I Worked As A Character Actor At Disney World. Here’s What You Don’t See Happening Behind The Scenes.

Posted on 04/05/2026 by Boris Clair

It’s my first day of training at Disney World Orlando, and I am learning how to be Pooh, a big yellow bear who is constantly reminded by guests that he’s not wearing pants. I’ve almost perfected the walk, but these boxy feet are giving me shin splints.

Soon I’ve successfully mastered talking, signing and acting like every character in my height range. If I can prove myself as a fur performer, they’ll upgrade me to a face character, transitioning me from cartoon animal costumes to talking human icons. I have my fingers crossed, because it’s autumn, and despite the cool breeze coming in through my mouth, sticky sweat is pouring out of everywhere else. It’s so hot that the pregnant Donald Duck standing across from me just passed out, and I am not far behind. Welcome to the most magical place on Earth!

Though I grew up on Disney films, I never imagined myself working for the Mouse. When I was 7, my grandmother made me chop my hair into a bowl cut before she would take me to Disney World. I spent the entire day crying and now I can’t clearly recall a single thing that happened while we were there.

When I was 13, my grandparents enrolled me in vocal lessons with a woman I would later consider a second mother. During our 12 years together, her daughter became a professional singer and started working at Disney as a stage performer before moving on to Broadway and producing her own albums. When it was suggested that I follow in her footsteps, I leapt at the opportunity to move away from home.

A few weeks after my 20th birthday, I sat in an audition hall alongside hundreds of other hopefuls. I was so nervous that I bombed my performance, but I was encouraged to apply as a face character and to return for stage roles when I was ready. I came back eager for a second chance and spent the day getting measured, learning parade dances, showcasing my miming abilities, and delivering the film lines of characters I resembled. While my dance skills weren’t remarkable, I did land the roles of Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Fawn, a fairy from the beloved Tinker Bell franchise, thereby securing myself a ticket to unforgettable experiences.

I quickly discover that at Disney World, pixie dust is real, except some Tinkerbells take it up the nose instead of sprinkling it on little kids, and one of the guys who plays Prince Charming is rumoured to be on a quest to sleep with a girl from every continent. Thanks to Epcot, he’s more than halfway there. I doubt Walt ever envisioned his creation turning into a buffet for brash men. Meanwhile, the Princess dressing room is abuzz with a rumour that a guy who plays one of the park’s most infamous pirates is giving out golden showers without consent on his days off. I also heard that an employee got fired for getting caught in the bathroom with Mickey’s glove. I shudder to think of how many thousands of germ-ridden hands touched it before it got up close and personal with her mini mouse.

During my first few months working at Disney, I thrive on fast-food meals, a fake celebrity status and late-night outings. I’m staying in a bougie townhouse just outside of Celebration, Florida (a suburb of Orlando that was originally created by the Walt Disney Company), with two other employees for $350 a month each. I move through several parks each week, so the break rooms are always filled with new faces. For now, my closest friends are the photographers and cast assistants who accompany me.

When winter arrives, I finally step into the role of a face character. I discover how to apply fake lashes, glitter and custom wigs. I’m told that my head is two inches smaller than average, that I need Mellow Yellow to cover my hickey, and that tanning is no longer an option. The Cinderella beside me is reprimanded for gaining weight and Ariel is with management to discuss ageing out.

On my first day as Belle, I feel like a yellow cake topper trapped in a 40-pound ballgown that, despite being laundered hundreds of times, still smells like musk. As the doors to the Princess Room open, my fellow castmates and I are greeted with literal “oohs” and “ahhs.” I wasn’t prepared to do a thousand squats today, nor was I ready for the oblivious mother who plops her baby onto my lap despite the full diaper leaking brown sludge from the sides, who then insists on taking photo after photo. And I am certainly not ready for the father who leans in and asks if I’m into bestiality.

The author playing Belle from "Beauty and the Beast." — The author playing Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.”

The Underground is a network of tunnels that serves as a shortcut to anywhere in the park. Performers use it prevent guests from seeing duplicate characters roaming the parks, which would most certainly destroy the illusion that the company is working so hard to keep intact. Because of the sour-smelling sewage running through the pipes overhead, I’m forced to play a perennial game of “dodge the drips”. Disney also offers a cafeteria with various chain restaurants, an onsite gas station, firehouse and medical clinic.

To help preserve the magic of Disney, it is said no one has ever been declared dead on park property, but I’ve heard several people have been decapitated. Tell me how that one works. It’s difficult to know what’s real and what’s not in a world of make believe but I’ve heard plenty more gruesome things have happened in the park. I was told a Tigger was literally run over during a parade and someone else claimed that a Lion King monkey snapped his neck attempting a forward roll in rehearsal. There’s a rumour that Space Mountain has claimed more than its fair share of riders. I don’t know if that’s true, but Splash Mountain was once shut down because a guest thought it would be a good idea to hop out of his boat in the middle of the ride. Long story short: the logs kept moving and the unsuspecting man was crushed as he tried to cross the human-made river.

