UK 
United States
Workforce numbers are groaning with HR staff who are increasingly dipping their toes into all areas of business. Has it gone too far and is it what businesses need?
There is a growing sentiment in the media that HR has become too powerful. In a recent podcast, The Bottom Line - Human Resources: Is HR Out of Control? - BBC Sounds, Evan Davis questioned whether HR is now "out of control," while Harry Wallop, writing for The Times, suggested it has become "too big for its boots." This raises a critical question - when HR shifts from dictating how to behave to dictating how to think, has it finally overstepped the mark?
The HR workforce has swelled in numbers
Wallop further points to spiralling HR workforce numbers in recent years. He quotes the British Labour Force Survey (LFS) that shows a 68% increase, from 284,000 HR workers in 2010 to 476,000 in 2024. Wallop writes, “Back in 2010, HR workers made up less than 1 per cent of the total workforce of the UK. Now they are 1.45 per cent of the workforce and they outnumber doctors, those working in the police and all forms of lawyers.” He adds, “No other leading western country except the Netherlands has such a large chunk of its workers employed in HR.”
It’s what you do with that influence that’s really important and I think this is where we have collectively lost our mind in the profession
It’s not just the numbers but also the role that HR now plays that many are questioning. On his podcast, Davis said, “Once known as “personnel”, Human Resources seems to have become a real centre of power in modern business. No longer just handing out payslips or organising the Christmas party, HR now shapes company culture, influences major decisions and, some say, acts as a kind of corporate police force and judiciary.” Davis asks if company bosses have delegated too much power to the profession.
