Should you return to a job you quit?

Except for young individuals like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, the vast majority of people do not rekindle relationships with former partners. But what about applying for a job at your previous company? This sounds like a terrible plan based on first impressions. Given that it may take anywhere from two to five years, on average, for a business culture to shift, you should ask yourself why on earth you would want to go back to a position from which you felt the need to resign or from which you were fired.

Things are not as simple as they seem to be at first glance.

To begin, workers often leave their occupations in response to new chances that present themselves, even if those new prospects turn out to be far less desirable than they once looked to be.

Second, it takes some time to determine what it is you really want to do with your professional life. In point of fact, as we get older and develop not just as professionals but also as individuals, we get a deeper comprehension of the things that actually concern us, the things that are essential, and the things that we most want to put first in our lives. Consider the scenario of someone who leaves their job because they are enticed by a higher salary, only to find out that the additional pay does not justify doing a job that is more boring, working longer hours, or being a part of a company that is in obvious conflict with their core values. This is a common example. Consider also the scenario of someone who leaves their job because they are enticed by a higher salary. According to the findings of recent studies, this phenomenon is more widespread than we previously believed, not the least of which is due to the fact that there is only a minuscule association between compensation and work happiness (just 2 percent of overlap between them according to meta-analyses).

Third, if you feel that you made a mistake by leaving your previous job, making a return in your career may include going back to work for them.

People are often enticed into new occupations for reasons that are not in their best interest. There is a large marketing engine out there that positions companies and organizations as utopias for spiritual satisfaction, persona development, and stratospheric professional achievement. This is in addition to the money that is offered by these places of employment. Because marketing has taken over a portion of the function of recruitment, it is now much simpler for companies to cultivate their public image, reputation, and culture in order to entice highly intelligent and talented individuals to join their ranks. However, you shouldn't put all the information you hear about businesses, particularly if it originates from those businesses themselves, into blind faith.

The concept of a "Great Resignation" has the potential to instill a feeling of "fear of missing out" (FOMO) among workers who are content with their existing employment situations. We are social creatures at heart, and imitation is the primary mode of learning for humans. Our career self-evaluations are largely predicated on what we think of others' levels of success, much in the same way that our salary is valued in a way that is skewed (people would rather have a 5 percent increase if their colleagues get 0 percent than a 20 percent if their colleagues get 30 percent), which means that our salary is valued in a way that is skewed. Therefore, it is natural for you to feel anxious if someone advises you not to remain employed by the same company for an excessively long time. And when you hear that so many people have reportedly discovered a sense of belonging, calling, or purpose in their professions, you begin to question if there is anything wrong with you since you are not one of those people.

A correct analysis of how the vast majority of people genuinely feel about their jobs, on the other hand, portrays a much different and less bright image. For instance, data on employee engagement reveals that only three out of ten workers are actively engaged in their jobs, and scientific research reveals that engagement is only responsible for nine percent of the variation in people's overall performance (with the other half of this variation being dependent on people's personalities rather than how they are treated at work). In a similar vein, the majority of employees are fed up with their superiors, not the least of which is that they are poorly managed. This is largely due to the fact that most businesses have a tendency to appoint managers based more on confidence than competence, and politics rather than performance.

Although skilled knowledge workers may boast about their sense of belonging to a community, the vast majority of employees view their jobs in the same way that the vast majority of humans have viewed their work throughout the course of human evolution: as a burden, a necessity, or a means of survival. There are always millions of worker bees behind every Michelangelo or Elon Musk, but in recent times we found the usefulness of brainwashing them with purpose so that they become spiritual workaholics. When businesses elevate their cultures to the level of a cult, they attract possessed workers who are able to dedicate themselves fully to their work despite the fact that they are overworked and paid less than they should be. These workers are referred to as "possessed employees." This may come off as cynical, but it is really an excellent management strategy. This is in contrast to, for example, managing people who are logical and well-balanced, and who are aware that there is more to life than work, and that at the end of the day, a job is just a job.

It is beneficial to look at some of the real data on people's career blunders, regrets, and successful reinventions, as they give important lessons for anybody evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of going back to work for their previous company.

SKILLS ACQUIRED

Although our beliefs, personalities, and talents don't change much over the course of our lives, the job market and the skills that individuals can learn and improve do. This is because the job market changes dramatically during the course of people's careers. On-the-job training is widely regarded as the most effective method for acquiring new expertise; consequently, if your previous employer did not offer you many chances to broaden your skill set, they may be interested in hiring you again after you have gained additional expertise in a relevant field at another company. Consider an individual who joins a new company in order to improve their digital or analytical expertise so that they may become a valuable talent asset for their previous business. Because they did not have any openings for junior faculty members, the university from which I earned my doctorate required that I gain teaching experience at another institution before they would hire me as a teacher there. This was necessary because the university did not have any openings for junior faculty members.

TRANSITION TO NEW LEADERSHIP

According to study, an employee's direct line manager is responsible for thirty percent of the employee's level of engagement in their work and performance. Whether or not an employee enjoys their job is primarily dependant on their direct line manager. People may join businesses, but they almost never stay with the same employer for long. If your previous superior is no longer in the picture, it's possible that even going back to the same work you had before may be a totally different experience for you.

EXPERIMENT

There is only one way to know what it is that you desire, and that is to put different things to the test, gain experience, and explore. If you do not give yourself permission to make mistakes, you will never really achieve success. Even in the greatest of circumstances, you will not go outside of your comfort zone and examine the extent of your capabilities. Learning from your mistakes is, of course, the greatest method to improve your grasp of your own potential as well as the best strategy to advance your professional career.

If you are able to change bosses and hopefully move up in the company, if your skills or interests have changed, or in the less likely event that your former employer has changed, at least in their talent priorities or focus areas, there may be good reasons to return to your former employer. This is especially true if you are able to change bosses and move up in the company.

However, keep in mind that Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher, once said, "No man ever walks in the same river again, because it is not the same river, and he is not the same man." [Citation needed] There is no inherent or de facto reason to rule out the prospect of working again for your previous company so long as you are able to thoughtfully and fairly evaluate the costs and advantages of such a reunion. Do what seems right to you while keeping in mind that it is impossible to foresee the result with complete precision. This is the most crucial thing to keep in mind. No one else will care as much as you believe they would.