Your Work Friends | Fresh Insights on the Now and Next of Work

New Week, New Headlines: Open Enrollment Alert: 2026 Health Costs Surge, 4-in-5 Workers ‘Career Catfished,’ and AI Actress Tilly Norwood Sparks a New Labor Fight

• Francesca Ranieri • Season 2

Share episode

Send us a text

This week on Your Work Friends, we break down three headlines every professional should know:

  • Career Catfishing: Monster’s 2025 report found 4 in 5 U.S. employees say they were misled about their job. We unpack what’s driving the trust crisis between workers and employers—and what good hiring should look like now.
  • Open Enrollment 2026: Get ready for the biggest jump in healthcare costs in 15 years. We explain why premiums are spiking, how to protect your paycheck, and what to ask HR before you pick your plan.
  • AI Actress Tilly Norwood: The entertainment industry just debuted its first fully AI-generated actress—and the actors’ union is calling it theft. We discuss why this moment matters for every industry that runs on creativity, identity, and human expression.

If you work in corporate America, HR, or leadership, this episode gives you the clarity and context to get ahead of what’s coming.


👉 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

Thanks for listening!

Hey! We love new friends! Connect with us!

SPEAKER_02:

Only 9% of employees know what their job actually is. They show up, they're doing a bunch of stuff, but if you ask them what they actually do, what their role was, only 9% can answer that question. No one knows what the fuck they're doing, but they're getting paid.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to your work, friends. I'm Francesca Renieri. And I'm Mel Plett. And we are bringing you the now and next of work, breaking it down so you get ahead. Mel, what's a good word? It's October and 70 degrees.

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know whether to to frolic and be happy or being like concerned about climate change. So that's where I'm at today.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

You're living in the in-between, and I understand that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I can't tell if this is just New England as it always is, or if I'm just sweating on October 7th for no reason. So let's go with that. Let's go with that. Yeah. How about you? Yeah. I need to stop watching the news. That's all I'm gonna say.

SPEAKER_00:

But I am paying attention, like you, to the work news stories. And we're back with new week new headlines. What are you talking about today, Mel?

SPEAKER_02:

I am talking about career catfishing. I did not know that was a thing. I didn't either until I read about Monster's 2025 career catfishing report, where they survey individuals about this phenomenon. So we're gonna talk about that.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. And I am talking about two stories. One is brace yourself, folks, healthcare costs are about to explode right in time for open enrollment season. Your paycheck will feel it. 2026 is about to bring the biggest spike in medical premiums in 15 years. And it's not just about inflation. So want to talk about what's about to hit and how you might be able to ease the blow. And then the last thing I want to talk about is Tilly Norwood. Mel, have you heard of Tilly Norwood?

SPEAKER_02:

I have, and it's just disturbing.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, super creepy. Anyway, if you haven't, Tilly Norwood is an AI actress and she just made her debut. And the Actors Union is calling it theft. But for leaders everywhere, even if you're not in Hollywood or in media, I really believe that this is a preview of our next workplace crisis, and I want to talk about it.

SPEAKER_01:

That sounds interesting.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, let's just get into it.

SPEAKER_02:

So I was reading Work Life and they were reporting on Monsters 2025 career catfishing report, which immediately caught my eye because I'm like, what? Didn't not know that report existed. But here's the headline Four out of five US employees feel catfished by their employer? By their employer. You know the term catfishing, obviously. Yeah, like you it's like a bait and switch, right? Like you Yeah, it's just like you were told one thing, show up, it's a different thing.

SPEAKER_00:

And then you you think you're being the hot girl for drinks and you show up and it is not a hot girl. Yeah, or hot guy. Yeah. Or hot guy or person. Yeah. There's that.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So essentially that, but now with employers, when you have it in that perspective, have you ever been catfished in a role? For a role?

