City cuts: "I'm emotionally exhausted"

Susan (not her real name), 21 October 2008

The Centre for Economic and Business Research has predicted 6,000 City jobs will be slashed this year, as the impact of the financial crisis and credit crunch bites. It is HR professionals however, who have to manage the exodus in a dignified and professional way. But as this exclusive account from Susan* - an HR manager of more than 25 years experience working in the heart of London's financial district -shows, the emotional and mental strain this is personally causing her eclipses anything she has previously had to cope with:

"Every day I feel I'm facing an uphill struggle to get the value of our HR services recognised. Where I work, it is money, not people, that is the most important thing and successful relationships with clients are held in the highest regard. Internal communication between staff and departments is not given the same importance.

"In my role as head of the HR team, I deal with the emotional fall-out of work stress and personal problems in a male-dominated environment where showing weakness, or crumbling under sickness or depression is taboo. My job involves dealing sensitively and discreetly with a variety of very difficult personal and professional problems.

"In this current climate of financial turmoil, things are getting even more desperate. Staff now fear for their jobs. This, in turn, can cause stress-related illness and absence from work, demotivation in the team, or the feeling that staff need to work even harder in a bid to secure their position in the company.

"My priority is to ensure we have dedicated, motivated staff. The last thing we need right now is a haemorrhage of our most talented staff just because their workplace environment is overly stressful. My role therefore focuses on promoting harmony - whether by supporting someone who is suffering from a physical or mental illness, or by personally providing coaching support to enable colleagues to interact with each other more effectively.

"But, I find myself getting deeply involved with personal and work problems, to the extent that I feel emotionally exhausted, and have very little energy left to look after myself. I am responsible for a lot of information and concerns, which I am unable to share with anyone else. It can be quite a burden. What makes it worse is that I don't feel valued by senior management - they don't see my people management skills as a real contribution. My opinion and concerns about staff who are suffering from stress are often dismissed as insignificant, and I'm even accused of letting staff pull the wool over my eyes."

*Susan has asked not to be named to protect her privacy.

Next week: Dr Linda Hoyle, chartered psychologist at consultancy and training firm Workplace Potential, gives Susan advice on how to cope with this pressure