By spring, I’ve been moved to the sunrise shift. This means that I’m part of the backstage tours, a chance for guests who have paid an obscene amount of money to become disenchanted. They pass by my dressing room, and I’ve never felt more like a zoo animal. No one asks me questions — maybe they’ve been told not to interact with us — and instead I hear:

“Look at her wig!”

“I had no idea she looked like that in real life.”

“Take a picture of those shoes. Oh, right, no cameras allowed. Sorry.”

“Wow, how much do you think those dresses cost to make?”

“Someone needs some coffee.”

For the next year and a half, the luster continues to fade. I wake up, drag myself out of bed, park in the cast lot, ride the bus behind the gates, run down the tunnel, clock in late, get another warning, grab my costume, do my makeup, walk to my assigned area, listen to hype music while awaiting start time, then walk onto set feeling like a baddie.

Smile. Squat down for kids. Pictures. Squat. Squat. Squat. Smile. See 200 guests per set. Clear the room. Sigh as all smiles flatline. Walk off set. Change into break-room attire. Watch Disney films on the couch. Eat Subway. Nap. Fix makeup. Redress. Repeat four times, with each interval lasting 45 to 85 minutes.

I am allowed to go into the parks during my breaks to watch parades, get ice cream, ride coasters, or shop the gift stores, but I never feel the desire to abandon my bubble, not even when auditions for Disney Tokyo and Paris are announced. This is a job, after all. When work is done, I leave, pick up hibachi, and look forward to being home in my pyjamas.

Still, I make lifelong friends, and we take Disney cruises together, and dance our way through confetti and vodka in Florida clubs where our glitter-covered faces seem right at home.

One day at the end of my second year, I’m playing Fawn, a rough-and-tumble tomboy fairy who can talk to animals. I climb plastic trees that overlook painted sunsets until I reach popcorn ceilings, which seem to stare back at me and say, “Grow up.” But here, in Neverland, I don’t have to.

We have a meet-and-greet with a Make-A-Wish child within the first hour. After being dressed up by Fairy Godmothers, she’s wheeled in, and we surround her with gentle coos. They shut off the timer hidden in the upper right-hand corner of the room. It usually serves as a strict guest counter to make sure we hit our numbers. For now, however, it’s dark.

We take our time asking her questions about her interests and dreams. We compliment her sparkling shoes and the Mickey ears perched atop her radiation scars until it’s time to say goodbye. She’s on her way to the real Neverland, so we huddle together as our wings tremble with the emotions we’ve been holding back.

We typically meet with over 1,000 people per day. We are not told to hug children for as long as they want because we have a line to get through and quotas to meet. So we cherish moments like this, when time slows down and we are reminded of why we are here. It is our duty and honor to bring magic into the lives of both children and adults.

Some days, it is easy to shrug off or make light of this mission. On other days, an encounter with someone like this little girl settles like wet concrete in my gut and I have a hard time recovering from how unfair life feels. Unfortunately, I have to get back to work, and our customers don’t want to see a devastated fairy.

I can’t see any way to rise up the ranks at Disney World unless I moved into management, which I don’t want to do. Every day I feel more trapped beneath the wigs and pinned down by the costumes. The feeling that I’m suffocating behind the grinning masks is more constant. My panic attacks become too frequent and difficult to control, but I don’t want to take the anxiety medication I’m offered. I realise it’s time for me to move on.

On my last day, Peter Pan is a special guest in our Pixie Hollow. No one knows that Peter is my favourite representation of dreams, imagination and eternal possibilities. As the room closes and the secret set walls open to return us to human life, I pause because I realise what these last few steps mean. As if it has all suddenly become real, Peter reaches out his hand to me.

“All it takes is faith and trust,” he says, as we skip out one last time. I almost believe him.

The author (middle) with her husband (right) and a friend at Disney on Halloween.

Disney’s economy has rarely suffered because there will always be people who seek safety in nostalgia. Visitors can interact with — or even become — the characters they admire, remember what it feels like to believe in happy endings, and live vicariously through the joy of their children.

I worked at Disney for three years, and I didn’t learn a thing about myself. Disney is like high school. It solidified my identity through cliques, but did not expand it. Being a character is not all it’s cracked up to be, and making magic is not the same as experiencing it.

These days, I see Disney as a glittering pink castle placed atop a stagnant Florida marsh. You can dress it up all you want, but at the end of the day, it’s still hot, crowded and overrated. The fantasy only works when it’s carefully maintained, and someone always has to be backstage or sweating inside a costume to hold the illusion together.

