Is it time to demote yourself?

Burnt out? Maybe it’s time to ask for a demotion. It’s no secret that climbing the ladder means more responsibility and harder work. The task of managing a team (or several) has only gotten more complicated over the years — a study cited by the Wall Street Journal claims that in the last seven years, the number of people being overseen by their managers has tripled.

Unboss yourself. On a cursory level, the bigger your team, the more power you’re perceived to have. But it comes at a price. The more people you manage, the less technical work you do. You stop working with your hands — metaphorically speaking — and instead delegate the work you once enjoyed. For some, this is a dealbreaker.

Why would anyone want to give it up? Another study cited by the WSJ found that 40% of those polled said that their mental health took a nosedive after being promoted to a managerial or any other leadership role. Jenny Blake, once a team lead at Google, found that her job as an individual contributor was more impactful and fulfilling than as a manager.

How do you do that without losing your influence (or salary)? Turns out that companies may already be primed to reduce the size of middle management, and welcome your request to shift roles to something less directorial. “[Broach] the transition conversation by laying out your unique strengths and how they can better serve the company in a new role,” said Blake, “Don’t dwell on your distaste for managing people.” The way to keep your paycheck unaffected is to “stay in a role that is directly tied to revenue. Become an industry expert.”

Elon Musk breaks his own company’s policies with deepfake of Kamala Harris posted to X. The original post depicting the vice president of the United States was uploaded on X and labeled “Kamala Harris Campaign Ad PARODY.” However, Musk removed the reference to it being a parody and posted the video with the comment “This is amazing” alongside a laughing emoji.

The deepfake was altered from Harris’ recent campaign video, and manipulated to include statements like her having “four years under the tutelage of the ultimate deep state puppet, a wonderful mentor, Joe Biden” and being “the ultimate diversity hire.”

When is a joke not a joke? X’s policies mention that satire isn’t considered a violation as long as it does not “cause significant confusion about the authenticity of the media.” The original text added to the post was an attempt around the violations, according to The Verge, but Musk’s removal of the disclaimer was in contravention of his social media platform’s rules.

Musk seems to be dodging accountability, leaving CEO Linda Yaccarino to deal with thefallout. Musk only piped up when California Governor Gavin Newsom called the video out for illegality, posting a sarcastic response, saying that “parody is legal in America,” citing a fictitious “renowned world authority.”

This isn’t the first AI-related issue that the US presidential elections has faced. There have also been Joe Biden robo calls used to persuade people against voting. It’s gotten to the point where election officials are being trained against AI threats “to protect democracy” and the integrity of the elections.