Unveiling the Ultimate Solution to the Talent Crisis: Boomerang Staff – The Game Changer You Won’t Believe!

Hello and welcome to Working It.

Some workplace fans will be reporting this week, because Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson hit the Financial Times. She was here to talk to staff about psychological safety at work and how we can learn from our failures, but only when they are “the right kind or the wrong kind.” This is also the title of her new book, which has been shortlisted for the FT/Schroders Business Book of the Year award (full list here).

Amy also recorded an episode of the Working It podcast and (pleasantly) confirmed that I’m right in thinking that failure, in and of itself, teaches us nothing or makes us wise. Social media may say otherwise, but like most worthwhile things in life, learning from failure requires a lot of hard work (and honesty) 🏋🏽.

Read on to learn the benefits of boomeranging staff returning to their former employers, and at Office Therapy we coach an executive assistant with a gruff boss.

What have you learned from failure? How can you move from a culture of shame in the workplace to one of openness? Why are so many leaders unwilling to admit their mistakes? All opinions are welcomed: isabel.berwick@ft.com

The ‘Boomerang’ staff is back for good (maybe) 🪃

The trend known as “boomeranging” (when workers rejoin a former employer) is suddenly everywhere, as hiring managers look for qualified people to fill gaps on their teams. And who better to hire than someone you already know?

It’s like dating an ex: It probably won’t be perfect, but you both know the outcome and it’s familiar territory. Especially when there is a shortage of talent.

Always ahead of trends, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is (re)hiring (a few months after brutal layoffs) and has reportedly told his former employees: “Okay, come back” . According to CNBC, The company hosted an alumni event at its massive Dreamforce conference, where 50 former employees received “designated seats at the show and personalized items, such as a stuffed animal wearing a yellow shirt with an illustration of a multicolored boomerang.”*

US labor market expert Josh Bersin, CEO of the human resources research and advisory company of the same name, says the boomerang trend is here to stay. “This is how the world is going to be.” He notes that longer life is a key factor. Many of the boomerangs, he says, are over 55 years old and have retired once. “Maybe retirement wasn’t what they wanted, or maybe inflation is so high that they just need an extra income.” 📈

Most of this group will return to jobs that may be below the level of their last role: “I think there’s a certain perception or culture that if you come back, we’re not going to take you back to where you were. – for now.”

People at earlier stages in their careers may also find that leaving and gaining experience elsewhere before returning to their original workplace can be a good way to overcome “blocked” internal career paths. Working in different environments broadens horizons 🌅, making younger boomerangers very attractive people.

Until recently, employers used to shout “betrayal” when staff left; some organizations had a complete block on anyone returning. This has become a tremendously outdated and short-sighted attitude. “It is a necessity now [to rehire] because it’s so hard to find people,” says Josh. “Companies are much more flexible.”

Large employers now cultivate alumni networks and keep in touch with their former staff, forming a ready-made pool of potential returnees (as well as a great source of new clients and contacts). Deloitte, the professional services firm, hosts regional events and has a monthly alumni newsletter and a LinkedIn group. Fiona Hurst, UK alumni leader, says more than 400 boomerangs have returned to Deloitte in the last two years alone.

Their familiarity with the business means they “can often make an impact quicker than first-time hires, especially if they have worked outside of professional services and bring this experience with them.”

The only downside to all this positivity? If she left a job because she didn’t like the corporate culture, the managers or the customers the first time, chances are things haven’t changed. Although you may have had professional setbacks and toxic colleagues elsewhere, and after those experiences, as Josh says, many people start to think that maybe “the place I was at before wasn’t so bad.”

*Do you want to see the boomerang plush, or is it a raccoon? Check out the LinkedIn post from Salesforce “boomeranger” Kendall Collins. Cute huh? Other Salesforce Astros Raccoon merchandise is on eBay. (from $9.90) 🧸.

Does your organization welcome “boomerangs,” or are staff who quit for rivals still considered “non-people”? What is your experience returning to a former employer? All views are welcome: isabel.berwick@ft.com

This week on the Working It podcast

Why do so many people retrain as counselors and psychotherapists? Part of the answer is a post-pandemic boom in which people decide to have a better work-life balance and want to help others with their personal and work problems (sometimes they are the same thing).