If you are headed there tomorrow, go. Let yourself believe in magic. Take pictures, cry at the fireworks, hold your child’s hand a little longer than you normally might. Don’t listen to me — I never loved Disney to begin with, so I couldn’t fall out of love with it when I left.

I still enjoy watching my husband, who is new to the “wonderful world of Disney,” explore the parks. I still find myself talking like Belle when I’m on a professional call, and Fawn will always be a part of me. I watch most of the Disney films, because, as intended, they bring me comfort and inspiration.

Knowing what I know now has not ruined Disney for me. I see it as I always did: a theme park designed for entertainment and escapism. I am disappointed that I didn’t find anything magical while I worked there, but I guess that’s the point: There is no real magic behind the curtain, only what we create in front of it.

Michalla Brianna is an author, CEO/founder of Barrie Patch Books & The Healing Arts LLC, as well as an executive producer, podcast host, clinical counsellor, and expressive arts therapist. She holds five university degrees in creative writing and psychology. This essay is part of a memoir told in vignettes.

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These ‘Sacrifice Scorecards’ Tell Us A Lot About How Parents Are Being Failed

Posted on 30/04/2026 by Boris Clair

What have you given up since becoming a parent?

It might be precious time spent with your newborn – the UK’s paternity leave is the worst in Europe forcing many dads back to work before they’re ready. It might be career progression, a pay rise or even your job (85% of women leave the full-time workforce within three years of having their first child).

It might be your savings or any extra income you are forced to make in order to pay for full-time childcare, which can range from £60 to £100 per day (government help with these costs is applicable to some, not all).

A new study on fatherhood from Equimundo, which polled 8,000 parents and caregivers across 16 countries, found fathers value care more than ever – but are increasingly stretched to breaking point.

The study found parents don’t have the time, resources, or support to care for their families without constant strain, which it dubbed a “crisis”.

Savings (and safety nets) are drained, hours are cut to work around the school day (four out of five parents said their employer won’t allow flexible working), job security hangs in the balance, and study and leisure time quietly disappears.

The sacrifices parents make

The report’s “sacrifice scorecard” asked the world’s mums and dads what they have had to give up in order to care for their loved ones.

It found parents are making six to eight separate sacrifices to provide care for their children.

One in four had to refinance their homes to pay for care services, one in three turned down a professional advancement to provide care, almost two-thirds worked overtime to bring home extra pay, and half took on a second or third job to increase their income.

It’s no wonder then that three in four dads, and four in five mums, are losing sleep over their financial future.

The report highlighted how these sacrifices can also fuel increased anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and higher alcohol consumption. It noted fathers have higher odds than mothers of falling into the high-distress group, with younger dads most at risk.

Its authors summarised that fathers want to be present and active in the daily lives of their children, but are held back by norms and policies that haven’t caught up – and it’s placing great strain on families.

Elliott Rae, founder of Parenting Out Loud and Equal Parenting Week, said the sacrifices dads are having to make, per the new research, tell “a new version of the same story that we have heard” from mums over the years.

“This isn’t about competition between the sexes; it’s about recognising that both parents are continually having to make sacrifices because of societal structures that make parenting in the UK akin to the ‘wipe out’ obstacle course tryouts,” he said.

“Unequal parenting leave means that mums are set up as the primary carer and dads are set up as the chief provider, and both parents then struggle to excel in each other’s lanes.

“We need to set parents up as equals from the get-go by levelling up paternity leave, and then we need to instil flexible working practices that allow mothers to work to their full potential instead of making themselves smaller in order to ‘have it all’ and dads to be able to be the present dads that they want to be.”

Gary Barker, president and CEO of Equimundo, responded that while “men are doing more of the care work and finding meaning and happiness in doing so”, families everywhere “face enormous challenges to provide basic care”.

He called on men to “demand and advocate for the care services we all need”.

Lee Chambers, founder of Male Allies UK, wants to see changes to policies that better support parents.

“The problem is we’re asking dads to be providers first and then telling them they need to do 50:50 childcare too. They want to do it, they want to be there, but there’s still a huge pressure to work like you don’t have kids,” he said.

“The reality is something has to give and without policies in place to support dads to be dads, they end up taking a hit as a family, both financially and mentally.

“We need to create balance – put structures in place that enable mums to work without getting paid less than dads for doing so, and we need to enable dads to be dads by giving them time off to bond and care for their children.

“We need to close the gaps if we want any hope of reaching equality at work and home.”

Most Gen Z Workers Think The Career Ladder Is Dead

Posted on 05/11/2025 by Boris Clair

I’d argue that some of the so-called Gen Z working “trends”, like “taskmasking” – looking, but not being, busy – are not so much fads as time-honoured office traditions.