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Like basically thinking I'm getting hired for one role and then showing up and realizing over the neck course of the first month that it is absolutely not that role. Mm-hmm. Yes. Many times. You?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, oh yeah. Like an entire gig was sold to me as something it wasn't. And then I showed up week one and it was completely different work. And I questioned it, and they were like, things changed. Oh, okay. Listen, folks, if you're in charge of hiring, that never goes well. And it's a waste of everyone's time, and it really does hit your pocket. So here's what came out of the report. Here's a SOA. Nearly four in five US workers say they've been catfished into a job that didn't match what was promised during hiring. The job looked great on paper. They felt like this is this is a huge fit. This is a great win for me, blah, blah, blah. Then reality hit, which you and I both have experienced. Responsibilities are changing, the culture doesn't match, the pay and perks weren't what was advertised. So according to Monsters 2025 report, it's not one-sided either because candidates are also saying they stretch the tooth truth a little bit too. But the breakdown is on trust on the employer side in a big way, in a big way. And this lines up because I told you a couple of weeks ago I attended a webinar where one of the stats that came out was only 9% of employees know what their job actually is. They show up, they're doing a bunch of stuff, but if you ask them what they are actually do, what their role was, only 9% can answer that question. So I feel like this has legs. Something is happening here. No one knows what the fuck they're doing, but they're getting paid. So that's a trend. We're seeing. But here's the problem. We know trust is like a number one thing when it comes to retention, relationships, engagement, morale, all of those things that hit your bottom line. What monsters, Vicky Salemi, who helped with part of this report, put out, she said, when honesty is absent in the hiring process, trust is broken before it can even take root. And we've experienced that. Like, how long did you stay in those jobs where you've been bamboozled?

SPEAKER_00:

One, I stayed for a long time. The other I bailed really quickly because I was just like, this is not even worth my time.

SPEAKER_02:

You're already starting to look by week two, because this is not what you were promised. So here are some of the numbers I want to share with you. 75, 79% of respondents had been catfished into a job that didn't match the recruiter's description at all. 79%.

SPEAKER_00:

Can I say something though? Yes. Having led teams and understanding how recruiting works and all this good jazz. Ask anybody that leads recruiting. The majority of hiring managers, I'm not talking about a recruiter, I'm talking about the person that is hiring the role on their team. Are not great at defining what exactly the role is. They are not great at scope. They're not great at responsibility. They're sure as hell not great at job descriptions. And so it doesn't surprise me at all. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

At all. Yeah, it you and I both have feelings about job descriptions in general. Because they don't work. They don't work. And as someone who led talent acquisition, I will say there's a lot of really good recruiters out there who are gonna listen to this and be gritting their teeth because they're like, I'm trying.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I know. I every recruiter is trying.

SPEAKER_02:

It's just it And they're only they can only describe what they're being told to get out there. And then that nine percent stat of people don't know what their job is, it's because their hiring manager still can't tell them what the job is in the day-to-day. That's that's the crux.

SPEAKER_00:

This is the crux of this issue. If you lead a team and you are not able to define clearly what someone is responsible and accountable for, yeah. And when that adjusts or changed, be really clear about that. Yeah. You really shouldn't be leading. And the majority of people don't do that really well.

SPEAKER_02:

The step that's missing here, there needs to be a continuing conversation about how your role is evolving as the work changes, as the strategy changes. That's just missing entirely from the equation. 49% said their job duties were different than advertised. 21% said the company culture was misrepresented. 9% said payer benefits were exaggerated. 67% think they currently work with someone who may have also misrepresented their own skills. And 85% of respondents feel that this kind of catfishing is morally wrong. I don't know what's worse. Like people get into new jobs with so much excitement. Your employees are also your stakeholders. They're also your customers. Imagine you were like, you're gonna give me$500 for this goldfish, and then someone gave around and gave you a cracker instead of a real goldfish. You'd be disappointed. So that's what's happening, and then they get on the job and you're wasting all this money, and there's real heavy costs around. It's the churn that happens because of this.

