Disney executives have come up with the answer to rock bottom Cast Member morale

ptaylor

Premium Member
Original Poster
So you might be thinking that when faced with rock-bottom Cast Member morale due to worse-than-ever working conditions, executives at Disney would consider things like paying a living wage, a 5 day max work week, giving cast a chance of requested days-off being granted, or even a realistic chance of actually enjoying the parks as a guest with their entrance benefits.

Nope. Instead they have spent the last year on coming up with "Cast Belief Statements."

For the Magic Kingdom, the think-tank came up with "In this, The Most Magical Place on Earth, we are the magic. This is OUR moment!" and for EPCOT, "We belong to a worldwide family, united by our possibilities."

I'm sure this will have a profound impact on Cast Members and make them forget that they are overworked, undervalued and ready to be dropped as soon as the going gets rough.
 
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larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
So you might be thinking that when faced with rock-bottom Cast Member morale due to worse-than-ever working conditions, executives at Disney would consider things like paying a living wage, a 5 day max work week, giving cast a chance of requested days-off being granted, or even a realistic chance of actually enjoying the parks as a guest with their entrance benefits.

Nope. Instead they have spent the last year on coming up with "Cast Belief Statements."

For the Magic Kingdom, the think-tank came up with "In this, The Most Magical Place on Earth, we are the magic. This is OUR moment!" and for EPCOT, "We belong to a worldwide family, united by our possibilities."

I'm sure this will have a profound impact on Cast Members and make them forget that they are overworked and undervalued.
Those statements might work if they were printed on the back of $1,000 bonus checks...
 

jmp85

Well-Known Member
Disney's response is sad, but it's typical. Back when I worked in Public Accounting and morale was always low due to the 65-70 hour weeks, the best they could come up with was providing free Pizza every Saturday (required to be in every Saturday for 4 months).
 

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
"What can we do to boost morale?"

"Give bonuses?" "You're fired"
"Allow CM's access to the parks like they used to be able to do?" "You're fired"
"Pat them on the back and come up with some "Magic Belief Statements" so we can pretend that we actually care?" "You're promoted!"
 

Brian

Well-Known Member
So you might be thinking that when faced with rock-bottom Cast Member morale due to worse-than-ever working conditions, executives at Disney would consider things like paying a living wage, a 5 day max work week, giving cast a chance of requested days-off being granted, or even a realistic chance of actually enjoying the parks as a guest with their entrance benefits.

Nope. Instead they have spent the last year on coming up with "Cast Belief Statements."

For the Magic Kingdom, the think-tank came up with "In this, The Most Magical Place on Earth, we are the magic. This is OUR moment!" and for EPCOT, "We belong to a worldwide family, united by our possibilities."

I'm sure this will have a profound impact on Cast Members and make them forget that they are overworked, undervalued and ready to be dropped as soon as the going gets rough.
Mine would 100% be "I believe I am being overworked, underpaid, abused at the hands of as****e guests while management rewards them and blames me, and passed over for advancement opportunities by external candidates."

But don't worry, there's an inclusion "key" now so everything is just swell!
 
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Lilofan

Well-Known Member
Say what you will but Disney HR has done a wondrous job at convincing people picking up garbage that they aren't janitors, they are actually actors in a show!
Very true. I have seen non costumed cast non custodial cast tidying up the theme parks and hotels. Keeping the show nice and pretty is a joint effort.
 

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
So you might be thinking that when faced with rock-bottom Cast Member morale due to worse-than-ever working conditions, executives at Disney would consider things like paying a living wage, a 5 day max work week, giving cast a chance of requested days-off being granted, or even a realistic chance of actually enjoying the parks as a guest with their entrance benefits.

Nope. Instead they have spent the last year on coming up with "Cast Belief Statements."

For the Magic Kingdom, the think-tank came up with "In this, The Most Magical Place on Earth, we are the magic. This is OUR moment!" and for EPCOT, "We belong to a worldwide family, united by our possibilities."

I'm sure this will have a profound impact on Cast Members and make them forget that they are overworked, undervalued and ready to be dropped as soon as the going gets rough.
If you are talking about layoffs when a company doesn't meet profit targets and Wall Street expectations welcome to the brutal world of corporate America.
 

SSH

Well-Known Member
If you are talking about layoffs when a company doesn't meet profit targets and Wall Street expectations welcome to the brutal world of corporate America.
What gets me is how they insult CMs' intelligence - do they genuinely think their cast members are that stupid? "Cast Belief Statements". Good lord. How did they manage to keep a straight face when delivering this nonsense? It's almost as bad as all the horrible, jargon-filled mission statements that were the rage 20 years ago.
 

dreday3

Well-Known Member
To me, it's more about how they're insulting CM's intelligence. "Cast Belief Statements". Really? I can see it now: every HR and Marketing VP drone will drool over this nonsense and publish their own "belief statements" on their company's websites. :facepalm:

This is not unique to Disney.

We (big company) get "employee spotlight" emails each week, telling us how great we are.

And we got a pin to let us know we are appreciated.
 

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
So you might be thinking that when faced with rock-bottom Cast Member morale due to worse-than-ever working conditions, executives at Disney would consider things like paying a living wage, a 5 day max work week, giving cast a chance of requested days-off being granted, or even a realistic chance of actually enjoying the parks as a guest with their entrance benefits.

Nope. Instead they have spent the last year on coming up with "Cast Belief Statements."

For the Magic Kingdom, the think-tank came up with "In this, The Most Magical Place on Earth, we are the magic. This is OUR moment!" and for EPCOT, "We belong to a worldwide family, united by our possibilities."

I'm sure this will have a profound impact on Cast Members and make them forget that they are overworked, undervalued and ready to be dropped as soon as the going gets rough.
Where are you seeing this? I haven’t heard anything about this.
 

Dan Deesnee

Well-Known Member
Well to be fair He has to factor in the cost of admission into what He pays our employees. As in, if someone is one of our actors that picks up trash, the right to enter Magic Kingdom each day costs about $115. Once you look at it like that, what we pay our employees makes a lot more sense!

- Sammy Jenkins, assistant to Bob Chapek
 
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Tom P.

Well-Known Member
Listen, this stuff might be eyeroll inducing, but it is not new nor unique to Disney. When I was taking HR classes in college in the 90's, they were talking about how employees are not motivated by pay, they're motivated by recognition and praise and things that make them feel part of a team. It was garbage then and it's garbage now, but it's definitely not something Disney has invented.
 

Zummi Gummi

Pioneering the Universe Within!
Sometimes companies are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. I work for a large company and years ago when word trickled in that morale was low, they scheduled a large company picnic for later that year. While there were plenty of people who were grateful and enjoyed the event (myself included), there were still plenty of cynics who said things like “now they think having a little picnic will just magically fix the problems.” These were the same people who were complaining before the picnic that management “never did anything to show they appreciated us.”

Lose lose situation.
 

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
So you might be thinking that when faced with rock-bottom Cast Member morale due to worse-than-ever working conditions, executives at Disney would consider things like paying a living wage, a 5 day max work week, giving cast a chance of requested days-off being granted, or even a realistic chance of actually enjoying the parks as a guest with their entrance benefits.

Nope. Instead they have spent the last year on coming up with "Cast Belief Statements."

For the Magic Kingdom, the think-tank came up with "In this, The Most Magical Place on Earth, we are the magic. This is OUR moment!" and for EPCOT, "We belong to a worldwide family, united by our possibilities."

I'm sure this will have a profound impact on Cast Members and make them forget that they are overworked, undervalued and ready to be dropped as soon as the going gets rough.

Man...pixie dust is a hell of a drug isn't it?
 

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