But what might genuinely be unique to the age group is “income stacking,” or the increasing need to secure multiple forms of payment in order to stay afloat.

According to research conducted by a bastion of the gig economy, Fiverr, 54% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha believe traditional employment will become obsolete.

As a result, 67% say they think they’d need to rely on multiple smaller streams of income, rather than one job, to pay the bills.

Why don’t younger people believe in traditional career paths?

Well, part of it may be that entry-level jobs are disappearing, Fiverr says.

And as many careers, even in industries deemed especially “safe” as little as five years ago, become unstable, only 14% say they’d be interested in working for an established company.

That makes traditional paths of employment – ie starting at the “bottom” of a single company, staying there for years, and landing a more senior position – sound less and less likely as the “job hopping” generation enters the workforce.

As Forbes put it, Gen Z are picking the career “lily pad” over the more established, but vanishing, “ladder”.

In fact, the Next Gen Of Work study, which was run with Censuswide and involved over 12,000 young people from all over the world, found that Gen Z and Gen Alpha face “single paycheck panic”.

What is “single paycheck panic”?

Michelle Baltrusitis, Associate Director of Community and Social Impact at Fiverr, said: “Gen Z isn’t rejecting work; they’re redefining it.

“Faced with economic uncertainty, Gen Z is experiencing what we’re calling ‘single-paycheck panic’ – they’re diversifying income streams because relying on one job feels too risky.

“Instead of waiting for stability, they’re betting on themselves by embracing freelancing and building financial resilience as the smarter path forward.”

‘A F*ck-Up Of Epic Proportions’: 7 Of The Worst HR Mistakes Workers Have Seen

Posted on 04/10/2025 by Boris Clair

Nobody’s perfect: we all mess up from time to time. But when that happens at work, the stakes can be pretty significant.

For instance, writing to r/AskUK, site user MoonlightByWindow shared that the HR in their friend’s workplace recently sent out a mass email congratulating a worker on their new promotion to manager.

After much ado, though, it turns out this was likely a mistake. “A few hours later, HR announced that they’ve ‘suddenly’ realised that someone else would be better suited for the role,” the poster wrote.

They asked other members of the forum, “What’s the biggest cock-up by HR that you’ve witnessed?”

Here are some of the most-upvoted responses:

1) “HR came to see me a told me to collect my things and meet them in the office with a higher-up. So I did.”

“They then informed me I was being suspended from my job pending both an internal investigation and a possible criminal investigation. I was suspected of gross misconduct (theft of money) and harassment.

“My manager looked dumbfounded during [this], as did I. HR had somehow got themselves confused: I was the victim of the harassment and the witness to the theft of money.”

Credit: u/MissLotti

“That’s a fuck up of epic proportions,” u/EastEven5980 replied.

2) “At my level, everyone’s contract stated that employees needed to give three months’ notice, [while] the company only needs to give one month’s notice to let you go. ”

“But mine read that the company needed to give me three months’ notice. So when redundancy came round, I was in quite a strong position.”

Credit: u/CIMAJ98

3) “After a little increase in responsibility and a bump in pay, I got a new contract with an extra 0 in the salary.”

“I had to ask my boss if I was really gonna be paid £600k.”

Credit: u/Bokkmann

“I once received an offer letter paying me £90,000 per month instead of per year,” u/ang14 replied.

“The actual contract I received later fixed it, but that was nice to dream about.“

4) “HR accidentally sent out a spreadsheet with every job title listed, with its salary, instead of just sending it to a director.”

“Imagine the amusement as literally hundreds of staff launched grievances about pay disparity. It ended up costing circa £10m… to settle the grievances.”

Credit: u/KibboKid

5) “I found letters firing people on the shared drive (including one for me!).”

“I called them up on it and in the end didn’t get fired, as I had some leverage.”

Credit: u/BrisTing123

6) “I got added to a private Slack channel discussing a colleague’s disciplinary, with a bunch of messages advising the manager heading the investigation on how to phrase questions to make them difficult to respond to.”

Credit: u/hunsnet457

7) “HR had a server which was split into two sections: 1) a whole company reference section with things like company policies, handbooks, and how-to guides, and 2) a private section… which had employee files, payroll, etc.”

“They were migrating to an online HR platform, so someone in HR created an Excel export with everyone’s personal info to be added to the new system. Names, personal addresses, contact info, bank details and salary.

“Guess which area of the server they saved it on.”

Credit: u/dcpb90

AI Is Coming For Jobs – But This Surprising Age Group Faces The Biggest Risk

Posted on 28/09/2025 by Boris Clair

While many fear that artificial intelligence is killing their careers, there is now new data to back it up. According to a recent paper, AI is indeed coming for certain people’s jobs.

