Biography
Lorraine is a lecturer in Employment Relations & Human Resource Management in the Department of Work & Employment Studies. She graduated from the University of Limerick with a BBS in 2002, an MBS (Human Resource Management) in 2003 and a PhD in 2010. Lorraine is a former IRCHSS government of Ireland scholar.
Her main research interests include precarious work, zero hours contracts, automation and the future of work, workplace democracy, workplace bullying, annual hours agreements and mutual gains, employment law and employment relations. She has published widely including in Economic and Industrial Democracy, International Journal of Human Resource Management and Employee Relations and has presented at numerous international conferences. Her research includes commissioned reports on zero hours work to the Irish Government and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Research Interests
My research focuses on precarious work and zero hours contracts, corporate social responsibility, democracy in the workplace, trade union strategies, the future of work, the impact of automation on work design and employment conditions and the impact of change within organisations. Underpinned by the Quality of Work research cluster current research projects include:
- Comparative analysis of the regulation of zero hours and on-call work across seven Anglo-Saxon countries in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
- Future of Work Project: Research with large private sector organisations to investigate the impact of automation on the design of work and employee skills requirements.
- Children's Hospital Project: Conducting research for a large public sector hospital undergoing change to investigate the process of change management and the impact on employees.
- Research commissioned by the Financial Services Union to investigate the impact of automation on the quality of work.
- Comparative research with international colleagues in Denmark and Norway to compare the extent and regulation of marginal part-time work across countries.
Other research interests include working time, annual hours and collaborative bargaining, workplace partnership and mutual gains, workplace bullying, employment law and industrial relations in the airline industry.
Teaching Interests
Employment Law
Negotiation: Theory and Practice
Professional Activities
Committee
- 2019 KBS Academic Mentor Committee,
- 2016 KBS Research Ethics Committee,
Education
- 2010 UL - PhD
- 2003 UL - MSC in HRM
- 2002 UL - BBS
Association
- 2008 Member, Irish Academy of Management
Publications
Book Chapters
Between the profit imperative and worker welfare: Can responsible companies stem the expansion of precarious work?
Ryan, L., McMahon, J. and Turner T.
(2019)
Between the profit imperative and worker welfare: Can responsible companies stem the expansion of precarious work?
In Zero Hours and On-Call Work in Anglo-Saxon Countries;
London :
Springer
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-136613-0
Zero Hours Work and the Role of the Law in Ireland'
McMahon, J., O'Sullivan, M., Turner, T., Ryan, L., Lavelle, J., Murphy, C., O'Brien, M. and Gunnigle, P
(2017)
Zero Hours Work and the Role of the Law in Ireland'
In The New Foundations of Labour law;
Frankfurt, Germany :
Peter Lang
Edited Books
Zero Hours and On-Call Work in Anglo-Saxon Countries
(2019)
Zero Hours and On-Call Work in Anglo-Saxon Countries
O'Sullivan, M., Lavelle, J., MacMahon, J., Ryan, L., Murphy, C., Turner, T. and Gunnigle, P(Ed.)
London :
Springer
Peer Reviewed Journals
Does union membership matter? Political participation, attachment to democracy and generational change
Thomas Turner, Lorraine Ryan, Michelle O'Sullivan
(2020)
Does union membership matter? Political participation, attachment to democracy and generational change
In European Journal Of Industrial Relations;
UK :
DOI: doi.org/10.1177/0959680119844926
Speaking up or staying silent in bullying situations: the significance of management control
MacMahon, J;O'Sullivan, M;Murphy, C;Ryan, L;MacCurtain, S
(2018)
Speaking up or staying silent in bullying situations: the significance of management control
In Industrial Relations Journal;
HOBOKEN :
DOI: 10.1111/irj.12230
The Role of the State in Shaping Zero Hours Work in an Atypical Liberal Market Economy
Michelle O'Sullivan, Thomas Turner, Jonathan Lavelle, Juliet McMahon, Caroline Murphy, Lorraine Ryan, Patrick Gunnigle, Mike O'Brien
(2017)
The Role of the State in Shaping Zero Hours Work in an Atypical Liberal Market Economy
In Economic And Industrial Democracy;
Conference Publications
Labour Employment Relations Association Conference
Ryan, L., O'Sullivan, M., Lavelle, J., and Murphy, C.
(2018)
Labour Employment Relations Association Conference
CRIMT - Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work
McMahon, J. O'Sullivan, M., Ryan, L., Turner, T. Lavelle, J., Murphy, C., O'Brien, M. and Gunnigle, P
(2018)
CRIMT - Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work
21st Annual Irish Academy of Management Conference
Turner, T., Ryan, L. and O'Sullivan, M.
(2018)
21st Annual Irish Academy of Management Conference
3rd Global Conference of International Human Resource Management
Ryan, L., McMahon, J., O'Sullivan, M., Turner, T., Lavelle, J., Murphy, C., O'Brien, M. and Gunnigle, P
(2017)
3rd Global Conference of International Human Resource Management
Proceedings of the 11th MAC Conference
Turner, T., and Ryan, L
(2017)
Proceedings of the 11th MAC Conference
ReMarkLab Conference: New Foundations of Labour Law in the Globalised Market Economy?
O'Sullivan, M., Turner, T., McMahon, J., Ryan, L., Lavelle, J., Murphy, C., O'Brien, M. and Gunnigle, P.
(2016)
ReMarkLab Conference: New Foundations of Labour Law in the Globalised Market Economy?
19th Annual Irish Academy of Management Conference
O'Sullivan, M., Turner, T., McMahon, J., Ryan, L., Lavelle, J., Murphy, C., O'Brien, M. and Gunnigle, P.
(2016)
19th Annual Irish Academy of Management Conference
British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference
O'Sullivan, M., Turner, T., McMahon, J., Ryan, L., Lavelle, J., Murphy, C., O'Brien, M. and Gunnigle, P.
(2016)
British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference
Conference Contributions
Working Time as Wage in Disguise
Ryan, L. and O'Sullivan, M.
(2017)
Working Time as Wage in Disguise
University of Copenhagen
3rd Global Conference on International HRM
Juliet mac Mahon and Lorraine Ryan
(2017)
3rd Global Conference on International HRM
St John's University, Manhattan Campus, New York, US
Defining and Measuring Precarious Work
Ryan, L., MacMahon, J., O'Sullivan, M. and Murphy, C.
(2017)
Defining and Measuring Precarious Work
Oslo Fafo Institute
Published Reports
On-call work in industrialized countries
O'Sullivan, M., Lavelle, J., MacMahon, J., Ryan, L, Murphy, C. and O'Brien, M.
(2018)
On-call work in industrialized countries
Geneva :
International Labour Organisation
A Study on the Prevalence of Zero Hour Contracts among Irish Employers and the Impact on Employees,
O'Sullivan, M., Turner, T., MacMahon, J., Ryan, L., Lavelle, J., Murphy, C., Gunnigle, P and O'Brien, M
(2015)
A Study on the Prevalence of Zero Hour Contracts among Irish Employers and the Impact on Employees,
Ireland :
University of Limerick