SPEAKER_00:

Agree. Agree. And this has always been an issue. I think this is becoming more and more of an issue because things are changing so quickly that we don't know how to define them. It's not a moment in time. So to your point about job descriptions as well, I it's almost like the minute you get into a job, it actually might change. It actually might evolve. The amount of people I talk to every week, I know you're the same way, that they're on their at least second rework of the year or their third leader in two years, that's change every single time.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep. I know. And no re-level setting on what the gig actually is. That conversation is just missing. So if you want loyalty, I'm just gonna put it out there. Companies, start with honesty. Start getting really honest about what you need this to be. Clear job descriptions. They're gonna have to start really thinking about redefining the role of job descriptions. I know it's like a legal requirement, but job descriptions don't cut it anymore if you're not clear there. And if you can't be clear in the ongoing conversation, you're gonna continue to be in this churn. All right. What's going on over there?

SPEAKER_00:

All right. Okay. So the healthcare premiums are about to blow up. A lot of us are gonna be going into open enrollment season where we're picking our next insurance plan. So I thought let's talk about what is about to hit. I want to talk about what's going on and more importantly, what to do about it. So 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest jump in healthcare costs in 15 years. And whether you're on an employer plan or on an exchange, you're about to pay a lot more. According to Mercer, employer health benefit costs are projected to rise 6.5% even after plan tweaks. It could be closer to 9% if your employer hasn't really figured out the good juju with their employee benefits plan. And again, if you're on the marketplace, if Congress doesn't renew the pandemic era premium tax cuts, millions could see their ACA plan costs more than double. That's up to 136% higher. Wow. Yeah. Wow. It's a lot. It's a lot. Okay. So why is this happening? There's so many things right now that are like, this feels like the perfect fucking storm. Do you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_02:

Like it's it really the government shut down, obviously. They need to figure out some things by November 1st because I really feel for people who are in benefits right now and trying to figure this shit out in orcs because this is not easy.

SPEAKER_00:

Not easy at all. And I think there's a couple things you can think about as an employee. And I know a lot of companies, especially benefit teams, are trying to figure this out and we'll be very vocal this season about what you can do, et cetera, et cetera. But why is this happening? A labor costs. Hospitals and clinics are paying more to keep nurses, techs, doctors. It's all getting more expensive. There's also a utilization surge. So people are finally getting the care that they delayed during the pandemic. It's like traffic, right? We're experiencing kind of the delayed reactions of that. Things like more screening surgeries, mental health care visits, et cetera. Inflation isn't helping anything. The cost of everything from gloves to an MRI machine, it just all costs more. And all this stuff starts to add way up. Drugs like GLP ones are more expensive. Great, but more expensive. And there's just other things happening too, like healthcare consolidations. There's fewer plans, there's fewer competitors. There's also like policy clips. Federal subsidies expire in 2025, like the ACA premiums, and that'll spike it overnight. And again, employees are reacting to this. 59% of companies are redesigning plans. So they're raising deductibles, they're tightening networks, and they're adding cost sharing. Sharing meaning employees are going to have to pick up the Slack here. I don't know if anyone enrolled in their benefits like last year, for example. You probably started to see more options around flexible spending accounts, more optionality where you can get more of a stipend to pay for your health care as opposed to your insurance plan paying for your health care. That was by design. You and I talked two years ago. There was going to be this uptick in a stipend, like getting rid of insurance and pulling into a stipend where we're we as a company will give you$25,000 and then you go out and you figure out your own insurance plan. This is like the slow movement towards that.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I see that definitely happening in the future, where it's more of a benefit marketplace. You have to go out on your own. And that's just considered part of your salary package. Yes, a thousand percent. Like a lump sum for health insurance, professional development, all of those things, those added benefits, they're gonna give you this is for that. And then you have to figure out how you divide it. And they'll call it personalization. Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

