The Spooky Side of HR: Workplace Frights That Keep HR Up at Night
Author: Taia Northrup, 2026 Social Media Committee Volunteer
Halloween is the season for haunted houses and stories that send shivers down our spines. But for HR professionals, some of the scariest situations don’t involve ghosts or goblins. They happen right within the workplace.
Behind every employee experience is a workplace culture shaped by communication, leadership, expectations, and trust. Research suggests that factors such as unclear roles, unmanaged workplace stress, and limited opportunities for employees to speak up can have meaningful consequences for both employees and organizations (Hassan, 2013; Government of Canada, 2016; CIPD, 2024)
This Halloween, let’s shine a light on the spooky side of HR: the workplace realities we do not always talk about.
1. The ghost of communication past
Poor communication can haunt an organization long after a message is missed. Important updates get lost; expectations are assumed rather than explained, and employees are left piecing information together on their own. This results in confusion, frustration, duplicated work, and a growing lack of trust.
The reality is that communication isn’t just about sending a message. It’s about making sure the right people receive it, understand it, and know what to do with it. Two-way communication also gives employees a way to raise concerns and contribute ideas, helping organizations better understand the experiences of their workforce (CIPD, 2024)
2. The never-ending zombie job description
Responsibilities keep growing. Projects are added. Employees become unofficial go-to person for tasks that don’t seem to belong to anyone else. Unclear roles and responsibilities can leave employees overwhelmed, leaders frustrated, and teams working in silos. Research by Hassan (2013), examining 1,699 employees across 45 government agency office, found that great role clarity was associated with higher job satisfaction and lower turnover rates. When accountability is missing, tasks fall through the cracks, or multiple people unknowingly do the same work.
Employees need clarity about their roles, decision-making authority, priorities, and how their work connects to the bigger picture. The Government of Canada also identifies clearly defined duties and responsibilities as one of the practices that supports psychological health in the workplace (Government of Canada, 2016). A job description shouldn’t be a document that comes back to life once a year for performance reviews. Expectations should evolve alongside the role.
3. The turnover vampire
One employee leaves. Then another. Before long, the team is spending more time recruiting, onboarding, and training than getting work done. High turnover can drain an organization of institutional knowledge, team stability, and employee morale. And when remaining employees absorb the workload, burnout can quickly follow. But here’s the frightening part: turnover is often treated as a recruitment problem when the underlying causes may have little to do with recruitment.
Employees may be leaving because of poor leadership, limited development opportunities, unmanageable workloads, lack of recognition, or a lack of clarity about what is expected of them. Research on role clarification has also identified a relationship between clearer roles, job satisfaction, and lower turnover (Hassan, 2013).
4. The haunted house of unspoken expectations
Employees are expected to know what success looks like. Managers assume their teams understand the priorities. Performance reviews arrive, and suddenly, everyone discovers they’re not on the same page. When expectations aren’t clearly communicated, employees may feel blindsided by feedback, while managers become frustrated that work isn’t being completed as expected.
The problem isn’t always a lack of effort. Sometimes, it's a lack of clarity. Clear expectations need to be established early and revisited often. Regular check-ins, meaningful feedback, and conversations about priorities can help prevent misunderstandings before they become performance concerns. Role clarity is also associated with greater work satisfaction, reinforcing the value of ensuring employees understand what their roles require (Hassan, 2013).
5. The burnout cauldron
The team is short-staffed. Deadlines aren’t moving. Everyone is doing their best to keep things running, and taking a break feels impossible. Overtime, extra responsibilities become the norm, workloads keep increasing, and exhaustion is mistaken for dedication.
Burnout rarely appears overnight. It can build gradually as employees operate in survival mode for weeks or months. The World Health Organization describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed (WHO, 2019)
Organizations need to look beyond individual coping strategies and examine the workplace conditions contributing to exhaustion. Managing workloads, supporting employee participation, and defining responsibilities are among the practices recommended by the Governent of Canada for psychologically healthy workplaces (Government of Canada, 2016) Sustainable performance requires realistic expectations, supportive leadership, and the ability to raise concerns without fear.
6. The employee engagement masquerade
The survey results look good. The engagement event was a success. Everyone smiled at the team photo. But behind the scenes, employees may feel disconnected, unheard, or reluctant to speak honestly about their experiences. Social events and recognition programs can contribute to a positive employee experience. However, they cannot replace trust, fir treatment, meaningful work, and leaders who listen and follow through.
Asking employees feedback, listening without becoming defensive, and communicating what happens next. When people see that their input leads to meaningful action, engagement becomes more than a survey. Research highlighted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, 2024) suggests that employee voice can strengthen the long term benefits of effective management practices.
Bringing the shadows into the light
The most challenging workplace issues aren’t always dramatic. Often, they’re the small, recurring problems that go unaddressed until they become much harder to ignore. A missed conversation, an unclear responsibility, another resignation, a team that has stopped speaking up.
These are reminders that a healthy workplace doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intentional communication, clear expectations, supportive leadership, and a willingness to address uncomfortable issues before they grow. This Halloween, let’s look beyond the policies and processes and pay attention to the everyday experiences shaping our workplaces.
References
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developement (CIPD). (2024, February 16). Employee voice boosts outcomes of management practices.
https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/bitesize-research/employee-representation/
Government of Canada. (2016, July 14). Psychological Health in the Workplace. Employment and Social Development Canada.
Hassan, S. (2013). The importance of role clarification in workgroups: Effects on perceived role clarity, work satisfaction, and turnover rates. Public Administration Review, 73(5), 716-725.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/puar.12100
World Health Organization (WHO). (2019, May 28). Burn-out an occupational phenomenon: International Classification of Diseases.
About the author
Taia Northrup is an emerging HR professional based in Edmonton, Alberta, currently working as an Operations Administrator at Wolf Midstream and serving as a CPHR Alberta Volunteer on the 2026 Social Media Committee. A recent graduate of NAIT’s Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management program, she is actively working toward her professional designation with CPHR Alberta. Taia brings a strong interest in employee engagement, workplace culture, and integrating people‑focused practices within technology‑driven environments, and enjoys contributing fresh perspectives as an early‑career professional. Recognized on the Dean’s Honour Roll, she is passionate about supporting initiatives that strengthen workplaces and empower employees.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post belong solely to the original author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of CPHR Alberta.
