Twenty-seven percent of bosses have a current direct report that they would like to see leave their company, according to a study from CareerBuilder. Results were nearly equal by gender but varied significantly by age, with younger managers ages 25 to 34 more likely to report having an employee they would like to leave than managers older than 55 by a margin of eight percentage points: 32 to 24 percent, respectively.

“It’s important that managers be as direct as possible when dealing with employees that, for whatever reason, aren’t a good fit for their teams,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. “Fortunately, a plurality of managers in our survey were open to confronting the situation through a formal discussion or warning; however, some will do nothing at all, or even resort to passive aggressive behaviors that can only prolong a negative working arrangement. It’s important that workers be aware of such warning signs, and if necessary, take steps to improve their situations.”

When dealing with an employee they would like to leave, 42 percent of managers are likely to issue a formal warning. Other things managers say they are more likely to do that may serve as a red flag for workers include:

• Point out shortcomings in employee’s performance more often: 27 percent
• Reduce responsibilities: 21 percent
• Hire someone else to eventually replace the employee: 12 percent
• Move the employee to another work area: 8 percent
• Keep employee out of the loop regarding new company developments: 8 percent
• Communicate primarily via email instead of in person or over the phone: 7 percent
• Don’t invite the employee to certain meetings or involve him/her in certain projects: 6 percent
• Don’t invite the employee to social gatherings with co-workers: 3 percent
• None of the above: 32 percent

The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,184 hiring managers and human resource professionals. The survey was conducted between Feb. 11 and March 6, 2013.