Opinion | Saying HR is 'strangling the economy' is an attack on workforces

An article in the Telegraph recently criticised the HR function for ‘strangling the economy’, blaming the rise of the department in businesses – transforming from a ‘corporate backwater’ to a ‘powerful force’.

The piece explained that because the new-found focus on HR has hiked up costs in-terms of training, legal disputes and salaries, these were becoming a thorn in the side of businesses, and indeed in the UK economy.

The bureaucracy around employment law, supposed sympathy towards employees taking sick leave, and the function becoming too political – especially in-terms of gender identity and DEI – were all on the chopping block as reasons for the department’s wrong-doing.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that we don’t agree with this piece. Firstly, to say that HR is having such a negative impact on the internal economy of businesses, so much that it’s influencing the wider economy, is nothing short of a hyperbole.