Sarah Venables, an experienced HR veteran of 25 years, opened her keynote at the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit with a story. It was a personal story, one of how she realised she had reached her lowest moments.
In 2018, her mental health began a slow and subtle decline. A combination of turnover in her HR department, new management, and other changes at work led her to start doubting herself. Despite her decades of experience, and four years at that particular company, all of her decisions and actions were now being questioned. There was no praise or recognition for what she was doing, yet no constructive feedback either. In Venables’ perception, everything she was doing was wrong.
She spent so much time ruminating on what other people wanted her to do, or what others might do in her position, she lost sight of what she thought she should do based on her own experience. She began internalising all the negativity, though she didn’t recognise that at the time. Anxiety and fear was building, fear of making mistakes or the wrong decisions, and she started believing she wasn’t good enough.
Venables hoped the two-week Christmas break would clear her head, but as she drove to work again in January, she realised she had been silently sobbing the whole journey. Not only did she not feel safe to be on the road, she realised she was at rock bottom, lost, and feeling no joy or hope.
In 2019, she was diagnosed with severe depression and signed off work for four months. Since then, she has not only recognised the stages of her decline, she has thrown herself into personal development and realised something much more crucial.
“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, iIf I’d realised some of the signs, then I’m pretty sure that that wouldn’t have happened.
“I tell my story in the hope that if you’re feeling wobbly, low confidence, anxiety, depression, or any of these things, that you find somebody to talk to.”
All too common
Venables is far from alone. She shared results from the 2026 HR Mental Wellbeing Report by Ultimate Resilience, an annual study that surveys over 3,000 HR professionals. The latest results show that HR people are 2.5 times more likely to experience clinical depression and anxiety than the general population. Almost half of the respondents (44%) meet the criteria for clinically significant symptoms of depression; by comparison, this applies to only 18% of the general population.
HR people are 2.5 times more likely to experience clinical depression and anxiety than the general population
62% of this year’s respondents said they felt that they were ‘very likely’ to approach burnout, while a further 12% said they felt they were ‘at risk’.
“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.”
These levels of distress are directly linked to the respondents’ jobs in HR. When asked what they consider to be the top three sources of stress at work, 52% cited the excessive workload, 40% said poor management, and 25% a lack of support.
Only 13% of respondents said they felt well supported at work, leaving 87% struggling (including 21% who felt they received no support at all). 38% of all respondents were considering leaving the HR profession.
Several sessions at the summit summarised the many sources of distress HR staff have to deal with. Restructures, layoffs, and closures are hard on the individuals that are directly affected, but HR “still experiences that impact,” said Venables. Even without such company-wide upheaval, instances of bullying, sexual harassment, police or legal matters, or even day-to-day conflicts between employees pile up on those in HR. The department 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.”
“We’re often having deeply psychological conversations with individuals who ask for five minutes and it turns into 45 minutes,” Venables continued. “And it could be about stress, bereavement, all sorts of things – sometimes you just don’t know when you’re getting into that conversation.
“And I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been trained in how to deal with a conversation where somebody’s come to me that they are permanently ill or their parents or family members are. And yet we somehow get through it and we’re prepared to deal with it with ease, with grace and with professionalism.
“It’s no wonder our wellbeing may suffer. And this doesn’t mean that we have a problem to be fixed. It just means that we need a bit more understanding, care, empathy and compassion about some of the things that we’re having to deal with that might take its toll.”
Pulled in every direction
Sarah Brewster, managing director of people and culture specialists Fresh Seed, emphasised that HR people wear multiple hats: not only guiding company leaders through everything from individual situations among their staff to the constantly changing landscape of the industry, but also being the go-to for every personal issue within the workforce.
“It’s a function that is pulled in every direction and so many HR feel the weight of the load and struggle to maintain their own wellbeing,” she said, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz after the summit. “For those in standalone roles, it’s especially challenging. Resilience and healthy HR people come from learning from each other, having a network to fall back on, and a community of best practices which enable development aligned to the industry challenges.”
She continued: “People may underestimate the emotional responsibility of working in HR. We’re often dealing with people’s most difficult experiences, balancing competing needs, working with leaders on uncomfortable decisions and carrying information you can’t share. That can have a significant psychological impact on the person doing the job. HR is never just about admin, and it’s important to recognise that.”
