In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman speaks with Dr. Jo Burrell, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Ultimate Resilience, about the mental health crisis facing HR professionals and why the people responsible for supporting everyone else at work often have too little support themselves.

They discuss why HR has become the emotional shock absorber of the workplace, how the profession has changed since COVID, and why burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and moral injury are becoming serious concerns for people professionals.

You’ll hear:

• why 74% of HR professionals reported symptoms of depression
• why three quarters of HR respondents are experiencing or at risk of burnout
• why HR professionals often feel isolated, even inside large teams
• how workplace culture places unrealistic expectations on HR
• why resilience can’t just be treated as an individual responsibility
• how clinical supervision could offer HR the kind of support already embedded in healthcare
• why organizations need to address the sources of stress, not just the symptoms

This conversation is for HR professionals, senior leaders, founders, and anyone who relies on HR to hold the emotional weight of the organization.

Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Context 02:54 The Evolution of HR and Mental Health Awareness 05:53 The Impact of COVID-19 on HR Professionals 08:58 Data Gaps and the Need for Research 11:50 The Role of HR in Employee Wellbeing 14:52 Challenges Faced by HR Professionals 17:56 Setting Boundaries in HR 21:06 Survey Findings on Mental Health in HR 24:04 Conclusion and Future Directions 25:06 The Mental Health Crisis in HR 30:46 The Burden of Emotional Labor 35:01 The Need for Tailored Support 42:43 Resilience as a Shared Responsibility 48:07 The Role of HR in Organizational Wellbeing

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com

Join the Wired to Work community on Patreon for bonus content and deeper conversations: https://patreon.com/WiredtoWork

Guest: Dr. Jo Burrell, Ultimate Resilience Website: https://ultimate-resilience.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/joburrell

Resources: Clinical Supervision in Healthcare: https://www.healthcareprofessional.org/supervision
Mental Health First Aid: https://mentalhealth.org.uk/firstaid
Gallup Stress and Burnout Statistics: https://gallup.com/reports/stress-burnout
LinkedIn HR Networks: https://linkedin.com/groups/hr-networks

• (00:00:00) - The need for a more resilient work environment
• (00:00:39) - Wired to Work: The Need for Resilience in HR
• (00:01:35) - Ultimate Resilience
• (00:03:25) - What caused the switch to HR mental wellbeing?
• (00:12:49) - The need for emotional support in HR
• (00:15:43) - The Need for Boundaries
• (00:17:27) - The UK Mental Well-being Survey
• (00:21:29) - The state of wellbeing in the HR profession
• (00:28:20) - Mental Wellbeing at work
• (00:33:55) - On HR and the 2020 election
• (00:37:41) - The need for greater resilience in the workplace
• (00:45:09) - The Load That HR People Carry
• (00:47:58) - Wired for Work: Unlocking Your People

Most leaders know trauma-informed practice matters. What’s harder is knowing what it actually looks like on a Tuesday morning, in a real workplace, with real people.

Angela Crockwell has been blazing that trail for years. As Executive Director of Thrive in St. John’s, an organization supporting people navigating exploitation, addiction, homelessness, and complex trauma, she’s built one of the most thoughtful workplaces around. And what makes her approach so compelling is how practical it is.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Angela to unpack what trauma-informed leadership actually looks like in practice, and why these skills matter far beyond social services.

In this episode: • The difference between being trauma-aware and truly trauma-informed • Why “leave your personal life at home” doesn’t work • How to balance accountability with psychological safety • Why boundaries at work protect everyone, including leaders • The 15-minute rule for difficult conversations • How curiosity changes the way we respond to people under stress

If you lead people, this conversation will change the way you think about communication, conflict, and support at work.

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com/

Join our Patreon Community! https://patreon.com/WiredtoWork?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=copyLink

• (00:00:00) - Be authentic at the Workplace
• (00:00:35) - Wired to Work: The Trauma Informed World
• (00:01:23) - Talking About Trauma at Thrive
• (00:03:59) - What Does Trauma informed mean for my workplace?
• (00:13:52) - What Do We Do About Trauma in the Workplace?
• (00:16:52) - Letting a conflict go
• (00:19:33) - Setting Boundaries for Survivors
• (00:24:10) - Thrive: How to support a colleague who's struggling
• (00:30:18) - How to Support Your Employees in a Distress
• (00:35:18) - On the Problem of Love
• (00:39:12) - The Need for More Trauma Awareness in Workplaces

Most organisations pour money into wellbeing programmes and still end up with teams that are flat, disengaged, and just getting through the week. The problem isn't the programme. It's the target.

Behavioural neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak has spent 30 years studying what actually makes people - and teams - thrive. His research shows the brain has a measurable mechanism for the value it gets from experiences, trackable second by second. And when you know what that data looks like across your organisation, the engagement survey starts to look like a very blunt instrument.

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess sits down with Dr. Zak to dig into the neuroscience of thriving teams, and what leaders can actually do about it.

What's covered:

Why wellness is too low a bar, and what the thriving brain actually looks like The neuroscience of psychological safety, measured, not surveyed
What the data says about remote work, in-person, and where your team actually thrives
Why autonomy and communicating the "why" separate high-immersion workplaces from everyone else
"Train extensively, delegate generously" — and why most leaders only do one

If you're responsible for building a team that doesn't just perform, but actually thrives, this one is for you.

Wired to Work with Jess Chapman. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.wiredtowork.castos.com/

Join our Patreon Community! https://patreon.com/WiredtoWork?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=copyLink

• (00:00:00) - How to Build a Well-Being Brain
• (00:00:40) - Wired to Work: Trust in the Workplace
• (00:01:41) - Immersion and the Way it Matters for Work
• (00:08:07) - Back to Work: The Case for Personal Time
• (00:09:46) - The Key Moments of Life
• (00:12:31) - Employee Wellbeing and Work
• (00:16:18) - The importance of meeting people in person
• (00:21:50) - The Future of Working From Home
• (00:23:20) - Key Moments on the Six app
• (00:27:51) - The Key Moments of the Workforce
• (00:28:54) - Have You Asked Your Boss About High Stress?
• (00:30:37) - High-Immersion Businesses: The Need for autonomy
• (00:36:39) - How to talk to an employee about their job
• (00:39:52) - What Do Organizations Need to Know About Employee Well-Being
• (00:45:06) - E3CA: Working In The World of Work