As my former colleague Michael Skapinker, now an advisor, tells me in episode of this week’s Working It podcast, the workplace is a “big theater” where drama is performed every day. We should really think more about what that means. And I speak to Bethan Staton from the FT about his successful article about the rise of careers related to therapy. (Have we reached peak therapy? Are there enough clients to go around?) 🙇🏾‍♂️

office therapy

The problem: I have a manager who is charming in real life but sends abrupt emails and texts. No “Dear X” or jokes at all. I am fairly new to an executive trainee/assistant position. When I have worked hard on something, it is difficult not to be mentioned or thanked. I book a lot of trips, meetings, etc. for her. Can I say something?

Isabel’s advice: Do not say anything. You will get used to your boss’s way of communicating. She is busy and tells you that you are doing well through his interactions in real life. I took advice from people who have played a similar role to you and they suggested that you should be confident in your tone when interacting with your boss, and also that you should talk to colleagues who might have played your role before – what to do? they say?

I spent years upset that my husband only communicated the most minimal information to me via text and email. No jokes or xx at the end. When he was diagnosed with a neurodiverse disease, it all made sense: he is much more literal than I am. He was not rude: he told me what was required. And he was equally frustrated with my text messages, which forced him to process what he thought was irrelevant information. By which I mean: everyone brings their own perspective to any digital exchange 💬.

Do you have any questions, problems or dilemmas for in-office therapy? Do you think you have better advice for our readers? Send it to me: isabel.berwick@ft.com or through a voice note. We anonymize everything. His boss, colleagues or subordinates will never know.

Five notable stories from the world of work

1. Dyson and the division over working from home: This is a long and fascinating read about extreme work culture and what really happens when bosses enforce back-to-the-office regulations. Laura Hughes and Peter Campbell report on developments at British engineering group Dyson.

2. Paternity leave in finance: Financial services companies are doing much more to provide generous leave to all new parents (men and women), but the gap between policy and reality remains wide and comes at a cost to men who choose to take their leave, as Emma Jacobs reports. .

3. Success is more complicated than an exceptional individual: Margaret Heffernan addresses the cult of the great leader in this column that debunks our notions of peak performance.

4. Bosses won’t like it, but working from home is a happier way to work: Happy home worker Simon Kuper on returning to the office after the summer with a column about the joys and efficiency of being away from the workplace.

5. Net zero was never going to be an easy victory for workers: Sarah O’Connor looks at the difficult decisions and trade-offs involved in the green transition and argues that giving workers a say in decision-making could help.

One more thing . . .

We’ve all had unrequited secret crushes 💔 and it’s very common to have them with coworkers. Once I had it so bad that I couldn’t even look to the object of my affection. These feelings are often painful, but read A person you like can teach you a lot about yourself, in The Atlantic, and you won’t be wrong: “There’s something to be said about longing,” says its author, Faith Hill.

By projecting perfection onto another imperfect human being, we find ourselves in an unrealistic situation: in real relationships we see our partner’s flaws. But, as Faith writes: “A crush that goes nowhere can still be a pleasure in itself. “It’s a luxuriously inefficient experience, which is rare in today’s world of goal-oriented dating.”

A few words from the Working It community

Last week’s newsletter highlighting the The emerging world of “team coaching” (which can be more effective in solving dysfunctions than focusing on individual sessions) generated many responses. An interesting take came from Alice Driscoll and Louise van Haarst, who are consultants specializing in workplace conflict (what a job title!).

Apparently, avoiding team conflict can be just as bad as outright confrontation, though with a caveat: The couple has occasionally dealt with cases of actual physical violence on teams 🥊.

Here’s Louise: “Healthy conflict strengthens relationships rather than damaging them. The key is knowing how to manage emotions in the moment and, if things have gotten heated, avoid escalation and focus on repairing them later. People tend to fall back on the belief that “time heals.” It is not like this.

“Our main advice when thinking about managing conflict within a team is to make sure we focus on ‘task conflict’, rather than ‘relationship conflict’. This means adopting a “you and me against the problem” mentality instead of “you against me.” You have to let go of the idea of ​​winning, scoring points or being right*. Rather, it’s about doing it right and solving the problem. Continue to refocus on the task. Teams that are good at conflict are great at collaboration. “It is a hallmark of high performance.”

*Good luck getting workers to stop “earning points” 🎯.