Ask HN: How common is it for people to come back to a previous employer?

Over the years I've seen a few former coworkers return and be rehired which got me wondering: how common is this?

I don't necessarily mean in an absolute sense (I think obviously it's a small percentage), but do you notice it "regularly"?

I've never done it myself, but I know quite a few people who have left companies I've been at and then come back. In all cases the companies were happy to leave the door open from the beginning. For me it is a sign of a good company. When I was leaving said company myself, it wasn't because I was unhappy there but because I felt like I needed to try something new. So I can imagine others doing the same and then deciding that the grass isn't necessarily greener after all. I am very happy where I am right now and it was the right decision, but I can totally imagine happily ending up back there one day. In some ways it still feels like "home".

I see it pretty frequently. In my department of about 100, you see someone return every year or two. Leaders sometimes joke at employee departures that they will be back in 3 years.

I think it shows respect for employee autonomy and talent, and that good relations are not temporary.

It doesn't always sit well with the employees who stay and see peers getting 2 raises and two starting bonuses, but then again, nobody is stopping them from trying the same.

It is common around here. The local company is the biggest employee of the whole area and generally offers the biggest salaries. People often quit to try new and exciting things, but when it fails they come back, and if they didn't burn any bridges we often take them back, because why not.

It's not uncommon at all. I think every place I've ever worked I can think of at least one person who came back after leaving for some other opportunity. I also have at least one friend who left a FAANG and later went back to the same one after some time at a place they weren't happy with.