SALARY DISSATISFACTION, lack of appreciation and poor work-life balance are corporate America’s top frustrations — according to the nation’s human resource pros.

A third of all American workers feel they are underpaid and unappreciated by human resources.  Almost as many feel they are unappreciated by their bosses.

These frustrations are revealed in a new survey of 1,000 human resource professionals, along with the pain points HR problem solvers are feeling in their departments.

And, according to the survey, the most common types of issues that get brought to the HR department are rooted in poor communication, rule violations, toxic negativity, and gossip.

Training and upskilling talent and finding the right talent top the list of HR challenges. Meanwhile, 31% of HR professionals often deal with workplace etiquette issues, and 20% frequently mediate romance-related conflicts.

Conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by isolved for Human Resource Professional Day on Sept. 26, the report also found that only 9% of HR professionals complete their to-do list daily.

Almost half (42%) of respondents work off-hours, while 28% feel overwhelmed by their workload, estimating they’d need to outsource 31% of their tasks to manage effectively.

To alleviate this, more than three-fourths of HR professionals surveyed (77%) said it’s important that they are trained to use AI (artificial intelligence) in their job roles.

Of those whose companies have already adopted AI, 81% said it’s being used within their HR department’s workflow. And 34% of HR tasks are handled by AI, on average.

Seeing how this frees up space for other pressing matters, more than eight in 10 (81%) of those using AI to streamline and automate everyday tasks reported increased capacity for interpersonal connections.

“In the ever-evolving landscape of HR, efficiency is key,” said Amy Mosher, chief people officer at isolved. “It’s imperative that HR leaders advocate on behalf of their departments for advanced tools and resources that empower HR professionals to truly support workers. This study revealed that HR roles are incredibly challenging, especially when it comes to solving interpersonal issues. Providing HR departments with better tools and resources will allow them to be fully present so they can better handle sensitive challenges effectively.”

Bizarre stories

Stories from the survey revealed some of the problems America looks to HR to solve and ranged from expected to sad to outright bizarre. In fact, 41% of the HR pros surveyed said that many of the interpersonal issues they are tasked with solving would shock the average person.

One respondent reported having to prevent strange rituals in a colleague’s office, while there were several cases where employees brought unconventional pets, like snakes or large reptiles, to the office without prior approval.

Other unusual occurrences included incidents of stalking, dealing with an interviewee’s enraged mother and reports that the workplace was haunted, leading to requests for office exorcisms. 

Given these challenges, 30% of HR professionals feel mentally drained, 24% are burnt out, and 34% are considering a career change.

Mosher added, “AI advancements and adopting better resources can ease the strain on an already stretched HR department, allowing for better productivity and happiness within companies.”

Lastly, when asked what they wish the rest of corporate America knew about HR professionals, 57% said they just want everyone to know that “We’re people too. We have feelings and hard days at work, just like everyone else.”

Here are the biggest frustrations expressed by workers in corporate America:

Dissatisfaction with salary	29%
Lack of appreciation	26%
Poor work-life balance	25%
Lack of career advancement opportunities	24%
Dissatisfaction with benefits	23%
Lack of support from leaders	19%
Low morale	17%
Dissatisfaction with paid time off	17%
Lack of support from managers	16%
Unrealistic expectations from clients/customers	16%
Staying profitable in a competitive industry	16%
Lack of transparency from leadership	15%
Lack of connection within the workplace	15%
Failing to evolve as workplaces in adopt new ideas and systems	14%
Poor values/culture	10%