It turns out that the grass may not always be greener on the other side after all, as a newly released survey suggests a number of workers who have left their former jobs to seek out a new opportunity are returning to their former stomping grounds.
Almost 1 in 3 full and part-time employees have gone back to their old employer after leaving to try something different, according to a recent poll conducted by staffing services firm Spherion.
The reasons for these return engagements run the gamut, from better employee benefits to superior compensation. However, aside from salary and perks, being wanted was the most common justification. Almost 1 in 5 workers said if they knew their former bosses or colleagues missed them and their work ethic, they would be more than happy to go back, the survey discovered.
Employees agree they should make first move
But even if this wasn't expressed, a majority of Americans think they're the ones who should test the waters to see if a return is even a possibility. Approximately 55 percent of workers in the poll indicated that the worker, rather than the employer, ought to be the one who makes the first move about whether a reunion is warranted or worthwhile.
Sandy Mazur, president at Spherion, said that because so-called "boomerang employees" are more common in today's workforce, both workers and business owners should be more cautious with how they interact with co-workers, so as not to burn bridges.
"For example, employees should carefully manage their exit in case they want to return down the road, and employers should cast their recruitment net wider to include those who may be looking to come back," Mazur explained.
Employers highly receptive to rehiring former workers
Boomerang employees wouldn't be named as such if companies weren't receptive to a return. Former employers sure seem to be, though, perhaps more so than former workers are about going back, a separate poll suggests. At 98 percent, a near unanimous rate of company managers said they'd welcome an old employee back into the fold, based on a survey conducted by Accountemps.
Bill Driscoll, Accountemps district president, said that rolling out the welcome mat for once bygone employees is in business owners' financial interests, assuming that said workers were good at what they did. For instance, they typically don't require training so there's no learning curve to worry about or plan for. They have also usually demonstrated a certain level of proficiency, so there shouldn't be any surprises unless a process has changed in their absence.
One of the main obstacles that could get in the way of a reunion taking place is awkwardness, where employees can't help but feel out of place, wondering what their colleagues think of them now that they're back. A solid percentage doesn't much think about it, though. Approximately 45 percent of workers said that they wouldn't feel embarrassed about returning, the Spherion survey revealed.
