New research suggests that burnout combined with too much work and too little appreciation is pushing HR employees out of the profession.

Over half of HR professionals, 55%, said they thought about leaving the field, according to new survey data, a 14-point jump in a single year. In the U.S., 58% of HR leaders said they'd considered leaving, up from 48%. In Europe, the figure rose from 31% to 44%. The stats are from HR tech platform Lattice's 2027 State of People Strategy Report, based on responses from 1,358 HR professionals.

Why HR pros are leaving the field

When asked why, respondents pointed to feeling burned out, undervalued and too often operating in crisis mode. Of those considering an exit, 21% said they fear being replaced by AI. The share of HR professionals who described themselves as fully engaged at work fell from 41% to 30%, even as more than half expect their headcount and budget to grow this year.

HR professionals under significant pressure from the C-suite were more than three times as likely to report burnout compared with those under minimal pressure, and nearly twice as likely to say they were considering leaving altogether. Those with an excellent relationship with their C-suite faced significantly less pressure to justify their programs than everyone else.

'Go build it somewhere else'

More than half of HR leaders surveyed in the report said employees are being asked to do more work without more pay, up from 43% last year. That's a dynamic that fits in with broader concerns that AI-driven productivity gains can increase expectations that employees can handle more work.

In the report, Chuck Marcelin, director of HR at Hudson Valley Property Group (HVPG), tied burnout to a widening pay gap connected to AI adoption. "AI is freeing up real time by taking writing, review and admin work off people's plates," Marcelin said. "Leaders see that freed-up capacity and add more work at the same rate. The fix is to be honest that more responsibility should come with more pay, not just more capacity."

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