Across Venables’ keynote and a roundtable session on resilience that both Venables and Brewster hosted, the duo offered questions HR people can ask themselves to help recognise their current levels of distress:
- Are you working excessive hours? Are you crunching?
- Are you striving to meet milestones and delivery dates that might be outside of your capability?
- How often have you forgotten what you said in a meeting or felt yourself withdraw from your environment?
- How often do you feel the Sunday evening dread or the difficulty getting up in the morning?
- How often have you cried at work in the last few weeks?
- Are you frequently setting your own wellbeing aside?
- Are you experiencing numbness, withdrawal, or depression?
- How often are you experiencing joy, happiness, or fulfillment?
“These are key signs you’re not well and need to change something,” Brewster explained. “Seeking help is fundamental. You’re not a failure for saying you can’t keep going. Take time off to step back and look after yourself. Use your private medical healthcare and get therapy and help. Get outside into nature, laugh with friends, breathe and release and let yourself be well.
Venables added: “There are some feelings of shame to admitting we’re not coping, and I completely understand that. But it will take you longer to get through it if you’re struggling on your own. Protecting our own well-being is paramount.”
Support
The above constitutes one of the three core pillars of support for HR folks that Venables described in her keynote: self-recognition and connection to your experience. The other two are informal support from your network and formal support (ideally from your employer).
Both Venables and Brewster emphasised the importance of informal support. HR professionals share enough experiences that they can often be best placed to help each other through tough time, and finding a network and safe space can be essentially free. Venables runs a group known as the HR Confidence Club, which frequently hosts online events to discuss and share some of the issues people in this sector encounter and the help that might be available.
For formal support, Brewster urges company leaders to invest more time and resources into finding ways to look after their HR staff. Understanding the impact the job has on them is a crucial first step, but trusting them to offer potential solutions and listening to their guidance is key. She also stressed two principles for responding appropriately to each situation that might arise.
“When it comes to strategy and longer term decisions such as talent development, go slower”
“When there are employee relation issues, think fast,” she explained. “HR needs you to work fast, as this is a measurement of the courts. If we give advice, we’re considering more than just the issue between the employee and business, so trust that we are working to get the best outcome.
“When it comes to strategy and longer term decisions such as talent development, go slower. Don’t react and follow what other studios are doing, but trust HR is considering what works best for you and can help you look at the longer term goals.”
Brewster added that while there is plenty of training for the staff who are actually making your games, opportunities to learn are just as vital for HR and should be factored into your budget.
“Finally, understand that HR as a function is far, far more than a contract, but a life cycle of the person you’re employing, and with that comes multiple layers of knowledge about how to get the best results for the business,” she said.
Brewster is also a vocal proponent for the use of HR supervision. This is often a specialist external service that allows HR professionals to safely and confidently share their experiences and process the day-to-day burdens they have to handle.
“It’s not quite therapy or coaching, but a service designed to help you work through stuff with specially trained psychologists that will help you manage it safely,” Brewster explained.
“If supervision isn’t for you, there are other support services such as the Fresh Seed Collective. We provide mentoring and best practice guidance, which can be really powerful for those in stand alone roles.”
“If you take one thing away, I want you to know that you’re not alone”
Whether informal or formal, Venables urged HR people to seek support – not just when they feel they need it, but before it’s too late. Again, she pointed at the results of the HR Mental Wellbeing Report, which showed that people who feel supported at work reported better mental health, lower risk of burnout, less sickness absence throughout the year, and fewer thoughts of leaving the profession.
“If you take one thing away, I want you to know that you’re not alone,” Venables concluded. “There are lots of people out there now that are talking about this stuff, and I really do want you to signpost somebody if they’re struggling or for you to just come and have a chat and have a bit of a boost, and think about how can we get more joy and happiness and fulfillment into our lives.
“I’d like you to remember that internal recognition is just as crucial. And having the space to connect, to problem solve, to reflect, can really change how we think, feel, and function at work.
“Our resilience isn’t infinite. Support is crucial and it shouldn’t be seen as a luxury.”