Hey, it's Rachel Cook. I'm your modern mentor. I'm the founder of Lead Above Noise, a firm

specializing in activating workplaces, helping leaders create the conditions that unleash bigger results

while engaging our teams. The primary way I help companies reactivate their workforces is by talking

to their employees, by understanding

what's going well and what they need most in order to perform better. I love that I get to do this work

because it helps me keep a finger on the pulse of what's happening in all sorts of organizations.

There are always trends, and one of the biggest trends I'm seeing right now is disappointment.

People across the board are feeling like their companies are just failing to meet their expectations,

which leaves me wondering, what should our expectations be of our workplace?

There was once a time when companies expected people to work from 9 to 5,

and people expected in return a paycheck. And that was kind of it. Expectations are different

all around now. Companies want more from their teams, more hours, more ideas, more loyalty.

And employees too want more. They want more purpose, more support,

more wellness programs. So what's reasonable? And what can we do as employees when we're feeling

let down? Today I'd like to share some of the things I'm hearing from people during

pulse checks so that we can start to manage our expectations and maybe even start

to take some action. The first is we don't feel like a family anymore. This is probably the one

I hear most often. It usually means a big change has taken place. There's been a layoff or an

organizational restructure, maybe an acquisition, and people feel a loss.

Maybe trust feels broken, or old lines of communication aren't working, or new ways of working

have been rolled out.

When this conversation comes up, I typically tell leaders they have two problems to solve.

...