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HR professionals play an important part in caring for their organisation's people, but they could be more intentional about looking after themselves, according to an expert who warns a "perfect storm" is brewing.

Last year, gender expert and Code Conversations MD Danielle Dobson conducted research on HR, culture and trust with Entente founder Vanessa Hall, finding organisations often expect HR personnel to be "caring for and meeting the needs of everyone in the organisation", and that some HR personnel expect this of themselves.

In keeping with stereotypes around the role of women, HR practitioners are often seen as having a "support" role and expected to wear multiple hats: counsellor, coach, therapist, and assistant. The fact most HR professionals are women contributes to a double bind where many are either seen as too bossy, or too motherly, Dobson and Hall say...