But at the end of the day, it is probably less benefits for the same amount or more money. All right. So what do you do about this? Your prices are gonna go up. Whether again, whether you're in an employer plan or you're on the exchange. There are moves you can make, though, to make the right choices for you. So a few thoughts here. One is do not autopilot your open enrollment. I am absolutely someone that I'm like, oh shit, I forgot to open enroll. And then your plan just rolls over. Don't do that. Check your plan in details. If you're gonna do it, this is the year to do it. Look line by line, especially if you get massage therapy or mental health, or if you know you're someone that's gonna need surgery or something like that, figure out networks, deductibles, prescription coverage, out-of-pocket maximums. You really want to pay attention to all of that. Don't autopilot your open enrollment. Please don't. And compare total cost, not just premium. Like lower monthly rates often hide higher deductibles. That happened to me one year where I was like, why is my prescription and my OBGYN visit and all this good jazz so expensive? It's because I accidentally did this.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I did that one year too. And it was the worst year. And I had an HSA account to pay to offset expenses. It didn't matter. It was like out of control.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Yeah. Which brings me to my third. Use an HSA account. Absolutely. If you have one and can afford it, do it. Your 2026 limits are going to be$4,400 for an individual,$8,750 for a family, plus$1000 catch up for$55 plus. These are triple tax advantaged, pre-tax contribution. It will save you money, believe me. So take advantage of that. And then definitely ask your employer a question around what's changing. Hopefully they're proactive with that communication. But most of your employers have people on staff that can answer any questions that you have about new benefits like telehealth or credits or wellness stipends so you can offset costs, figure out what your employer is offering. If you're on the exchange, watch Congress. The decision to extend or end subsidies will directly affect your 2026 premium. Period, point blank, big time. So the other thing you can do now is model your what-if scenarios. If they extend it, what happens? If they don't, how does 136% increase impact your budget? Exactly that.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm also one of those people that was on autopilot when it came to annual selection and then be like, oh shit, I got one data. So many things. Don't do what we've done. Don't do what we've done. Yeah. You've got a few weeks. Really sit down, talk to your benefits folks. If you have questions, like down to your specific prescriptions, you should be reaching out to find out what changes are coming with your prescription, all of those things. Like get into the weeds. It's annoying because it is not an easy process, as you and I've talked about at all. It's just like painful. You're gonna need the time for frustration and reviewing the details.

SPEAKER_00:

So make the time. Take the time. Absolutely take the time. Listen, the bottom line, we're paying more to get less this year. But if you really figure out what's right for you, great. If Congress doesn't act, millions will face premium hikes they can't absorb, most likely. So to your very good point, do not sleep on open enrollment and don't assume your average is what it was last year. It will not be. So there's a new actress in Hollywood, and her name is Tilly Norwood. She's beautiful, expressive, and entirely fake. Have you seen the pictures of her?

SPEAKER_02:

I have two bones to pick. Sure. Why do these Mega Techs always come out with a woman? It's always a woman character. It's never a male character, even when Siri came out. Alexa came out. Even GPS. It's always like a weird woman character that you can control and command and ask to do things for you. Just putting it out there. It's a pattern I'm recognizing.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's a control and command. And then I think I have one that's a not PG reason why they always bring a woman in too.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's just like, okay. But yes, I've seen Tilly, and I'm not a huge fan of the synthetic characters for things that like I don't know. I appreciate the art of animation and the all of those things, but this feels like it's crossing a weird line.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. This is the thing. Tilly Norwood is an AI generated trained on real performers, zero human behind the scenes at all. And last week at SAG AFTRA, the actors union basically totally lost it rightfully. And they said, quote unquote, to be clear, Tilly Norwood is not an actor. She's a computer program trained on the work of countless professionals without permission or pay. And that scenario, friends, you might think, uh, it's Hollywood, and maybe it's an actor today, and maybe it's music tomorrow, but it's actually a little bit of a signal and a canary in a coal mine of what might be coming in your industry. And I want to talk about what's actually happening here because the studio that created her claims that talent agents are interested. But the truth is no major production is hiring AI performers yet. This is more of a stress test, like a cultural experiment to see how far the industry can push before humans revolt. Yeah. And listen, these actors are not alone. In Bollywood, performers are suing to block AI-made films using their likeness in music record labels like Universal and Warner are striking deals so AI companies can train on their catalogs legally. And everyone's trying to figure out where's the line, right?