Stanford University professor Erik Brynjolfsson, along with research scientist Ruyu Chen and postgraduate student Bharat Chandar, analysed millions of payroll records from ADP, the largest payroll provider in the U.S., from late 2022 to this summer to learn who is being most impacted by AI disruption.

Analyzing data from this timeframe is revealing because late 2022 is when OpenAI’s ChatGPT was introduced to the masses. Since then, AI has become a dominant force in our lives, upending whole industries and creating an anxious workforce that worries about being replaced.

But not everyone is affected in the same way. What the researchers found was that one age group, in particular, is vulnerable to AI displacement ― and it might not be who you think.

Entry-Level Workers Under 25 Are The Most At Risk Of Losing Jobs To AI

A new Stanford paper shows exactly who AI is replacing at work.

“The AI revolution is beginning to have a significant and disproportionate impact on entry-level workers in the American labor market,” the Stanford study stated. In the most AI-exposed fields, like software development and customer service, workers ages 22–25 “have experienced a 13% relative decline in employment.”

This finding held even when researchers accounted for factors like interest rate changes, more people being hired after COVID, and remote-friendly jobs.

Chen, one of the study’s authors, told HuffPost that the reason young people are especially vulnerable is that AI is great at doing “textbook knowledge” that college students learn to do.

“Entry-level workers are doing some very well-defined tasks” like analyzing large sets of coding data and basic production work, Chen said. And “AI is pretty good at handling those tasks.”

That’s why older workers have an advantage. While employment opportunities for young people under 25 have shrunk, according to the study, employment for older workers ages 35–49 actually grew during this time period.

That’s because for this age group, hard-won, on-the-job training is invaluable. “They have so much intensive knowledge that AI is not able to replace. They know they can handle customer relationships. They have some firm-specific experience,” Chen said.

David Kryscynski, a professor of human resource management at Rutgers University, said the Stanford paper’s findings align with what he has seen in his research.

“It is much easier for companies to simply not hire new workers than it is to downsize, so it makes sense that this age group would be disproportionately affected,” Kryscynski said.

But Kryscynski doesn’t think older, more experienced workers should come away from this study feeling like their jobs are safe from AI.

“They may be safer for now, but I doubt this safety will last long. Companies will face difficult challenges as AI continues to improve, and they will be forced to reskill,” Kryscynski said. “Age will probably be less important than job type and skills.”

What Can Young People Do To Avoid Getting Replaced By AI

For young people who have been worrying whether the tough labor market is in their heads, the study provides grim confirmation that it’s not.

But all hope is not lost. Some jobs that AI can’t yet automate are actually booming for young people under 25, such as working as a nursing and home health aide. For “health aides, actually, the employment for younger workers is increasing because health aides require lots of social interactions,” Chen said.

But if you are in this age bracket and don’t want to work this kind of job, focus on building unique human skills that AI cannot yet do.

“Carefully consider your abilities to socially interact with other humans, your empathetic skills, your soft communication skills, your leadership abilities, your ability to navigate conflict situations gracefully, your tools to manage morally ambiguous situations,” Kryscynski said.

“If you want to stand out in the future workforce, then avoid offloading your thinking to AI.”

– David Kryscynski, a professor of human resource management at Rutgers University

And when you can, do “cognitive pushups,” he added. Research finds that people who are less experienced at a task rely more heavily on AI-generated answers ― which can often be wrong ― and exert less critical thinking. But wrestling with thorny projects and learning how to deal with difficult co-workers are how you grow.

“One of the things we are seeing with AI is that it makes things too easy. We are seeing a decrease in willingness to struggle through hard things in this newer generation of employees,” Kryscynski said. “If you want to stand out in the future workforce, then avoid offloading your thinking to AI and purposefully invest in challenging tasks that will challenge your brain to connect complex ideas, wrestle with moral ambiguities.”

“There will be a difference between those who are replaced by AI and those who are running the AI in the future, and I suspect that one of these key differences will be about willingness to struggle through challenging cognitive tasks,” Kryscynski said.

6 Signs You’re The Office Overachiever (And How It Can Harm Your Career)

Posted on 26/09/2025 by Boris Clair

You might tell yourself that when it comes to work, the formula is simple: knuckle down, impress your bosses, and the results will speak for themselves.

But Harvard Business Review disagrees. They write, “In most organisations, promotions are governed by unwritten rules – the often fuzzy, intuitive, and poorly expressed feelings of senior executives regarding individuals’ ability to succeed in C-suite positions”.

And according to Rob Phelps at Digital PR, overachieving employees can leave themselves more at risk of burnout than promotion. In fact, the trait can sometimes harm rather than help their career.

