If you are a football fan, you would have heard the news that Shinji Kagawa has returned to his previous club Borussia Dortmund after a rather disappointing move to Manchester United that did not quite work out for him. I used to think that was weird because I thought he would have think and agree the terms and conditions rather carefully before joining the club.
I experienced the same situation myself recently unfortunately (or fortunately).
I joined a new company 2 months ago that didn't quite work out for me. Something was missing evidently but I shall spare the details in this post. To cut the story short, I rejoined my ex-company who at the same time has not found a replacement after 2 months. I thought the bosses there were sincere when they convinced me of rejoining the company and so I obliged.
Even though this whole incident may seem like a nightmare to begin and end with, I reflected on the situation and chose to see the positive out of this.
First, most of us know that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence in theory but to experience it ourselves is a different story altogether. There are certain things that you can't know just from the interview alone and you have to be there on the site to experience to feel it.
Second, when work is involved, it's always 90% chores and 10% fun, regardless of any work you do (almost all work). To think that you could seek better environment and better fun at your new place is virtually almost impossible, and that's including Disney if you have ever worked there before.
Third, people are more important than work. I used to belittle the importance of people I worked with. I used to think that even if you don't like the person you are working with, just get through the day and everything is ok. Apparently, it is not the case and the people makes the experience of going to work all the while meaningful.
Fourth, I do learnt a great deal from my short stint at the new company, something that I will never be able to find out if I am just a retail investor. The learning was great so I do take into that positively.
It is an unfortunate incident, but I think I do come out from this stronger and more matured. Had I not decided to move, I probably still have thoughts about moving to another company some other day and it could have been the same situation or a totally enriching experience altogether, whichever luck takes me.
I told my bosses that I will not seek a move anywhere else in the near term though I did mention my plan to have totally quit from a corporate role when I turn 35. That is exactly 6 years from now. Meanwhile, it's business as usual and the journey remains.
