They’re Not Underutilized, They’re Not Talked to Enough

LinkedIn recently reported that nearly two-thirds of workers across multiple industries feel underutilized. The numbers are striking:

• 65% in administrative and support services

• 63% in retail

• 62% in transportation

• 60% in education, oil, gas, and mining

This is not a generational issue. It’s not industry-specific. It’s not even unique to our current moment in time.

The root cause is simple: a lack of communication between managers and employees.

When employees aren’t clear about their roles, responsibilities, career path, or what “A+ work” looks like in their job, they feel stuck. And when there’s no consistent feedback, negativity fills the void. Employees should never have to guess whether they’re doing well, struggling, or off track — yet too often they wait months until a quarterly or annual review to find out.

At the Esteemed MBA of Leadership & Management, we teach managers that the cure for underutilization is communication. Specifically, three practices:

1. Clarify Roles and Define “A+ Work”

Every manager and direct report must align on the three to five mission-critical responsibilities of the role. Then, define what “A+ work” looks like for each responsibility in measurable terms.

For example, if an Account Executive’s mission is to retain clients and grow revenue, then A+ work might be:

• Calling at least one client per day

• Selling a new service each month

• Securing a contract every six weeks

These clear measures eliminate ambiguity and give employees a path to thrive.

2. Exchange Information Weekly

We call this the Supplier/Customer Exercise. A manager should ask: What information do you need from me to succeed? The direct should share: What information do you need from me to manage effectively?

This could include updates on goals, progress on A+ metrics, outstanding tasks, or even career aspirations. The key is that both sides know exactly what to share, and both commit to doing it consistently.

3. Delegate to Grow

Delegation is the fastest way to make employees feel utilized — and to scale your organization. We teach delegation as the “brisk jog” of growth: not the sprint of chaos, not the walk of stagnation.

When you delegate a meaningful responsibility, employees feel challenged, valued, and trusted. Yes, they may struggle at first, but with coaching they’ll often become better at the task than you are. That’s how organizations build depth and resilience.