While 44 days might not seem like much time, a lot can happen in just over a month. You can watch all of Grey’s Anatomy twice over (and the LVAD cutting wire scene three times for extra measure) or rewatch The OC 14 times. You can also pick up a new hobby or simply evaluate your life choices. Or maybe you’ll realize that your new job isn’t the right fit for you.
Most of us only need 44 days to find out if we want to stick it out in our new role, finds a new survey of more than 1,500 adults by software company Bamboo HR. Sometimes it’s less than that—an overwhelming 70% of employees have decided if their job is right for them within the first month of being hired. Just under a third (29%) of new hires get the spidey sense within the first week, while it takes a quarter of employees more than two months. But on average, the survey finds, employees will figure it out within seven weeks of their start date.
While split second impressions can be harsh, we tend to stick to them. A majority of workers (62%) report to BambooHR that their first impressions of where they work still ring true, and 60% admit that it’s hard to change these initial feelings.
Such judgment calls can spark remorse—44% of workers said they regretted a job they took within a week of starting it. A sizable portion (23%) even admitted they cried the first week at their new job. Everything isn’t always what it seems during the hiring process, and a poor onboarding experience can be enough to turn an employee off from it.
Companies often lack a clear vision and culture that makes it difficult for HR and managers to set up a consistent, effective hiring and onboarding experience, Anita Grantham, BambooHR’s head of HR, tells Fortune. “If that foundation isn’t in place, employees can get mixed signals about the company they are joining during the interview process [and] managers across departments end up setting widely variable expectations for employees,” she says.
While the Great Resignation may be over, it’s a sign that workers are still discovering some courting companies weren’t always able to deliver their pie in the sky offers. Millions of workers made the most of the labor market and quit their jobs for ones with better pay and working conditions, but some ended up second-guessing their decision.
A Harris Poll from March 2022 found that one in five workers who quit their job since 2020 regretted it. Many felt that their work-life balance declined, missed the culture of their old job, or felt their new job wasn’t what they were expecting. Sometimes online or Zoom interviews don’t always match up to the real deal in-person, experts told USA Today, which first reported on the data. And workers were so desperate for better wages that they ignored red flags. “A lot of companies enticed people with pay,” Jim McCoy, senior vice president at ManpowerGroup, told the publication.
Now, some regretted quitting because they didn’t have a job lined up. A Paychex analysis published earlier this year found that 80% of job hoppers regretted their move, with some reporting they found it more difficult to take control of the job market and snag an opportunity amid recession fears after quitting than they thought it would be. But Bamboo HR’s survey piles on the evidence that job dissatisfaction is also at play.
Whether it be perusing the housing market, impulse shopping, or job hunting, we tend to always be looking to greener pastures, especially in the early years after the pandemic. But sometimes, it doesn’t take long to figure out the pasture isn’t as green as we thought it would be.