Here, he shared six signs you may be the office “overachiever” – and why it might affect your career.

1) You struggle to say no

“Overachievers are not the same as those labelled lazy or weak; they want to be seen as the person who is always able to help, so they add more to their schedule,” Phelps said.

“But there’s a huge difference between being helpful and being overstretched to breaking point.”

Those who say “yes” to everything may be seen as adaptable and dependable in the short term, but can risk overstretching themselves over time – leading to burnout.

2) You’re first in, last out

It can feel like heading in early and leaving late is a sign of diligence.

″’People will make sure they are noticed and that they’re not late, as some may want to be seen as the hardest workers, even when it interferes with health and relationships,” Phelps said.

But this can “lead to presenteeism, a culture where people stay late not because they need to, but because they feel guilty, like they should” – and which is not linked to better productivity.

3) You’re a perfectionist

Double, triple, and quadruple-check every email before hitting “send”?

Phelps stated, “Perfectionists often think they are aiming for success. However, they fear being judged or criticised.

“They believe it’s not good enough. This actually slows them down, and the stress of overwork clearly outweighs any benefits.”

4) Taking work home

Checking your emails at 11pm or mulling over that client pitch before bed isn’t a great idea, tempting as it may seem.

“This can be dangerous as it blurs the lines between work and life until there is no line,” Phelps explained.

“The brain needs downtime to rest and recover from a week at work, but overachievers take their own time away from themselves; therefore, they always feel tense.”

5) Never delegating, or struggling to do so

You might tell yourself that nobody else will be able to meet your high standards, or think that all tasks will be done better by you.

“This is where overachievers can hold themselves back, as they think they are protecting the work quality, but they are really limiting themselves,” Phelps advised.

It can lead workers to carry more mental load than is really necessary or efficient, and can (again) raise the risk of burnout.

6) You solve everyone else’s problems

It’s great to be seen as reliable and helpful, but if your coworkers always turn to you for solutions, you might want to rethink your approach.

“Overachievers like to be the fixer; however, it’s not sustainable to solve everyone else’s problems on top of your own,” Phelps warned.

“You end up with no time, no energy, and no space for yourself.”

Setting boundaries, learning to say no, trusting others to help you at work, and truly switching off once you’re out of the office can all help to prevent these, he ended.

If You’ve Been Feeling Uninspired And Apathetic At Work, You May Be Experiencing This

Posted on 08/08/2025 by Boris Clair

We have all had our bad days and even weeks at work but what happens when the feelings associated with these days just don’t seem to pass? Well, you may be experiencing something that two experts have dubbed “rustout”.

Writing for The Conversation, Sabrina Fitzsimons Co-Director of DCU CREATE (Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education), Lecturer in Education, Dublin City University and David Smith, Lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, Robert Gordon University explain the phenomenon.

Explaining that rustout is on the other end of the spectrum from burnout, they explain: “This is when employees become bored, apathetic and unmotivated, often doing the minimum necessary work. This can result in them procrastinating, browsing social media or looking for something more stimulating elsewhere.”

Sound familiar?

So, what causes rustout?

The experts explain: “Rustout is mental and emotional decline caused by repetitive, mundane tasks and ongoing professional stagnation. Unlike burnout, which results from work overload, rustout arises from underutilisation and a lack of stimulating work.

“It can be amplified when a workplace values efficiency and meeting specific outcomes over professional engagement, leaving people feeling invisible or replaceable. In other words, it occurs when people are not challenged enough.”

Do rather than the over-demand which can cause burnout, rustout comes from not being needed enough. Grim.

Isn’t this just quiet quitting though?

While the behavioural responses to rustout may seem to mirror quiet quitting, the researchers explained that those who experienced rustout most frequently, teacher educators, are not deliberately stepping back from responsibilities.

They say: “While most described enjoying their work and its variety, we found an undercurrent of symptoms and experiences indicative of rustout. We believe our findings may have resonance with other occupational settings.

“Rustout may sound a bit like the social media trend of quiet quitting. However, the teacher educators we spoke to were not deliberately stepping back from their duties or plotting their exit. In fact, they remained highly committed to their students – making their situation even more frustrating.”

That does sound incredibly frustrating.

In fact, once the researchers digged deeper in their interviews with teachers, they found that teachers “spoke of the joy it was possible to find in their work and the many brilliant, inspiring young people they had helped to nurture.”

However, the researchers admitted, some had lost this enthusiasm.

Talking is essential

The experts warn that not talking about how you’re feeling can only make the situation continue, urging: “Nothing is being rocked when staff are working and doing their jobs.

