{
  "id": 12777799,
  "title": "Quiet cracking: Your best employee may not be ‘fine, thanks’ – UAE voices on masked workplace burnout",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/quiet-cracking-your-best-employee-may-not-be-fine-thanks-uae-voices",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-08T03:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/quiet-cracking-your-best-employee-may-not-be-fine-thanks-uae-voices-on-masked-workplace-burnout-1.500702127"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The article explores the phenomenon of workplace burnout among high-performing employees who appear to be fine on the surface. Despite meeting targets and appearing to function well, these individuals are slowly coming apart. This \"quiet cracking\" can lead to a sudden breakdown.\n\nHigh performers often feel a sense of pride in being the dependable and reliable one, taking on additional tasks to avoid letting others down. However, this can lead to exhaustion and a loss of self-identity.\n\nWorkplace culture can reinforce this pattern, with high performers being relied upon to solve problems and deliver results. Over time, the identity of these individuals becomes intertwined with their reputation for reliability and capability. Admitting to struggling can feel like contradicting this identity.\n\nThe high expectations placed on high performers can make it difficult for others to notice signs of burnout. Those who cope well may keep performing well even as their wellbeing suffers. Leaders may unintentionally reward dependability by assigning more work, exacerbating the issue.\n\nHigh performers often internalize a harsh inner critic, treating discomfort as something to push through rather than a signal to heed. This can lead to a sudden breakdown after a period of silent struggle. The article concludes that addressing this issue requires recognizing the underlying problem and providing support to high performers who may be silently suffering.",
  "summary": "'Quietly' is the word AI can't stop using and you're right to wince at it on sight. Yet, here, for once, it's the right one. 'Quiet cracking' is the workplace crisis nobody notices, because on paper there isn't one. Emails answered by the dozen. Meetings on meetings, smiles on smiles. Tasks ticked off, often brilliantly. Targets met. And behind the out-of-office smile, someone is slowly coming…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}