The rise of the Boomerang Employee

Some 71% of professionals are open to returning to their preCovid employers. Of these, 71% are considering returning to their pre-Covid employers after realising the ‘grass wasn’t greener’ . A quarter admit to having already reached out to previous employer, while 49% admit their original reasons for leaving – purpose, pay & flex – are no longer relevant. However, 48% claim that current employer no longer meets their needs in current climate!

Why? A quarter say tht the costof-living crisis has changed how they feel about current employer, even though 82% remain in touch with previous employer

– with third saying it is to keep ‘door open’. But a word of warning, 44% of managers hesitant to hire previous employee.

Almost three quarters of professionals (71%) have stated that they are open to returning to their pre-Covid employer – with half admitting that the reasons as to why they left are no longer applicable in today’s market.

These figures are from a recent poll from recruiter Robert Walters (of 3,000 professionals).

They found that 45% of workers who had left their job after lockdown did so for better paywith a further 35% leaving for a better workplace culture or more purpose/fulfilment in their role.

Fast-forward two years later, and 48% of professionals admit that their current employer is no longer meeting their needs – with a third stating the cost-of-living crisis and hybrid-working fatigue (24%) has changed how they feel about their most recent employment situation.

Toby Fowlston, CEO of Robert Walters, commented: “The post-pandemic bounce back saw record numbers of employees leave their job in what was billed as ‘The Great Resignation.’

However, our research indicates the first signs of ‘The Great Regret’ - with 71% of professionals continued on page 2