“This silence benefits institutions in the short term, since it maintains stability and delays difficult conversations. However, in the long term, it can contribute to retention issues, a negative workplace culture and possibly reduced innovation.”

The solution, they add, is integrating rustout into the mental health agenda in workplaces, just as burnout is.

“Employers must acknowledge that the wellbeing of their employees is integral to overall success.”

Help and support:

Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.

The Internet Loves Getting ‘Cheaters’ Fired – But I Worry We’re Missing The Point

Posted on 21/07/2025 by Boris Clair

I still remember the backlash when it turned out that Ned Fulmer, the ex-BuzzFeeder who had been dubbed the “wife guy” of online group Try Guys, had cheated on his partner with his colleague.

He was let go from his Try Guys role amidst public outrage. And now, Astronomer’s CEO Andy Bryon has stepped down from his role following a TikTok clip which some online sleuths say shows him cheating with his HR lead at a Coldplay concert.

Though the company have not confirmed Andy was the person in the viral video, they have written in a statement that “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

I have already shared that I’m not the biggest fan of how some people are engaging with the “Coldplay affair.”

Nor do I think that public reaction should influence a person’s professional status before an official investigation.

For instance, the company’s Senior Director of People, “identified” by TikTok detectives, has had her LinkedIn profile bombarded by commenters who think she got her promotion by hiding her boss’ romance.

The comments came despite there being absolutely no evidence that this was the case (the company has since revealed she “was not there. This is a rumour started on Twitter”).

This is wrong. A likely innocent woman’s professional page is now littered with potentially career-disrupting claims due to almost certainly baseless delusions of online “accountability.”

That’s the sort of perversely gleeful dogpiling I’m sure Jon Ronson’s So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed would have a field day with.

Lawyer Eric Kingsley, firm partner at Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers, told us: “Legally, the private life of an individual usually will not be cause for termination unless the private life somehow overlaps the professional environment or threatens the organisation.”

But in the case of both Fulmer and, if true, Bryon, there’s more to the story than just “bad vibes.”

“If the conduct in question involves other staff members or directly affects the workplace environment, the rationale for termination greatly changes,” the lawyer said.

Fulmer’s relationship was with a relatively junior employee, while Bryon’s suspected “affair” was alleged to be with his HR lead.

“A Chief Executive Officer being involved in a romantic relationship with an employee, even more so if there exists a position of power, creates huge potential for problems of favouritism, coercion, and the risk of legal action based upon harassment or retribution,” Kingsley added.

“Even if the relationship remains voluntary, the potential can damage the morale of employees, cause intra-company disputes, or violate stated policies of the company. Some companies place explicit policies regarding intra-company relations in place in order to avoid complications.”

Meanwhile, Thomas Roulet, a fellow and director of studies in psychology and behavioural science at King’s College, Cambridge, says that “If someone’s personal life affects their professional performance and engagement, yes, we could definitely consider HR interventions (it could be a warning or go as far as getting fired).”

The same goes if their performance and judgement are affected by the relationship, he added.

But I don’t think unfairly prying and overly moralistic internet commenters keep those rules in mind in their hunt for a perceived “bad guy” – Astronomer’s Senior Director of People is proof that many of us make the court of public opinion far too punishing, despite using inconsistent “laws.”

That misses the point; it’s all about power dynamics.

As it happens, piling on an (again, likely innocent) woman who you believe to have gotten her promotion based solely on hiding an affair without any evidence whatsoever is not exactly the best use of our collective power.

I fear the “reward” of firing a person armchair warriors believe to have cheated has left some to believe that their beliefs about adultery, whether grounded or not, ought to result in indiscriminate real-life action.

Personally, I don’t think that unkind quest has anything to do with accountability; we are confusing our own amateur sleuthing for genuine, professional investigation.

Just because the two might sometimes have the same result, though, does not mean it’s fair to equate them.

Dads Went On Strike – Now, Parental Leave Might Be Getting An Overhaul

Posted on 01/07/2025 by Boris Clair

A matter of weeks after the world’s first ‘DadStrike’, where parents gathered to protest the UK’s statutory paternity leave offer, the UK government has announced a review of the parental leave and pay system.

The review will look at the whole system – from maternity and paternity leave to shared parental leave – to see how it can work better for parents and employers.

Views will be gathered from parents, employers and experts across the country, culminating in a roadmap for possible reforms, with the aim being to better support families and grow the economy.

Campaigners have hailed the move as “the best chance in a generation” to improve the system.

Why is it needed?

In a press release, the UK government acknowledged that the current parental leave system is complicated and doesn’t always give families the support they need.

One in three dads don’t take paternity leave because they can’t afford to, and take-up of shared parental leave remains very low.

Yet research shows that better parental leave can help close the gender pay gap and boost the economy.

