More American workers feel lost in their jobs as pandemic-era expectations reshape workplace norms

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, 34, said. “I felt disengaged with the position, more so because I just didn’t feel valued.”

It is disorienting when a job turns out to be completely different than advertised or morphs into something we did not expect. But more U.S. workers have reported feeling disconnected from their organizati