A jack of all trades, or just surviving?

The New Reality of Uganda’s Workplace

SPECIAL FEATURE | ARIHO DAISY KANSIIME | There was a time when a career path felt blissfully predictable. You studied for a profession, entered the workforce, and gradually built depth in that field. A civil engineer obsessed over cement and bricks. A public relations officer, let’s be honest, spun the truth with professional flair. An accountant balanced the books. It was not perfect, but it was clear. And distinct. And rather peaceful.

Today, that clarity is quietly disappearing. Much like office stationery.

Wait, What Exactly Is My Job Again?

Across many workplaces in Uganda, roles are expanding in ways that are not always obvious during hiring. Job titles still look familiar on paper, reassuringly so, but the reality behind them has quietly shifted. What used to be a singular role is increasingly becoming two, sometimes three, still handled by one person, who is also somehow expected to attend all the meetings, reply to all the emails, and remember everyone’s birthday.

As an HR practitioner, this is my everyday reality. And I’ve got the eye bags to prove it.

We see it during recruitment, where a single position attracts expectations that quietly sprawl across departments. We observe it in performance assessments, where staff are measured not only by what they were hired to do but also against “any other duties as stipulated in the contract”, a clause that should legally require its own contract.

This is not always intentional. In many organisations, it is driven by very real constraints. Budgets are tight. Hiring is cautious. Teams are expected to deliver more with fewer people. And so, the people already in the system stretch to fill the gaps like cling wrap over a casserole dish that is clearly too full.

The Silent Shift

What starts as “helping out” slowly becomes part of the role. What was once temporary becomes permanent. What was extra becomes expected. The job description does not change; however, the actual job absolutely does. It morphs. It expands. It develops its own personality.

This is how many professionals find themselves doing far more than they anticipated, without a clear framework for it and, crucially, without a clear salary adjustment for it either. They are contributing across functions, solving problems they were never trained for, learning new skills on the go, while pretending this was always the plan.

On paper, this looks like growth. In practice, it looks like a very tired person squinting at a spreadsheet they did not ask to own.

During this corporate transition, one question rings louder than all the others: What exactly am I responsible for?

Flexibility works, but not without its limits

There is no doubt that the modern workplace rewards adaptability. The professionals who stand out today are often those who can move across roles, understand different parts of the organisation, and learn quickly. These are genuinely valuable people. In a fast-changing environment, they are often the ones who keep the whole ship from sinking while everyone else is debating the color of the life jackets.

But there is a critical difference between them. One builds capability. The other quietly drains it. When adaptability is genuinely supported with clear expectations, proper tools, and actual recognition, it becomes a real strength. When it is simply assumed and never acknowledged, it becomes a slow leak.

The rarely-advertised hidden Cost

What is often overlooked in this conversation is not just the extra workload but the impact on professional self-identity, which, it turns out, is harder to recover from than unpaid overtime.

Many professionals today are not struggling because they lack skill. If anything, they are more capable than ever. The challenge is something more subtle.

Over time, this creates a quiet disconnection. You are productive, but internally displaced. Busy, but not always purposefully anchored. You have seventeen tabs open, and none of them are yours.

The Unwritten rule

In many workplaces, there is an unspoken truth that HR professionals see up close. People are hired for one role. Expected to grow into several. If they succeed, the organisation benefits. If they struggle, it is framed as a performance issue.

From the company’s perspective, this can look efficient or, let’s call it what it is, cost-saving. Individually, it can feel like being handed a moving goalpost and told to score a hat trick.

In HR, we watch this play out repeatedly. Strong performers take on more. They deliver. They adapt. But eventually, many reach a point where the balance no longer feels sustainable. When they finally leave, the organisation pauses, reflects briefly, perhaps holds a small farewell lunch, and then starts the whole cycle over with the next hire. Fresh face. Same expanding job description. History repeating itself in a new shirt.

There is that old saying: “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Long was wielded as an encouragement to specialise. To pick a lane. To become very, very good at one thing and stay there.

But the full proverb tells a far more interesting story. Today’s workplace has quietly embraced this second idea. Versatility is no longer a weakness; it is one of the most valued professional traits going. The ability to connect dots, move between functions, and understand the holistic picture is something organisations increasingly depend on. Sometimes a little too much.

Finding the Balance

For professionals, the workplace is evolving, and those who remain completely rigid risk being left behind. Building skills beyond your core training is no longer optional. It is, frankly, survival.

But awareness matters too. Not every opportunity to “stretch” is genuine growth. Not every additional responsibility signals progress. At some point, it becomes important to pause and ask honestly, Is this expanding my career? Or is it just expanding my workload… for absolutely no extra pay?

For companies, expectations must be clear. Extra duties that are successfully executed deserve to be recognised not just with a warm handshake and a “we really appreciate you” but through proper incentives, performance bonuses, and formal acknowledgement. Gratitude is lovely. A bonus is better.

So, Where Does That Leave Us?

From an HR perspective, you get to see both sides of this equation. The workplace is genuinely more dynamic, more connected, and more full of possibilities than it has ever been. Modern professionals are expected to stretch beyond one role, and many are doing so with remarkable grace and capability.

But that same dynamism raises a question that organisations need to sit with uncomfortably. The truth, as always, sits somewhere in between.

Being a “jack of all trades” is no longer a flaw. The modern professional who adapts, grows, and contributes across functions is genuinely valuable. That deserves to be celebrated, compensated, and explicitly acknowledged.

But it absolutely should not become the quiet price of simply staying employed.

*****

Ariho Daisy Kansiime, HR Professional.