Okay, so did everyone see the TikTok debacle where a woman allegedly got sacked from her job at MAC?
If not (and good for you; that means you’re less online than me), a quick summary.
A woman decided to vlog a day at work
She did a very detailed vlog in which there were quite a few bits of information that her bosses didn’t like.
·Those bits of information included showing her access pass to the camera, the code for the cash register, time stamps of when she transports large amounts of cash, that sort of thing.
Her job was not just at any MAC. It was a MAC in an airport, where security is notoriously quite important.
·Midway through her latest work vlog, the woman appeared with tears streaked down her face. She had been fired.
·She of course still shared that vlog online, and it remains live.
I doubt that this is an isolated incident. On TikTok, ‘come with me for a day at work’ videos are rampant. In the US there are teachers who share cute moments of their classes. Very often when I cycle around London I see someone with a tiny camera held above their head, talking to it directly with seemingly no embarrassment.
Now, I want to be clear: it’s not universally ‘wrong’ to vlog, even if said vlog is about your workplace. But the practice should raise some questions, particularly around what the ‘point’ of vlogging is. Plus, with my TikTok feed now filled with ‘experts’ telling me tricks to use on the algorithm and ‘content creators’ bragging about how much money they’ve made, it feels like the rhetoric has shifted from ‘everyone can make stuff on the internet’ to ‘everyone has to make stuff on the internet’. Social media’s presence in the working world has spread like ivy. When you apply for a job, it’s very likely that the hiring manager will dig around your social media profiles. There are some jobs where a low follower count will legitimately rule you out (sometimes this makes sense, especially if you’re applying to work in social media).
It's all become a bit much, right? There’s a real pressure to treat yourself like a brand. We’ve all got to perform for a large potential audience. Our existence must be packaged in a way that triggers engagement. If you aren’t sharing your life online, how will anyone know you’re living? If you fail to share your work online, are you not failing to work?
Like I say, sometimes that’s alright. If you’re just starting out in a field and don’t yet have a snazzy portfolio, showing off your skills on your own personal social media is a smart move. And if it’s a job that requires growing a follower base or getting link clicks from Instagram, bosses would quite like to see some evidence that you know what you’re doing.
But the pressure to ‘content create’ becomes a problem when it exists as a ‘pressure’, whether that’s external or internal, from your workplace or a tiny voice in your head that tells you everything must be documented. It’s a problem when we get into a pattern of thinking that nothing is ‘real’ unless it’s on display for everyone to see.
Then there are the practical issues. We know that the internet is not always a pleasant place, and that when you share your work online you’re more likely to receive damning comments than the praise and validation you were perhaps craving. If you make a wrong move, the consequences can be swift. Consider all the people who have been called out and cancelled, and whose employers were tagged in their takedowns. Bear in mind the impact of a digital footprint visible to future potential employers – while not existing online at all is often perceived negatively, it’s better than having an explicitly negative digital self. Security issues are a very real thing. Even if you don’t work at somewhere high-security like an airport, your workplace quite likely has some things they don’t want plastered all over the internet. An innocuous vlog with someone’s laptop screen visible in the background can leave a company open to hacking attempts, or might showcase sensitive customer information that can get you in a lot of trouble. On a smaller scale, perhaps your boss would prefer you didn’t reveal how many boring meetings you sit through each day.
Many workplaces have explicit bans on social media use while on the job. Others might not have voiced it, but you could still get into big trouble if you post something online that the bosses don’t like. There’s the challenge of consent, too. If your work vlog shows colleagues or customers who didn’t agree to appear online, that can become a huge problem.
The basic fact is that when you share yourself, your work, or your workplace online, you open all three up for judgment. And while creating your own content can feel like you’re ‘taking control of the narrative’, you can’t control people’s reactions to it. When you vlog your work day, think about who might watch it and what they might think of you as a result. Might your boss be annoyed that you’ve documented yourself always leaving exactly on time (even though that’s your right)? Might a future employer with a bias against TikTok (which is silly) be swayed away from hiring you?
There’s also personal safety to consider – sharing your exact route to work, the times you’re always out of the house, the address of your office etc is not a wise idea – and the sheer amount of time and effort all this content creation can take up. Sharing your life online can take a real toll on a personal level. Comparison, self-doubt, burnout, an inability to be in the moment without filming it… all of these things can spring up.
