Ep 254 - Ireland's HR Landscape 2026

Addiction remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatised issues in the workplace. While organisations have made significant progress in supporting employee mental health and wellbeing, many employees struggling with addiction still feel unable to speak openly about their experiences, fearing judgement, damaged career prospects or even dismissal. In this episode of The HR Room, we're joined by Darren Grady, who spent 14 years concealing his recovery from addiction throughout a successful corporate career. With Darren, Mary and Dave explore the hidden reality of addiction in the workplace, the trust gap between employees and HR, and why high-performing employees can often conceal serious struggles behind professional success. The conversation also examines the difficult balance HR professionals must strike between supporting employees and protecting their organisations, and what employers can do to create an environment where people feel safe seeking help. Guests:

We all experience stress at work. Deadlines, demanding workloads and competing priorities are part of working life. But how do you know when everyday workplace stress is becoming something more serious? And what can you do when the pressure just doesn't let up? In this episode of Wellness Works, a mini-series of The HR Room Podcast, Dave is joined by Laura Barry, Head of People Development at Insight HR, to explore the difference between stress and burnout, how to recognise the early warning signs, and what finding a healthy work-life balance actually looks like. We discuss why burnout isn't always accompanied by a drop in performance, why simply encouraging employees to become more resilient isn't enough, and how organisations can inadvertently contribute to stress through the way work is designed and managed. Laura also shares practical advice for managers on recognising when someone on their team might be struggling, how to start supportive conversations, and the small changes individuals can make to create a healthier, more sustainable relationship with work. In this episode, we discuss:

What happens to the world of work if living to 100 becomes increasingly normal? Irish Life’s recently published Life100+ research explores how longer lives could change the way we work, plan and retire. With people potentially spending longer in the workforce, organisations may need to rethink everything from career development and recruitment to employee benefits, financial wellbeing and retirement. Joining us on this episode of The HR Room Podcast is Barbara O’Malley, Chief People Officer at Irish Life Group, to explore what the findings mean for employers and HR professionals. We discuss changing attitudes towards retirement, why organisations need to think differently about attracting and retaining experienced workers, and how longer careers could require a fundamental rethink of traditional, linear career paths. Barbara also explores the importance of lifelong learning and the idea of developing a “skills passport” that allows employees to move between roles and even careers over the course of their working lives. We look at the pressures facing employees in the “squeezed middle”, the growing importance of financial wellbeing, and why flexible benefits and phased retirement could become increasingly important. Guest:

For some HR professionals, working with trade unions is a normal part of everyday life. For others, the prospect of sitting across the negotiating table from a union representative can be unfamiliar – and more than a little daunting. So, what do you need to know before you enter a negotiation? How do you build a productive relationship with union representatives? And what happens when talks become contentious – or even break down completely? Joining us on this episode of The HR Room is Sharron Clancy, Senior HR Consultant at Insight HR, who has extensive experience working in unionised environments and negotiating with trade unions throughout her career. Alongside Insight HR Managing Director Mary Cullen, Sharron shares practical advice for HR professionals who find themselves dealing with trade unions – whether that's around pay negotiations, organisational change, redundancies, employee relations or workplace disputes. Guest: Sharron Clancy - Senior HR Consultant, Insight HR Topics include:

What can a reality TV show built around deception, suspicion and group dynamics teach us about how organisations really work? Quite a lot, as it turns out. In this episode of The HR Room Podcast, Mary Cullen and Dave Corkery are joined by Katelyn Divilly, organisational development consultant, leadership coach and former Traitor on the first season of The Traitors Ireland. Drawing on Katelyn's background in work and organisational psychology – as well as her first-hand experience inside the castle – we explore the fascinating parallels between The Traitors and the workplace. Why do informal leaders emerge within groups? Why are we so susceptible to groupthink? How quickly can labels become accepted as fact? And what happens when the systems and incentives inside an organisation encourage exactly the behaviours leaders say they don't want? We also look at trust as the infrastructure behind high-performing teams, the difference between confidence and genuine leadership competence, and why technical high performers don't automatically make good managers. Katelyn explains how organisational systems can unintentionally reward the wrong behaviours, while Mary explores what happens when influential individuals are allowed to behave poorly because they're considered too valuable to challenge. Finally, we discuss what pressure reveals about leaders – and why self-management, emotional intelligence and strong relationships become even more important when things start going wrong. In this episode, we discuss: