HR News: Politics, Mental Health, and the Future of HR with Justin Dorsey

In episode 250, Coffey talks with Justin Dorsey about recent HR-related new items including navigating politics, mental health, employees’ sometimes inflated compensation expectations, and the most in-demand HR skills.  They discuss managing political conversations and ideological conflict in the workplace; balancing employee expression with productivity and respectful communication; how HR leaders can create psychologically safe but performance-focused cultures; generational differences in resilience, stress, and mental health expectations; the growing importance of employee assistance programs and mental health leave awareness; how poor sleep hygiene and digital overload impact employee productivity and wellbeing; handling difficult compensation conversations and unrealistic salary increase demands; avoiding emotional decision-making during employee relations conflicts; why culture fit should evolve into culture add during hiring decisions; the increasing demand for HR technology, people analytics, and change management expertise; how artificial intelligence is reshaping HR roles and workforce management; and the future convergence of HR leadership with operational leadership responsibilities.  Media mentioned in this podcast:  The End of “No Politics at Work” and What Comes Next Mental health leaves are rising. How can organizations reduce and better manage leaves? | Idaho Statesman The 2026 Workplace Mental Health Annual Report | Spring Health Employee demands a near 50% raise : r/managers HR Career Outlook 2026: Is Your HR Career Future-Proof? - AIHR  For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we've created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP250  Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com.   If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.   About our Guest:  Justin brings a background of psychology and sociology into the world of HR. He is currently a fractional HR consultant for the Texas HR Team where he provides strategic HR support for small businesses and nonprofit organizations.  With extensive experience in a variety of industries, including retail, healthcare, distribution, and engineering, His expertise includes employee relations, talent acquisition, training, compensation, benefits, and employee engagement. He holds both a Senior Professional and Global Professional certification in Human Resources.  Outside of work, Justin is a dedicated volunteer at his church and other community organizations including Junior Achievement and F3. He’s a past president of Fort Worth HR and was recognized by the Fort Worth Business Press in their Top 40 Under 40 program. More importantly, he’s a husband of 1 and father of 2. Don’t get him started talking about chickens or Texas Tech sports.  Justin Dorsey can be reached at justin@texasHRteam.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-dorsey-sphr  About Mike Coffey:  Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, business strategist, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher. In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make well-informed decisions about the people they involve in their business. Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service