All of which brings me to my point: if you’re going to become a content creator, I urge you to dig into exactly why you want to do that. What are you hoping to get out of it? Is the reward worth the slog?
And to be clear, for a lot of people content creation is well worth it. I am very much pro pushing through the fear of being perceived to put yourself out there. But you need to be doing content creation for a reason and with a goal in mind.
In my work, for example, I’ve recently been dabbling in making more video content for TikTok and Instagram. I’m doing this for a few very clear purposes:
I work as the digital editor of Stylist, where my performance is in part based on the number of people who read the publication’s content and sign up for a subscription. Using my social media as a tool to aid in this makes sense.
I’ve written a book and I’m using these vlogs as a way to tell more people about that book in the hopes that they will buy it.
I’m finding it quite fun to edit videos! I like learning a new skill.
I know that content creation is increasingly becoming part of a journalist’s job, so I can see creating this content benefitting my job prospects in the future.
Now, with these purposes in mind, I’m able to rule out a lot of content creation pressure. Note that I’m not pursuing content creation as a major money-maker, or to segue into a career as a pop star. Those will be the motivations for some people, and that’s fine; but an awareness of your motives will help to confirm what you should and shouldn’t give a shit about. I, for example, don’t need my videos to go mega viral or attract a brand deal for a clothing brand. The goal is to get some engaged people to watch them and read Stylist, my book, or my newsletter as a result. That gives me permission to not worry quite so much about creating the most-watched video of all time.
If you’re thinking about getting into content creation, I urge you to do the same: have a proper think about what the point of it is. If it’s simply because you find it fun, great! Go for it! If it’s to add a skill to your CV, wonderful! If you’re being strategic about chasing virality, all good! But if your reasoning is just ‘well, everyone’s on TikTok now’ or ‘I want as much attention as possible’, that’s an indication that some deeper inquiry is needed.
Also, if you’re going into content creation because you’ve been lured in by those videos that tell you you can make a shit-tonne of money with zero effort… I highly suspect you’ll be disappointed. Social media platforms are oversaturated with people hunting engagement. It is so, so much harder to cut through and stand out. And the algorithms along with the way human attention works rewards increasingly extreme, usually negative, content. Once upon a time, you really could sell feet pics on OnlyFans and make enough money to live off. Now, there are so many people doing the same thing that you’re unlikely to get more than £50 a month unless you find a really unusual niche, can dedicate the time and effort to endless creation, or you do some form of extreme stunt to get word spread. The same goes for dancing on TikTok. You’ve missed the boat for doing one viral TikTok dance and being able to translate that into a fashion line and an album. There are just too many people fishing from the same pond.
Consider the impact if the content you create absolutely flops. What if you never break out of ‘300-view jail’? What if the only people who see it is potential employers? Is it still worth it? Was it worth it to begin with, vlogging your 9-5 for no actual reason beyond it just being something people do? Only you can answer those questions; and I really do suggest you ask them.
Everyone can be a content creator. Not everyone should. And we shouldn’t accept that everyone has to be. Let people just be good at what they do, I say. Don’t force the ‘content creator’ route for someone who hates every minute of filming footage or tweaking an Instagram carousel. Content creation is a proper job with proper skill required – you can develop that skill, of course, no gatekeeping here – but our continued perception of social media as an easy gig that requires just a few pushes of buttons devalues it… and creates a culture where people are creating content they don’t enjoy making and that no one enjoys consuming. A waste of everyone’s time and effort, IMO.
Work-related reading recs:
I wrote this week’s Stylist cover feature! It’s all about why so many of us feel incredibly ‘meh’ about work, and how we start to fix things
On a similar note: how to make work more fun
On the theme of this week’s newsletter, here’s a great read on how ‘5-9’ videos are turning leisure time into yet more work
Please read Working On Purpose the book
I wrote a book and it is out now, which boggles my brain quite a bit. It’s called Working On Purpose and it’s the ultimate guide to working in a happier, healthier way. Inside there are guides to aligning the way you work with meaning, managing different generations, and figuring out if you’re best suited to entrepreneurship. Plus: a guide to work trends, an overview of how we reached this strange point in our relationship with our careers, hacks for happiness in your job, and recommendations about what people in power need to change.
I would highly recommend it (well, I would say that, wouldn’t I) to anyone working in any industry and at any point in their career. I hope you’ll get a copy and give it a read – please do let me know if you do!
Well 👏🏻 said 👏🏻