Stacey Nordwall
VP of People Strategy
Fyn
Episode 177
Beyond Lip Service: Why True Employee Well-being Demands Clear Boundaries
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMay 23, 2025 · 8:58
Thesis
“Prioritizing employee well-being and mental health, supported by clear boundaries, effective onboarding, and strong senior leadership buy-in, is fundamental to creating a sustainable and positive workplace culture, while acknowledging the inherent challenges and slow nature of true organizational change.”
Show notes
Navigating HR Challenges with Stacey Nordwall: Insights on Wellbeing and Organizational Culture
In this episode of the Built by People Podcast, the host welcomes Stacy, who shares her career journey from studying psychology and communication to working in HR for early-stage startups.
Stacy discusses the challenges and strategies involved in setting boundaries between personal support and professional responsibility, as well as addressing burnout among HR professionals.
She emphasizes the importance of community, external coaching, and clear communication during onboarding. Stacy also highlights the significance of senior leadership buy-in for successful culture shifts in organizational wellbeing.
The episode concludes with Stacy's advice on managing workloads and prioritizing self-care.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:49 Stacy's Career Journey
01:45 Navigating Workplace Boundaries
03:20 Addressing Burnout in HR
05:04 Creating Supportive Employee Experiences
06:35 Shifting Company Culture
08:02 Parting Advice for HR Professionals
08:52 Conclusion and Farewell
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What you'll take away
- 1HR professionals must establish clear boundaries between personal support and professional responsibility, especially across diverse international contexts with varying legal and cultural expectations.
- 2Organizations frequently fail to adequately support their own HR professionals, leading to burnout; implementing 'HR for HR' initiatives or providing external coaching is crucial for their well-being.
- 3Onboarding, often executed poorly, has a profound impact on employee experience; make expectations, responsibilities, values, and organizational norms explicit to reduce cognitive load for new hires.
- 4Successful culture change is incremental, hard, and absolutely requires senior leadership buy-in and active participation, with leaders modeling desired behaviors and communicating commitments explicitly.
- 5HR professionals should learn to manage an unending to-do list by engaging in conversations about trade-offs and organizational priorities, rather than continuously accumulating more tasks.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Many organizations, contrary to common belief and discussion, do not effectively support HR professionals experiencing burnout, highlighting a significant gap between awareness and practical support.
- •Culture change is inherently difficult and slow, directly challenging the notion that quick, top-down directives can achieve meaningful or immediate shifts without deep senior leader buy-in.
In Stacey's words
“If ever I feel like I'm moving into those territories [of being a therapist], then I know that's something I need to step back from because that's not something as HR people that we're trained for.”
Highlights the critical boundary HR professionals must maintain to avoid overstepping their role and professional capacity.
“This is not one that I've seen many organizations do well or heard from my colleagues in my community. That they feel really supported.”
A candid admission about the widespread failure of organizations to support their own HR teams, despite the profession's focus on employee well-being.
“If an organization can create that HR for HR or provide external coaching, that's what I would— the first and foremost thing I would recommend, because that is ultimately the place where that coach is there for you and you alone.”
Offers a specific, high-impact solution for combating HR burnout by providing dedicated, unbiased support.
“onboarding, it still is the thing that is often not done well, but has such a huge impact.”
Emphasizes the significant, yet often overlooked, opportunity to improve employee experience and retention through effective onboarding.
“culture change is incredibly hard, and it cannot really be achieved without the senior leaders in the organization having buy-in.”
A direct statement on the prerequisite for successful culture transformation, stressing the non-negotiable role of top-level leadership.
“accept that the to-do list will never be done. You will always have folks who want you to do more or add more onto your kind of HR list.”
Offers practical advice for HR professionals to manage expectations and advocate for their capacity, linking to personal well-being.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Many organizations struggle to provide adequate support and resources for HR professionals, leading to high rates of burnout and leaves of absence within HR teams.
- •Establishing clear boundaries between HR's professional support role and therapeutic support is challenging, especially in diverse global organizations with varying legal and cultural expectations.
- •Poorly executed employee onboarding processes contribute to negative initial employee experiences, missed opportunities for engagement, and potential retention issues.
- •Achieving genuine and lasting culture change is difficult and slow, often hindered by a lack of consistent senior leadership buy-in and the failure to address unspoken organizational norms.
- •HR teams frequently face an ever-growing list of demands, making it difficult to prioritize tasks and manage workload effectively without strategic conversations about trade-offs.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
One of the pivotal moments for me in my career was early to mid-career
A Look at My Career Journey
Creating clear boundaries between personal support and professional responsibility can be challenging
Setting Clear Boundaries Between Personal Support and Professional Responsibility
How did you respond when you noticed signs of burnout among HR professionals
How to Prevent Burnout in HR?
Ononing is often not done well, but has such a huge impact
Stacey Knows How to Build a Stellar Employee Journey
When have you seen a company successfully shift its culture around wellbeing or boundaries
The Fight for Wellbeing at Work
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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