{"id":836,"date":"2025-07-18T09:13:38","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T09:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/?page_id=836"},"modified":"2025-09-06T16:17:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T16:17:57","slug":"what-is-kayfabe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/?page_id=836","title":{"rendered":"What is Kayfabe? And why should we diminish it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Kayfabe is the tacit agreement between professional wrestlers and their fans to act as if openly staged wrestling events, stories, and characters are real.<\/em>\u2014 Merriam-Webster Dictionary<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kayfabe \u2013 Pretending It\u2019s Real and Not Talking About It<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all know wrestling icons like Hulk Hogan or John Cena. And we all know the fights are staged. It\u2019s theatre, not sport. WWE even changed its name from \u201cWorld Wrestling Federation\u201d to \u201cWorld Wrestling Entertainment.\u201d Yet we still watch. Former wrestler Nick Rogers recently said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ll present you something clearly fake under the insistence that it\u2019s real, and you will experience genuine emotion. Neither party acknowledges the bargain, or else the magic is ruined.\u201d<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This illusion\u2014where everyone silently agrees to act like something fake is real\u2014is called \u2018kayfabe<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We pay for the illusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interest in WWE didn\u2019t decline when it was clear it was al staged. That\u2019s because kayfabe is how the wrestlers show respect for their audience. They understand well that if fans pay for the illusion, we preserve it respectfully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayfabe has thus become the way to protect the business model. We pay for an act. We love illusion. Just like in film. Kayfabe leads to emotional involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Kayfabe is never stop selling the gimmick’ <\/em>— Al Snow<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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By maintaining kayfabe, we keep doing what we did. Kayfabe is about protecting the status quo, even when we know it\u2019s not real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kayfabe is silence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kayfabe today symbolizes keeping reality hidden from the outside world. Letting outsiders believe that what you show is real. We see it all around us. On social media, everyone has the perfect vacation. The sun always shines. Kayfabe is politicians with no active memory. Accidentally leaked plans for Budget Day. The omert\u00e1 in cycling (silence about doping). We know we\u2019re fooling each other, and we stay silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Kayfabe is the tacit agreement between professional wrestlers and their fans to act as if openly staged wrestling events, stories, and characters are real<\/em><\/strong>.’\u2014 Merriam-Webster Dictionary<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Kayfabe safety<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parallel to our safety practices is striking. We also perform safety. We go through the motions \u2014 procedures, reports, checklists \u2014 not because they work, but because it gives the illusion of control. Like wrestlers, we stay silent about what we know to be fake. Various struggles as described throughout this website, we solve with kayfabe. We create the illusion and remain silent about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Goffman (1956, 2022) stated: In daily life and in organizations, people perform roles \u2014 consciously or unconsciously \u2014 to shape how others perceive them. Drawing from Goffman\u2019s theory, we use cues like appearance, setting, and manner to project identities and manage impressions. Our behaviour shifts between a public polished appearance and our authentic, private (hidden) behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teams collectively maintain these performances, often hiding errors or backstage realities to preserve harmony, especially when roles overlap or audiences have conflicting expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In safety management, these dynamics matter. Surveys meant to assess safety culture or compliance can be skewed by impression management\u2014employees may overstate compliance out of fear of consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPeople don\u2019t want the truth. They want what makes them feel safe.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> — Zadie Smith<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Some organizations use surveys to measure constructs like safety knowledge, climate, culture and compliance. This can quickly lead to inaccurate portrayals of workplace safety. For instance, relationships between safety knowledge and compliance are very much influenced by impression management. Employees exaggerate compliance due to fear of repercussions, such as remedial training or management actions. We often present idealized versions of ourselves to fit societal values and expectations, and conceal aspects that might disrupt the desired image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>— Rebecca Solnit<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Suppressing uncertainty and anxiety<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drew Rae argued in his keynote \u2018False Assurance\u2019<\/em> at the \u2018EHS Congress 2024\u2019<\/em> in Berlin that the primary goal of our safety work is not the safety of the work, but reducing tension and worries about unsafety. He states that our work for safety revolves around suppressing the feeling of uncertainty. That leads to showing that everything is under control. Many things we do in the name of safety is to demonstrate that it\u2019s safe. ‘Demonstrated Safety.\u2019<\/em> It is designed to appear safe, not necessarily to be<\/em> safe. That insight is a game changer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘The problem is not the presence of ill intentions, but the absence of critical thinking.’ <\/em><\/strong>–<\/em>– <\/strong>Hannah Arendt<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Willful Blindness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret Heffernan (2011) introduced the term \u2018Willful Blindness\u2019<\/em>, also known as \u2018Conscious Avoidance\u2019.