HR Unfiltered - brought to you by SOPEOPLE

E26 - HR Wellbeing Report 2026 - with Dr Jo Burrell

Dr Jo Burrell is a Clinical Psychologist, co-founder of Ultimate Resilience, and co-author of the 2026 HR Mental Wellbeing Report which is now in its third year and drawing on data from nearly 3,000 HR professionals. The numbers are confronting: * 74% showing symptoms of depression, * 73% anxiety, * 62% likely experiencing burnout, and * 38% considering leaving the profession entirely. But in this conversation we go well beneath the statistics. We explore how the report was designed using clinical-grade measures (the same tools a GP uses before prescribing medication) and what it actually means to score at those thresholds. We also get into the invisibility of emotional labour, why HR professionals are among the least likely people to seek support despite designing it for everyone else, why "workload" may be too blunt a word for what the profession is actually carrying, and what three years of consistent data tells us about the structural problem underneath it all. Dr Jo Burrell is a joy to speak to and can be reached on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jo-burrell-04901a96/]. The HR Wellbeing Report published today, 1 June 2026, is available to download here [https://www.ultimateresilience.co.uk/hr-mental-wellbeing-report].  As always, you can get in touch with Dean and Sue via hiya@sopeople.co.uk.  [hiya@sopeople.co.uk/] And very importantly, if you are struggling with work or experiencing any emotional challenges, please get in touch with Dean [https://www.linkedin.com/in/deancorbettpxandcoaching/] about his psychotherapy practice, or he can point you in the direction of someone suitable.

E25 - Stop helping people - with Lorna Bains

This week, Dean Corbett and Sue O’Callaghan are joined by leadership consultant and former CPO Lorna Baines for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had yet about leadership, HR and organisational reality. Together, we explore: * Why “helpful HR” may actually be holding the profession back * The difference between being nice and being kind * Why psychological safety is not the absence of difficult conversations * Leadership ego, narcissism and organisational dysfunction * Why most leadership development programmes fail * The power of facilitation over hero leadership * Collective leadership and “Total Football” * HR’s role as truth teller, coach and systems thinker * The loneliness of HR work * Imposter syndrome, anxiety and corporate survival * AI, uncertainty and the future capability requirements of HR * Why culture is far more than values on a mug A deeply human conversation about leadership, courage, honesty and what modern people work now demands from all of us. Topics include leadership, culture, organisational systems, psychological safety, AI, HR strategy, facilitation, emotional intelligence, business transformation and the future of people leadership. As she says, Lorna is available on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lornabains/].

E24 - AI Ethics - the bit everyone seems to skip - with Oliver Hill

Everyone says they care about AI ethics. Very few organisations are actually doing anything meaningful with it. This week Dean and Sue sit down with Oliver Hill - Head of HR, qualified AI ethics practitioner, and former nightclub bouncer - to have the conversation most leadership teams might be avoiding. It's not theoretical, it's not policy-heavy, it's about what happens at the point of decision, when the algorithm says you're fine, the data team says it's legal, and something in your gut says it isn't. Get hold of Oli on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-hill-chartered-mcipd-463b03122/].

E23 - AI without the BS (with Erica Farmer)

Erica Farmer, author of AI for People Professionals and host of AI for the Average Joe, joins Deano for this episode to state the obvious and less obvious... AI has landed in HR - but most organisations are still stuck somewhere between dabbling, panicking and pretending they have a strategy because someone switched on Copilot. In this episode, Deano and Erica chat to cut through the noise and talk about what AI adoption in HR actually requires: Confidence, clarity, permission, psychological safety and a proper people-first approach. Erica explains why AI is not “just another system implementation”, why HR needs to stop waiting for IT to own the human side of transformation, and why every HR professional now needs to see themselves as a change architect. * Why AI is different from traditional workplace technology * The biggest mistake HR is making with AI adoption * Why policies and toolkits are not enough * The importance of creating an AI manifesto * How to move from experimentation to meaningful adoption * Erica’s concept of the “AI dividend” * Why people need personal buy-in before organisational buy-in * The role of psychological safety in AI enablement * Why HR and IT must collaborate — but HR cannot outsource the people bit * Why prompt lists are not enough * How AI can support wellbeing, inclusion and productivity * What to do when adoption stalls * The first thing nervous or curious users should try AI adoption is not a tech rollout. It is a people change. If employees do not understand why AI is being introduced, how it affects them, what they are allowed to do with it, and where the guardrails are, they will either avoid it or use it at a very surface level. The organisations seeing progress are the ones giving people permission to experiment, linking AI to personal benefit, and creating space for people to redesign work from the ground up. Connect with Erica Farmer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericafarmer [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericafarmer]  Listen to AI for the Average Joe: https://www.youtube.com/@AIForTheAverageJoe [https://www.youtube.com/@AIForTheAverageJoe]  Buy AI for People Professionals: Available NOW from Kogan Page and Amazon.

E22 - Twats at Work - with author and HR pro Carolyn Hobdey

Sue is back. And we've brought in someone who has spent her career in rooms where the numbers matter, the pressure is real, and the conversations people most need to have are the ones nobody's having. Carolyn Hobdey - author, Lean Master, YouTuber and self-described work in progress - talks about the inner t**t we all carry, why most leadership failure is about avoidance rather than aggression, why male leaders are more afraid than they look, and what HR needs to start doing differently. Including, possibly, sorting out its own house first. Carolyn's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynhobdey/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynhobdey/]  Carolyn's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmN6-u8U2LA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmN6-u8U2LA]