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The Razorwire Christmas Party 2025 episode looks back at a year where burnout in security work feels closer to an occupational hazard than a personal weakness. A legal style “but for” test highlights how organisational decisions, pressure and inaction in 2025 shaped stress, harm and duty of care across cybersecurity teams.

What happens when you gather some of the sharpest minds in cybersecurity for an end-of-year chat about where we've been and where we're heading? Welcome to Razorwire's Christmas special. Today I’m chatting with some of our favourite guests from 2025: clinical traumatologist Eve Parmiter, cyber futurist Oliver Rochford, CISO and podcast host Marius Poskus and occupational psychologist Bec McKeown for a roundup of the cybersecurity industry this year. This isn't a glossy year-in-review full of predictions and corporate optimism. We're talking about what's actually happened.

The Razorwire Christmas Party 2025 episode looks back over a year of burnout, AI hype, flat security budgets and noisy breaches, and forward to the future of work in cybersecurity. Listeners get a fast survey of social engineering trends, alert fatigue, decision culture, talent pipelines and work life boundaries that shaped 2025 and point to the years ahead.

Different viewpoints and psychological safety improve both problem solving and emotional support in security teams. The clip highlights how rushing to fix other people’s struggles can backfire, and shows why listening without assuming you know the solution is often the most effective response.

Optimism and pessimism are described as two sides of the same insanity, while real security work is grounded in facts and risk. Security professionals are often labelled pessimistic for focusing on problems, yet this mindset protects systems by facing threats without sugar coating or denial.

The clip explores how hidden stress builds inside teams, with some people masking pressure until it erupts like a volcano. Trusting intuitive colleagues to share what is really happening gives leaders a clearer view of rising tension, before everyone ends up running from the emotional blast.

Security professionals are encouraged to learn their own big three indicators of rising stress, starting with a clear physical sign. Headaches, clenched jaws or a twitchy eye can all signal that pressure is building, and self awareness helps catch burnout while there is still time to respond with humility rather than denial.

Burnout often starts with thoughts like, there is no energy left, no skills to draw on and no point in trying any more. The clip walks through that emotional timeline, from the stage where someone still speaks up to the point of desolation, and argues the best time to act is when the fire is a singe, not when the whole roof is blazing.

Cybersecurity professionals live with perpetual problems, repeated attacks and the expectation that sooner or later something will go wrong. Burnout is framed as an occupational hazard in that environment, so people need to predict its impact, plan ahead and build protection before that helpless feeling takes over.

The Mental Health in Cyber Security Foundation is a home for support, shared best practice and real stories about mental health in cybersecurity. The long-term vision is an organisation where people in the industry know they can go for advice, guidance and practical help with the pressures of their work.