like Lattice and Spring Health come in. 

“Lattice acts as an ally to both HR and leaders during some of the toughest parts of managing people,” explained Witmer. “By creating clarity through structured feedback and operationalizing hard conversations, it reduces the administrative burden on HR and frees up cognitive space to coach and support leaders more effectively.”

Here’s what that can look like in practice:

• Lattice 1:1s: Combined with manager enablement tools, one-on-one meetings help distribute emotional support duties more broadly across the organization, rather than leaving them all to HR. 
• Lattice Performance Reviews: Structured, fair processes help reduce the emotional burden of performance conversations and provide an equitable, consistent experience for all. 
• Lattice Engagement: Real-time insights allow HR to anticipate issues early — before they become crises.
• Lattice Employee Health (Coming soon!): Helps HR identify at-risk employees early and reduces the psychological toll of managing employees’ emotional issues.

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