Almost half considered leaving profession due to emotional, operational pressures
Almost half (41%) of HR professionals globally have considered leaving the field in the past year due to emotional and operational pressures.
At the same time, 83% of HR professionals express excitement, hope, or optimism about the potential of agentic AI to transform their work.
So finds Lattice’s 2026 State of People Strategy Report, drawing on survey responses from 1,002 HR leaders and managers across multiple countries.
“This year’s report makes one thing clear: it’s back to business basics. HR is at the center of today’s most critical opportunities: driving performance, engaging people, and adopting AI responsibly,” said Sarah Franklin, CEO of Lattice. “The most effective leaders aren’t using AI to replace people, but to embrace what makes us human — scaling creativity, ingenuity, and diverse perspectives.”
HR engagement stabilizes
While 41% have considered leaving HR in the past year, 32% of those who considered leaving found renewed purpose and chose to stay.
Rana Robillard, chief people officer at Tekion, said in the report: “HR teams carry the emotional and operational weight of the business, yet too often receive little recognition or support.”
HR engagement is stabilizing after several years of change. The report shows that 78% of HR professionals worldwide feel somewhat or fully engaged, a slight increase from last year.
Engagement levels are especially high in Europe (85%), compared to the U.S. (72%). Alan Cairns, chief people officer at GoCardless, attributed this to work-life balance, cultural diversity, and employment law.
“The combination of employee-friendly legislation, works councils, and notice periods has created a culture where employees have greater rights, which in turn leads to greater trust between employers and employees,” he said in the report.
Workplace type also shapes satisfaction: 77% of blue-collar and 75% of gray-collar HR professionals are likely to recommend the field, compared to 56% of white-collar workers.
Job security remains strong among HR professionals globally:
- 79% feel secure
- 93% expect HR headcount to stay the same or increase
- 90% expect budgets to remain steady or grow.
AI adoption by human resources
The report highlights a strong link between technology adoption and team performance. Globally, 72% of high-performing HR teams use four or more specialized HR tools, compared to an average of three, finds Lattice.
AI is gaining momentum worldwide, with 42% of HR professionals in corporate settings using agentic AI regularly. European HR teams are leading, with 45% using agentic AI, compared to 28% in the US.
Among millennials, 38% report regular use, while only 7% of boomers do. High-performing teams are especially enthusiastic: 52% are “really excited” about AI’s potential, compared to 32% of teams not meeting goals, and 50% use agentic AI regularly, versus just 6% of low performers.
As agentic AI goes to the forefront of many conversations, HR teams are now asking: “What happens when AI can pull the strings on its own?” says Lattice: “Unlike generative AI, which generates outputs based on prompts, agentic AI can plan, act, and adapt autonomously.”
While few HR teams have reached AI maturity, 83% of HR professionals are either excited, hopeful, or optimistic about outsourcing to agentic A, finds the survey.
“High-performing teams are culturally wired to experiment, learn, and adapt,” said Kruger. “Experimenting with AI is a symptom of a learning culture, and AI just amplifies that culture. It’s less about the tech and more about whether the organization has psychological safety embedded into their culture to support the change required to use it well.”
Polarization and DEI: challenges for HR
The report notes a global decline in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) as a top priority, with only 16% of teams focusing on it in 2026, down from 30% in 2023.
Regional differences are clear: European teams are twice as likely as those in the US to focus on DEIB (24% vs. 11%).
Still, 61% of teams with dedicated DEIB roles plan to keep them, and high-performing teams are five times more likely to prioritize DEIB.
Polarization is a growing issue, with 23% of HR leaders globally saying that navigating cultural and political divides is a significant challenge, and 32% feeling stuck managing differing perceptions on DEIB between employees and leaders.
Organizations that take a public stance on political, social, and cultural issues see 80% engagement among their people, compared to 50% at organizations that remain silent, says Lattice.
“In polarized climates, taking a public stance may not be possible or productive. But that doesn’t mean action is off the table. Having clear guiding principles around when and how the organization takes a stance on a topic helps remove ambiguity in high-pressure moments,” said Regina Ross, EVP and chief people and operations officer at Opportunity Finance Network, in the report.
Lattice’s 2026 State of People Strategy Report is based on responses from HR professionals in the US, Canada, England, Germany, France, and other regions, collected between April and June 2025.
