Study: 6 in 10 Employees Report Actual Job Different From Expectations

 According to a recent survey from Glassdoor, 6 in 10 (61%) employees reported that they’ve found aspects of a new job to be different than expectations set during the hiring process. The survey of more than 2,000 workers also showed that more men (65%) than women (56%) found various aspects of a new job to be different than expected post-hiring process.

For the employees who reported finding aspects of a new job different than what they expected, the top areas where they felt expectations differed the most included:

• Employee morale (40%)

• Job responsibilities (39%)

• Hours expected to work (37%)

• Boss’ personality (36%)

• Career advancement opportunities (27%)

• Senior leadership competence (23%)

• Salary (22%)

• Company culture (22%)

The top areas also differed among men and women. Thirty-three percent of men believed the hours they were expected to work differed from the number they expected during the hiring process. That’s an 11 percent difference from the 42 percent of women who reported the same.

“Setting clear expectations about what it’s like to work at a particular company and what a specific job will entail is a two-way street,” Amanda Lachapelle, Glassdoor HR director, said. “It is the responsibility of employers to provide information on key aspects of the job, company and it’s culture, and it is the responsibility of job seekers to know what they want in their next career move and seek out the information they need so that they have a realistic idea about what to expect.”

Employees in the West reported that the personality of their boss/relationships with co-workers (35%) and salary/compensation (23%) were different than expected. Additional geographic breakouts include:

Personality of their boss/relationships with co-workers

• Northeast: 26%

• Midwest: 24%

• South: 24%

• West: 35%

Salary/Compensation

• Northeast: 14%

• Midwest: 14%

• South: 18%

• West: 23%