How do I know what my job actually is with no communication?
A total lack of communication from leadership leaves new staff guessing about their duties and wondering if they should just stop helping altogether. Without clear boundaries, colleagues end up taking over lessons and paperwork, making it impossible to establish an actual role.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Looking for another job
- 2Considering not helping the students at all
- 3Accepting the help instead of pushing back
- 4Saying 'I've got this' as a signal to back off
- 5Being slowly assertive
- 6Asking colleagues or online communities for role recommendations
- 7Requesting broad administrator roles upfront to cover all potential needs
- 8Managing only traditional foundation grants while avoiding corporate partnerships and relationship-based major appeals
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I'm in a grants manager role and I currently manage about 7 ongoing major grants for the org while prospecting and applying to new ones”source ↗
“We are sort of in a moment of flux right now, as both of my colleagues on the vertical with me just left the org.”source ↗
“I'm wondering if I should advocate for my scope to be rightsized to officially include all grant writing at the org.”source ↗
“I am DROWNING and so are my coworkers. It might only be another 45 minutes, but I genuinely do not know what I am supposed to do.”source ↗
“I find that she has been taking over quite a bit when it comes to planning lessons, teaching them, handling the classroom management, and the paperwork”source ↗
“It’s almost like I’m the student teacher or something.”source ↗
“I told her I’d like to teach the next lesson, and then I did, she kept chiming in and interrupting.”source ↗
“I’ve been slowly Trying to be assertive but it’s hard.”source ↗
“I’m wondering why there is next to no communication, so much so that it seems there’s a code of silence.”source ↗
“Maybe I should just not help the kids at all? and maybe the teachers would prefer that? I’m only guessing because there’s so little direct communication.”source ↗
“I have only spoken to my boss once since the interview, and boss (and the assistant) was so impatient and rude I started looking for another job since it makes little sense to be on probation for 6 months and then not pass probation.”source ↗
“My question is what more types of access should I ask (because I believe I get one chance to ask for) and what bunch of certifications should I start working on”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 25Why do I feel so overwhelmed after starting a new job?
- 12Why do I feel like a fake in my new management role?
- 2Starting a first sole sysadmin job with no documentation
- 3Is it normal to have no work to do at a new job?
- 4What are the real work hours like for a new HVAC tech?
- 2Why is it so hard to learn the accounting theory behind daily work?