New research has revealed widespread burnout and organisational fragmentation within marketing functions, raising important questions for HR leaders overseeing high-pressure commercial teams.
The study, based on insights from 1,000 marketers and technology buyers across the UK and US, paints a picture of a sector operating under significant strain. More than half (53%) of marketers describe their working environment as “chaotic”, while 34% report fatigue and heightened stress. Nearly three quarters (72%) say they are not sleeping properly, with many admitting to working additional hours, skipping breaks and deprioritising long-term planning.
For senior HR leaders, the findings highlight both wellbeing and performance risks. Burnout is not only affecting individuals but appears to be linked to broader organisational challenges.
According to the report, fragmentation across teams, processes and technology is directly impacting business outcomes. Product (40%), partner (29%) and demand (28%) functions were identified as the most disconnected areas of marketing.
This lack of alignment is contributing to stalled deals (29%), inconsistent quality of work (33%) and missed commercial opportunities (32%).
The research also indicates that misalignment between marketing, sales and partners is negatively affecting buyers. With purchasing decisions now involving 11 or more stakeholders, buyers cite excessive content (34%), unclear messaging (31%) and lack of trust (33%) as key barriers.
Ali Hussain, Chief Strategy Officer at tmp, said leaders must address underlying structural issues rather than short-term symptoms: “CMOs and other revenue leaders need to stop playing whack-a-mole with surface-level symptoms and address the underlying challenges. Namely, that an increasingly chaotic environment is constantly pulling people, organisations, brands and customer journeys apart. As the research shows, marketers are losing sleep. Teams are misaligned. Brands are being diluted and buying groups are struggling to reach consensus.
“In 2026, marketing teams are being asked to do more with less, to use AI, to move faster. That’s exacerbating the problem – they’re scaling fragmentation. Instead, marketers need to focus on creating coherence across data, strategy, creative, media and sales, from reputation-building to revenue and on through retention. It’s better for brands, and 97% of buyers agree it’s better for them. Scale chaos, and you scale pain. Scale coherence, and you scale revenue.”
The report suggests that pressure to adopt AI tools and deliver more with fewer resources may be intensifying fragmentation rather than resolving it.
For HR teams, the findings reinforce the importance of cross-functional alignment, workload management and psychological safety, particularly in high-growth or revenue-focused environments. As marketing complexity increases, organisational coherence and employee wellbeing are becoming closely intertwined with commercial performance.