Only 40 percent of China’s post-90s graduates stay in their jobs for longer than two years, according to a newly released report by Mycos Research Institute. The report shows that post-90s workers who obtained their diplomas in 2011 have on average two different employers within a period of three years.

The post-90s generation includes people born between 1990 and 2000. As a group, the generation is seen as quite individualistic compared to earlier generations, and they’ve been assigned a wide variety of attributes and labels, including open-minded, international and confident. These young people tend to look for a job to be interesting, offer room for personal development and provide a suitable working environment, according to another report.

The working post-90s generation chooses personal interests over development opportunities and financial security, a study by China’s leading recruitment website Zhaopin shows.

“In their eyes, working in State-owned enterprises, which usually offer generous work benefits and a stable environment, is not an attractive option anymore,” said Shen Yan, a human resources director at Shougang Group, in an interview with China Youth Daily.

Zhang Yang is one such typical post-90s worker. Zhang, who holds an MA, explained to the China Youth Daily reporter why he quit a job that many people regard as a “golden rice bowl” – a good, reliable prospect. Zhang used to work for a SOE that paid him very well and provided him with opportunities to travel abroad. Nevertheless, Zhang chose to leave the company because the work was “too monotonous.”

“If I had continued the job, every day of the rest of my life would have been the same until my retirement. That would be awful,” Zhang said.

Li Ke, a human resources manager from Wengfu Group in Guizhou, said that job hopping highlights the characteristics of the post-90s generation. Compared to the “team players” born in the ‘60s and ‘70s, millennials tend to focus more on needs of personal development, emotions and fulfillment.

A hashtag, translating roughly to “the post-90s generation quits over any little thing,” has even gone viral on Weibo.

“A large portion of this generation gets strong financial support from family, so [these young people] basically live with no pressure; they do things in their own way, with less professionalism in the workplace,” said Li.

Shen believes that, in addition to personal development, social transformation is also a cause of job hopping among the post-90s generation.

“Adjustments and upgrades to China’s current economic structure bring changes in some companies, and this encourages young people to switch their jobs,” Shen explained.

A hashtag, translating roughly to “the post-90s generation quits over any little thing,” has even gone viral on Weibo. However, many netizens disagree with the idea that job hopping is solely the province of the post-90s generation, and with the belief that this cohort will quit a job over any and every small problem.

Some say the issue originates with companies nowadays rather than their post-90s employees. One theory is that companies squeeze graduates out and offer minimal room for personal development.