My letter in the spring 2003 issue of the Ayers Report commented on the deep levels of uncertainty, anxiety, and demoralization we were seeing among human resources executives.  The best way to stave off a serious illness is to deal with symptoms as they arise, and knowing that HR takes care of everyone but no one takes care of HR, we challenged you—our colleagues in HR—to start taking care of yourselves.

A year has passed and it’s clear to us that the symptoms not only persist, they have, in many cases, gotten worse.  This concerns us deeply.  This is not a time for you to be neglecting your needs. Although job growth remains slow, recent surveys indicate CEOs are ready to start hiring again.

After a long, traumatic period of downsizing and running thin, you’ll be engaged in upsizing and dealing with retention and replacement issues as employees bolt for greener pastures.  And you’ll be coping in general with organizational change.  HR most likely will not be the first function to staff up, so you’ll continue to do the work of multiple people.  You may yourself be tempted to jump the fence but take a good look before you do: the grass is just as parched on the other side.