According to the Happiness at Work Index by recruitment consultancy Badenoch & Clark, 94% of personnel managers are happy with their current roles, up from 76% from the last quarter.

This superficially sunny statement however belies the more revealing findings of the survey which polled 1,086 UK workers. 88% of personnel managers had seen their workloads increase, the highest increase of any profession with a quarter of those personnel managers adding that the extra work was the equivalent of one extra day per week. As a response to this increased workload, the delegation of tasks was one method used to share the additional burden while 29% of respondents went so far as to hand in their resignations as the workload became excessive.

That personnel professionals are resigning as a response to the increasing pressures they are facing, reveals the contradictory nature of the survey that those same people are proposed to be at their happiest since the Happiness Index Began. It also highlights how challenging the current employment situation is becoming in general with the “Credit Crunch” serving to be a financial noose on budgets.

“The results are particularly revealing for HR workers. It seems the job is becoming very labour intensive” said Allison Gray of Badenoch & Clark. “HR as a profession is facing some very serious challenges at the moment, and employers need to be seen to be tackling those challenges head on. If that doesn’t happen, employers leave themselves open to losing a lot of their best talent.”

This challenge for employers is universally relevant as in times of increased workloads and pressure; recognition is a key determining factor in retention. As pressures build, so too must an employee’s sense of recognition for the work they do. If this trend is to fail, they will inevitably begin to look to the door.

To create a correlation of recognition to increasing workload, Peoplevalue’s Excellence Awards allows an employer complete control over their employees’ reward and recognition, ensuring they feel appreciated and reimbursed in recognition terms for the additional work and responsibilities they are assuming as a result of their increased workloads.