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5 min read T&S Insider

T&S leaders are doing everything, everywhere, all at once

Trust & Safety work rarely has a single focus. From AI to regulation to team well-being, the data suggests T&S workers are spinning dozens of plates at once. But is this a problem to fix, or simply the nature of the job?

I'm Alice Hunsberger. Trust & Safety Insider is my weekly rundown on the topics, industry trends and workplace strategies that Trust & Safety professionals need to know about to do their job.

This week, I’m looking at two different data sources that both highlight the same reality: T&S teams are juggling allll the things. Feeling stretched thin? You’re definitely not alone.

I’d love to hear how you manage the reality of juggling dozens of priorities — and any practical tips you’ve found that make it easier. Hit reply or read on for more about what I’m asking. Here we go! — Alice

How to manage infinite priorities

Why this matters: Trust & Safety professionals are expected to be experts in everything, all at once. Rather than having clear, sequential priorities, we're constantly juggling dozens of moving targets. It's time to acknowledge that this might be the nature of the work and to find ways to thrive in this complexity.

When I ask Trust & Safety leaders what they're focusing on, I never get a simple answer. There's no overwhelming single priority that dominates everyone's attention. Instead, it's always a mix of:

  • AI implementation
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Scaling challenges
  • Workforce development
  • Tooling needs
  • Policy updates
  • And about fifteen other things, all happening simultaneously.

In my own experience leading T&S teams, this was true as well. I'd stack rank my top priorities, work through incremental improvements across all of them, and then start back at the top again. Nothing was ever truly "solved"; it was an ongoing and never-ending process.

Why? It's partly because "perfect" doesn't exist in Trust & Safety, but also because the target is always moving. New regulations appear overnight, bad actors change tactics, societal expectations shift, emerging technology creates new possibilities and new risks.

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Published by:

Alice Hunsberger

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