So, yet another article has popped up claiming HR is single-handedly destroying productivity because we spend too much time caring about people’s feelings. The Times says we’re drowning businesses in therapy sessions, inclusion surveys and “bringing your whole self to work” workshops, instead of, you know, actually working. Apparently, we’ve turned offices into self-help retreats and no one’s making widgets anymore.

Let’s be honest, it’s not the first (and won’t be the last) time someone paints HR as the fun police crossed with a wellness cult leader. And sure, some of the criticism stings because it’s not entirely wrong – we do sometimes overstep, get lost in process, or default to box-ticking instead of meaningful impact. The CIPD even admits we’ve blurred the lines on boundaries.

But here’s the part the article (and let’s face it, society at large) misses: when people feel safe, supported and respected at work, they do better work. It’s not indulgent. It’s not a luxury. It’s basic human psychology. Stress, exclusion, burnout and toxic managers cost organisations far more in lost productivity than a couple of hours in a training session ever will. Pretending otherwise is lazy thinking.

I’ll admit to reading the article and thinking “yes but…”, wanting to defend the profession I believe in so wholeheartedly. But the uncomfortable bit for us as a profession is that we cannot just sit back, roll our eyes at the critics and mutter, “Well, if managers did their jobs properly we wouldn’t have to step in.” That narrative makes us sound like sulky teenagers instead of the professionals who claim to champion people at work. Playing the victim doesn’t change the story, it cements it, and it’s time for us to do something differently. We have to shift the narrative that HR is nothing more than admin with a side of therapy.

We don’t want to be the behaviour police. We don’t want to run investigations like amateur detectives. What we do want is to create workplaces where people can actually get on with their jobs without dragging the weight of poor leadership, bias, or neglect with them. That means leaning into the messiness of humans at work, not pretending feelings magically disappear when you swipe your lanyard at the door.

Something has to shift. CIPD telling us to put “boundaries” in place as Peter Cheese is quoted in the article as saying is a polite shrug at best. What’s needed is bolder: for HR to stop playing defence and start showing what’s possible when businesses treat humanity and performance as the same conversation, not competing ones.

So no, HR isn’t destroying productivity. But if we keep clinging to old narratives, keep ducking behind compliance checklists, and keep whining about how misunderstood we are, we’re not exactly saving it either. Time to step up, own the role, and show the world that investing in people is the most productive thing a business can do.

Here’s how:

1. Stop hiding behind policies.
Use them as guardrails, not a crutch. If the only reason you’re making a decision is “because the policy says so,” you’ve already lost the room. Step up by leading with principles and impact, not paperwork.

2. Speak the language of the business.
If you want people to take HR seriously, stop banging on about “engagement scores” like you’re reading out of a textbook. Talk productivity, risk, revenue, and link it straight back to the human stuff you’re pushing for. Show, don’t tell, why investing in people isn’t fluffy it’s a business strategy.

3. Choose courage over comfort.
It’s easy to play it safe, keep the peace, and stick to compliance. It’s braver (and way more useful) to call out toxic leadership, lazy management, or nonsense “initiatives” that do nothing. HR has the platform and we should use it to challenge, not just to administer.

It all starts with us. It all starts with every single one of us in the HR profession deciding we’re not at the effect of other people anymore. No one is coming to save us, no one is going to magically start championing us (not even our professional body). This is about becoming a human, resourced. Not a tick-box administrator, not a weary victim of bad press, but a professional who knows that when people thrive, businesses thrive. That’s not indulgence. That’s impact.