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Again, this to me is a massive signal that I think most people should pay attention to, especially beyond Hollywood, because it's not just again about deep fakes or digital doubles. I think it's about the future of creative labor and who owns what we make.

SPEAKER_02:

Not just that, it's the what's the life experience going to be when everything's synthetic.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I think the thing I really love about film is the imperfection of humans that do it, like the actors, like what makes them special, what they bring to it. Any AI character or synthetic kind of character I've seen is just, it sucks. It's not great. It doesn't feel human. It doesn't even sound human. It sounds that way, but it doesn't really. There's just something slightly off. And that would be so distracting for me. I wouldn't even enjoy watching it. And never mind that, but the impact to Hollywood's already been ripped to shreds the last few years as an industry. But the number of jobs, like creative artistic jobs that will go away as a result of something like this, down to things like costume designers, set designers, how far does it go that we're going to rip kind of the fabric of what makes us human out of society?

SPEAKER_00:

I think that's the question at hand, right? Because what you're talking about is also happening in design. It's happening in marketing, it's happening in journalism, it's happening in customer service. And it's the same pattern that we see, right? AI tools get trained on human work, the company profits, and the humans realize they've been turned into unpaid data. Yeah. And hop, listen, Hollywood, it just happens to be the story this week because the faces are famous. We love Hollywood stories, et cetera. But it's coming for every industry that runs on any kind of human expression. It just is. I think you're going to start seeing a lot more fights over compensation, around consent, who gets paid when AI uses your work, your voice, your face. I'm hoping we see that. It feels like there's so much just being steamrolled right now, but I'm hoping we see way more discussions and legality around that. I think you can expect unions, guilds, and eventually governments to step in. Maybe. Definitely in like other countries for sure, but hoping this happens in the US. And there'll be licensing systems like transparency laws, maybe even digital fingerprints that trace how your likeness is being used in AI training. It's such an interesting discussion because to your point, the word synthetic is the right word for it. And then it just feels like commodity. When I was at Limited Brands, Michael Weiss was the CEO of Express for a long time. Fashion is interesting because it's a period in time. And once it's done, it's like leftovers in the fridge. You just don't want it anymore. And I feel the same way around like they're just, it's just like leftover food. It's just like filler.

SPEAKER_02:

It's not the good stuff you want to eat. It's the gross grilled cheese I left in your fridge last week. No, by the way, Jeff did eat that. Delicious. I'm just saying, but I did leave a block of cheese in your fridge. But I just but again, you're just like, seems like a good idea at the time. And then you're like, actually, I don't want to eat that again.

SPEAKER_00:

This all goes back to listen, AI is here, right? And we're going to be having these discussions. You and I are not Luddites, but I do think this keeps on begging. The question we keep coming back to to make sure things are, again, clear, durable, always bidding on humans. The big question we would love leaders to ask is what can AI do and what's worth keeping human? And there are always elements in any discussion, and especially in a creative realm, that are worth keeping human.

SPEAKER_02:

Like number one litmus test for me is if it can't have the lived experience, it can't add value. And that's a big differentiator to me. We exist in the world and experience the world as it is. Like AI doesn't experience any of it. And there's no amount of training that's ever going to provide them that level of context or emotion or feeling that human beings have. So if the work requires that, you shouldn't be using AI for it. This episode was produced, edited in all things by us, myself, Mel Platt, and Francesca Reneri. Our music is by Pink Zebra. And if you loved this conversation and you want to contribute your thoughts with us, please do. You can visit us at yourworkfriends.com. But you can also join us over on LinkedIn. We have a LinkedIn community page and we have the TikToks and Instagram. So please join us in the socials. And if you like this and you've benefited from this episode and you think someone else can benefit from this episode, please rate and subscribe. We'd really appreciate it. That helps keep us going. Take care, friends. Bye, friends. Bye friends.

Head Shot

Francesca Ranieri

Co-host
Head Shot

Mel Plett

Co-host