EDITOR-IN CHIEF’S NOTE:
HRM FOR HR PROFESSIONALS
(OR “HR FOR HR”)
THERESA M. WELBOURNE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A
s I read the series of articles in
this issue of Human Resource Man-
agement, it struck me how very
challenging the work has become
for HR practitioners. Many in our
field are managing layoffs, reducing wages,
taking away benefits from employees, and,
in general, delivering bad news. My friends
and colleagues who work in HR tell me
they suffer from high levels of stress; they
are waiting to get their own “packages” in
hopes of leaving their positions; and they
are off dealing with personal health issues
ensuing from the constant stress. The arti-
cles in this issue provide a sampling of why
these HR professionals are suffering: they
are in the business of managing difficult
situations—not just layoffs—but moving
families overseas for expatriate assignments,
handling emotionally charged situations,
and more.
After reviewing the articles in this issue
and mulling over the idea of how we can
help HR professionals, I read a short piece
in BusinessWeek (July 27, 2009, page 19)
titled “Human resources: They’re human
too.” The lead sentence from the article
states, “The dismal economy may be driv-
ing your HR manager to drink.” The article
basically says that HR executives are suffer-
ing from sleeplessness, considering changing
careers, and report they are using “substance
abuse” to cope with their stress.
This all leads me to wonder where is
HR for HR? What I mean by this is that HR
Human Resource Management, September–October 2009, Vol. 48, No. 5, Pp. 675–676
© 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).
DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20317
professionals need a support function, per-
son, or group to help them with their own
careers; to provide them with support; and
to lead them to the resources they need to
cope with their job-related stress. HR pro-
fessionals need their own HR function. In
larger organizations, there are often enough
staff members to provide such an “HR for
HR” department; however, in medium- to
smaller-sized firms, that luxury does not
exist. The HR executives in these organiza-
tions are on their own; managing the stress
of their jobs and the worry that comes with
trying to make sense of constant change; all
while still fighting the battle of “does HR
even matter?”
As you read through the articles in this
issue, I invite you to think about HR for
HR. Is there a need for new thinking and
research in this area? If so, can the articles
in this issue help provide some insights into
the topic?
• What is unique about the HR job? What
kind of HR services do HR professionals
need to be successful and effective in their
positions while maintaining psychologi-
cal and physical health, even when han-
dling high-stress situations?
• How can outsourcing firms help provide
a specialized HR for HR service that the
organization would fund?
• What is the benefit to an organization of
a healthy HR group?
676 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2009
• How does a strong HR for HR function
affect the ideal organizational structure
for HR? Where does this work reside?
Who does it?
And lastly, is HR for HR really needed?
Perhaps the training one receives in HR is
enough to provide strong capabilities to
deal with the challenges these executives
face in their daily work. Given the econom-
ics of our time, what can the academic com-
munity do to answer these questions?
If you are interested in discussing any of
these topics, or if you have questions for the
authors of the articles in this issue, please
logon to our social network at www.hrmthe-
journal.com. At the time this was written,
we have 987 members with 24 groups.
Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm