When Nikelle Inman started a new job coaching first-generation college students, she looked forward to meeting with them one-on-one to talk about how to surmount obstacles and find resources to succeed.
Instead, she and her fellow success coaches at a community college in North Carolina spent a year mired in paperwork, tasked with reviewing applications from aspiring undergraduates. They never did get to meet with students.
“Admissions work kind of took over what we were supposed to do,” Inman said. “I felt disengaged with the position, more so because I just didn’t feel valued.”
Read: Novartis empowering, retaining young employees through engagement, growth opportunities
It’s disorienting when a job turns out to be completely different than advertised or morphs into something an employee didn’t expect. But more U.S. workers have reported feeling disconnected from their organization’s purpose and unclear on how to meet expectations since the coronavirus pandemic changed the way we work, according to a new Gallup analysis.
Slightly fewer than half of U.S. employees who participated in a Gallup survey in November “strongly agreed” they know what is expected of them at work, which is one of the factors the polling firm uses to measure employee engagement. In January 2020, the figure stood at 56 per cent.
The survey found new employees, younger employees, people in white-collar industries like technology, insurance and finance, and those in hybrid work arrangements were especially likely to report that expectations for their roles weren’t clear.
In late 2024, roughly a quarter of employees with the ability to work remotely were doing so exclusively, up from around one in 10 in 2019, Gallup found. Another 55 per cent were working in the office some days and remotely the rest, up from about a third in 2019.
Read: Gen Z reports worsened communication skills due to remote working, learning: survey
More recently, layoffs at technology companies and in the government and other sectors have left organizations with fewer people to handle the load and expectations aren’t always adjusted to the new realities.
“With all the rounds of layoffs, people’s scope and responsibilities are shifting constantly,” said Jeremy Guttenplan, an executive leadership trainer and coach based in New York. “You think about the ones left behind and the work is just getting piled on them.”
When a successful real estate developer asked Amber Krasinski to film and produce 85 TikTok videos in three hours, she thought hard about whether she really wanted to take him on as a client. The job might be good exposure for her communications agency, IvyHill Stategies, but Krasinski knew it would be impossible to complete in so little time. She turned it down.
Krasinski regularly gives her client progress updates and tries to make a practice of asking clarifying questions before taking on new projects.
“Any time I have a conversation with a prospective client, I have that in the back of my mind. Avoiding that people-pleasing side that says, ‘You can figure it out, you can do it.’ You don’t want to let anybody down, but you also need to set yourself up for success.”
Read: Employers must shape workplace culture to fit preferences of younger generations: survey
More frequent check-ins with a manager or supervisor may help staff members who are unsure if they’re prioritizing their time appropriately or don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing.
Organizations can explore different ways of building connection between employees and providing more opportunities for feedback, which can result in better understanding of workplace expectations. Brian Smith, founder and managing partner of IA Business Advisors, said his company hosts gratitude sessions for 30 minutes each week.
The first 20 minutes are led by a coach who advises attendees on issues such as how to effectively manage time or deal with challenging customers. Highlighting specific problems and strategies can help workers understand what’s expected of them. At the end of the session, participants have an opportunity to share what they’re grateful for.
Read: How Pizza Pizza is aligning DEI, workplace culture with corporate strategy