In March this year, mothers opened up about how the UK’s statutory maternity pay offering is not enough to meet the basic costs of living, making it “impossible to live a good life”.

In the UK, statutory maternity pay is paid for up to 39 weeks and parents get 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first six weeks, followed by £184.03 or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.

This is less than half the weekly National Living Wage.

On top of this, analysis of shared parental leave found uptake is skewed towards higher earners – with The Dad Shift, the campaign group behind DadStrike, previously telling the BBC it is “failing working families”.

“Supporting working parents isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s vital for our economy.”

– Angela Rayner

Discussing the new review, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “Those early years are the most special time for families, but too many struggle to balance their work and home lives.

“Supporting working parents isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s vital for our economy.”

The announcement follows a series of changes already progressing in the Employment Rights Bill to improve parental leave and pay.

These include: making paternity leave, unpaid parental leave and flexible working ‘a day one right’; enabling paternity leave and pay to be taken after shared parental leave and pay; and enhancing dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers returning to work.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “Campaigners have long called for change, and this government has listened. This review is our chance to reset the system and build something that works for modern families and businesses.”

George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, told HuffPost UK the review is “the best chance in a generation to improve the system and make sure it actually works for working families”.

“When the last Labour government introduced paternity leave it was groundbreaking. But that offer, unchanged since, is now the least generous in Europe,” he added.

“Our broken parental leave has been overlooked for years, and finally sorting it out would be good not only for parents and children but for businesses too.”

Rachel Grocott, CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed, the campaign group behind 2022′s March of the Mummies, demanding reform of childcare, flexible working and parental leave, said: “It is great to see this long overdue review of the parental leave system. It’s time for the voices of mums, dads, parents and carers everywhere to be heard.

“After 6 weeks mothers are forced to survive maternity leave on 44% less then the National Minimum Wage, and dads are forced to suck up the same benefits for their 2 weeks.

“Yet we know improving parental leave helps children get the best start in life, as well as being better for parents’ heath and equality at home, and closing gender pay and participation gaps in the workplace too.

“Investing in parental leave will pay back above and beyond, to the bottom line and to society: it really is a no-brainer.”

5 Signs You’re ‘Quiet Cracking’ At Work Without Realising It

Posted on 27/06/2025 by Boris Clair

You might have heard of quiet quitting, taskmasking, and “conscious unbossing” ― all trends which see workers opt out of added responsibilities, busy work, and unrewarding jobs in the subtlest way they can.

But according to Guy Thornton, Founder of human resource company PracticeAptitudeTests, “quiet cracking” is on the rise, too.

The term refers to the sometimes unwitting disconnect from work that happens when employees are stressed and burned out.

“Quiet cracking isn’t laziness or a flaw in your work ethic,” Thornton said.

“It’s often a sign that your mind and body are trying to cope with something unsustainable.”

Here are some signs you might be “quiet cracking” without even realising it:

1) You’re constantly busy, but don’t get much done

Always rushing around, but never feel particularly productive? Thornton warns that it could be a red flag.

“This relates to another workplace trend known as fauxductivity, which is when you appear productive while feeling unmotivated and disconnected,” he said.

“It’s often an early sign of quiet cracking that can happen when you’re overwhelmed or unsure what your priorities are any more.”

2) You constantly ignore work messages and emails

If your inbox is bursting and your Slack notifications have built up, you may be “quiet cracking” under the pressure of constant communication.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re lazy or disengaged. Your brain might simply be overloaded,” Thornton advised.

3) Handing in work at the last minute

Always scrambling to hand in that report at the last minute? It might just feel like your working style, but Thornton says it could also “be a sign you’ve mentally checked out.

“Ask yourself, are you struggling with motivation, or is the workload too much?” he continued.

“Quiet cracking often begins when expectations feel unclear or unmanageable.”

4) You’ve stopped collaborating with your coworkers

If the thought of working with others has felt more and more unenjoyable ― maybe leading you to skip meetings, avoid team get-togethers, and crave working alone ― it can show you’re disconnecting from your workplace.

“Disengagement can be subtle, and you might not even realise it until someone points it out,” Thornton wrote.

5) You’re constantly putting off work by doing small, “busy work” tasks

A great example is researching endlessly before you actually start your main task, the expert said.

“If it’s become your go-to method for delaying the real work, it might be a sign of stress or fear of failure,” he shared.

What if I think I’m “quiet cracking”?

Recognising the condition can make it easier to manage, Thornton stated.

Don’t wait to seek help if you think something’s amiss.

“It’s important to talk to people you trust in the workplace and use mental health resources if you start to experience something like this,” he said.

“Even just acknowledging that something is off is an important way to start taking steps in the right direction.”

Help and support:

Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.