New employee receives 0 training during first weeks of new job, is left scrambling to figure out what to do: 'Most days we don’t communicate at all'

Everyone needs a little guidance, no matter how experienced they are.

It's impossible to know exactly what to do at a new job without a little bit of guidance. Even if you're an expert in the field, you still need a little bit of info. Every workplace operates differently, with its own internal systems and programs. It would be strange if you knew all of that off the bat. Plus, starting a new job can be stressful. You want as much support as possible, especially in the beginning. You want to know that your boss is thinking of you and has your best interests at heart. This might have some bearing on what they can do for you in the future, and you probably want to know that as soon as possible. If they're going to leave you high and dry, you would probably want to catch onto that and nip it in the bud.

On the other hand, a lot of jobs these days require more independence. With workplaces stretched thin, some workers are being left to their own devices, and probably need to be okay with that. But everyone deserves support, and there should be a limit to that independence. Ultimately, it makes the work better. If everyone has to figure everything out on their own, the likelihood of mistakes goes up, and the room for miscommunication grows. All of this can be prevented by simple training, something that should be expected at every workplace.

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But that's not what this employee encountered as they started a new position. They were left completely out to sea by their employers and needed some clarity about what their position entailed. When they realized that was probably never going to come, they wondered what they should do about it. They also wondered if this was becoming the norm for those starting new jobs. They weren't sure how they should go about rectifying the situation and what they could do to improve their working life. Read on for all the details of this story of workplace communication, or lack thereof, and see what commenters added to it.
Is it normal to not be trained on a new job?

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Commenters gave their own stories and offered advice.

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