U.S. workers are increasingly mobile, particularly the millennials who now make up the largest segment of the workforce. A survey released earlier this year, for instance, found that 60 percent of employees ages 22 to 32 have left jobs between once and four times in the past five years.
A new poll by BambooHR sheds light on why employees are most likely to ditch a job shortly after starting it. The survey of 1,005 U.S. employees found that 31 percent had quit a job in the first six months.
The top reason workers will quit soon after starting is a change of heart about what work they're interested in doing. This point is most relevant to millennials, many of whom are still getting a sense of what type of career they want to pursue.
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The second most common reason: The work they're doing is not what they expected when they applied for the position.
Number three was dissatisfaction with a supervisor or boss. No surprise there.
Coming in fourth was a lack of job training. Employees who feel ill-equipped or overwhelmed by the work they're presented with don't feel productive and, if anything, likely anticipate being fired if they don't leave first.
Finally, number five: The job isn't fun.
The survey further revealed what workers say they expect in the first days of the job to make them feel comfortable in their new role. Above all, they want training and guidance on their new role and how the company functions.
However, employees have different takes on who is the ideal person to guide them through the onboarding process. A third say it should be their supervisor, while 28 percent believe it is the duty of HR, 22 percent hope that it's a colleague, and 19 percent would like to be assigned a mentor.
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