<\/em> It means knowingly turning a blind eye to something, even if you have strong suspicions about it. We turn a blind eye in order to feel safe, to avoid conflict, to reduce anxiety and to protect prestige. It makes us feel good at first, with consequences we don\u2019t see or want to see. Heffernan argues that the biggest threats we face are the ones we don’t see\u2014not because they’re secret or invisible, but because we’re willfully blind to suppress our uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe may not be able to see what\u2019s in front of us, not because it\u2019s invisible, but because we are unwilling to confront it.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>\u2014<\/em><\/em><\/em> <\/em><\/strong>Margaret Heffernan<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Who is fooling whom?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they say in wrestling: with kayfabe you sell the result. The result we sell each other is the illusion<\/em> that we are safe and resilient. With kayfabe we maintain a pseudo-reality. We are in a status quo. Everyone pretends the work for safety is real and we don\u2019t talk about it. But why should we keep that going? With kayfabe we don\u2019t make anyone wiser. Kayfabe doesn\u2019t make us safer, more resilient, or more successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who watch and don’t do anything about it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u2014<\/em><\/em> Albert Einstein (loosely citated)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

More troubling is what sociologist Riesman (2024) recently dubbed \u201cneo-kayfabe\u201d \u2014<\/em> the spreading confusion between truth and illusion in modern society. With AI, deepfakes, social unrest, and misinformation, it\u2019s getting harder to tell what\u2019s real. The same is true inside our organisations. We see through the illusion, yet say nothing. It\u2019s becoming less clear when we\u2019re being fooled and when we\u2019re seeing reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>\u2014<\/em><\/em> S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Moral friction <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining kayfabe leads to ‘moral friction<\/em>.’ More and more people are aware of kayfabe in their organizations and of their role in it. The more we talk about this, the more it feeds the feeling that we contribute to deception, distrust, pseudo-certainty, and a culture of silence. And above all, it leads to less success, less quality, less safety. Hence the moral doubt. How long do we want to keep fooling each other?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.\u201d <\/strong>\u2014<\/em><\/em> Upton Sinclair<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Honesty, Candor and Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honesty, candor and trust are what we humans need\u2014in our daily lives and in our organizations. Unexpected events happen continuously. Every day brings new surprises we must deal with. We don\u2019t live in a simple world. On the outside we have wars, inflation, shortages, climate crises, migration crises, energy-crises, indecisive governments, to name few. On the inside we have employee burnout, staff turnover, broken promises, missed targets, disengaged teams, demanding clients, failing suppliers, pushing boards of directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an organization, we must be continuously alert and adapt constantly to remain interesting, current, relevant, and healthy. That demands a lot\u2014and we do it. And how! Let\u2019s not pretend that all organizations perform poorly. Most of us truly deserve a big compliment for how we\u2019ve wrestled through all the challenges, changes, and problems of the past years. We do have resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; it also takes courage, on occasion, to sit down and listen.<\/strong>” \u2014<\/em><\/em><\/em> Willam A. Ward<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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*** Please note: This metaphor with kayfabe is NOT to disrespect what wrestlers do. It’s honoring their respectful deeds to their audience. Where is it difference in safety? We deal with real people’s physical and mental safety, and take that dead serious! That means that in real life there shall be no roleplay. ***<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Safety Jester’s mission: less kayfabe, more moral Justness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A core mission of Your Safety Jester is is to achieve less kayfabe in your organisation and in the way safety management is done, predominantly meaning how we people treat eachother. More honesty, candor, trust, psychological safety! Moral Justness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why it is difficult to become morally more just<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We often confuse rational action with playing our prescribed roles within the systems. And then we end up with the tense, abrasive, ethically inconsistent world we now have.” <\/strong>\u2014<\/em> Lieke Marsman (Poet<\/em><\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We should absolutely focus on putting humanity first in the way we deal with safety in organizations. Which is not an easy job. The role of a Safety Jester<\/a>, the application of Guided Adaptability<\/a>, the notion of Reality<\/a>, Resilience<\/a>, Safety<\/a>, Embracing Uncertainty<\/a>, Human & Organisational Performance<\/a> and the power of wondering and imagination<\/a> are milestones in this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cNot everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>\u2014<\/em><\/em> James Baldwin<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Hannah Arendt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philosopher and political thinker<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kayfabe is the tacit agreement between professional wrestlers and their fans to act as if openly staged wrestling events, stories, and characters are real.\u2014 Merriam-Webster Dictionary Kayfabe \u2013 Pretending It\u2019s Real and Not Talking About It We all know wrestling icons like Hulk Hogan or John Cena. And we all know the fights are staged. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-836","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=836"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1080,"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/836\/revisions\/1080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/safetyjester.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}