Morning Brew - 🎣 The boss that got away

Time-saving tools and products we’re really into rn.

• With space for everything from goal tracking to weekly planning, the undated Self Journal from BestSelf is perfect for those of us who like to pick up and put down our planners for several months at a time.
• Elevate your 2022 morning coffee routine with this Japanese brewer recommended by Sidekick’s own managing editor Daniel Bentley and independent coffee guru James Hoffmann.
• An oldie but goodie, free reading app Libby has added new features to make reading more accessible for those with disabilities.

What’s top-of-mind at the watercooler.

We all know that the Great Resignation has spurred an increase in exits and entrances across industries. This has led some employees to go looking for higher pay, better benefits, and more flexibility, only to find themselves…right back in the arms of their old companies. Kathryn Dill, a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, recently discussed a new and interesting phenomenon of workers returning to old employers.

LinkedIn data cited in the WSJ article showed that “boomerang workers,” or those who go back to an old employer, accounted for 4.5% of new hires made using the site, which is slightly higher than the number of boomerangs from 2019. It’s common knowledge that getting better titles and higher salaries most often requires leaving behind one company for the next, but this new trend suggests that leaving and returning to your old company may become a new standard. In a way though, this phenomenon is sort of predictable: If you enjoyed working with someone at an old job, of course you would take any future opportunities to work with them again.

But, before you write that LinkedIn message to your favorite old boss from jobs past, you’ll want to take a lot of time to reflect on exactly why you left your old workplace to begin with. If there was a toxic work culture or you were extremely unhappy, then it’s probably best not to return. Next, you should also think about what exactly will make you secure with this employer the second time around; specifically, what salary, title, and benefits you need. Once you have a clear vision of what you want, be prepared to ask for it directly.

Clearly, this shift shows the power of leaving jobs and relationships with old coworkers and bosses on good terms. Have you ever returned to an old workplace after leaving? And if you haven’t, would you ever consider doing it? If so, I want to know more—let’s talk in the inbox!

Your punch list for when you punch out.

Read: Earlier this week, the early 2000s lost a pop culture soldier: the BlackBerry. Revisit clicky keyboards with this walk down memory lane.

Listen: If you, like many Sidekick readers who wrote in, are against New Year’s resolutions, you may want to listen to this podcast episode and perform a past year review instead.

Eat: I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t spend much time in my kitchen over the holidays, but I’m taking baby steps back using these 22 tips from The Kitchn. The real first step tho? Delete the Uber Eats, Postmates, and Doordash apps from your phone.

Dry January? Bottoms up: Athletic Brewing Co.’s great-tasting craft brews provide the refreshing taste of craft beer without the alcohol, so you can keep the party rockin’ while your body takes a break. Drink up and stay dry.*

*This is sponsored advertising content

Burning questions of our time.

As we enter 2022 and get right back into the swing of things at work, New Yorker writer Cal Newport has a suggestion: Embrace “slow productivity” in the workplace. As Newport writes, “The central goal of slow productivity is to keep an individual worker’s volume at a sustainable level.” In practice, this better management looks like managers and direct reports creating workflow systems that designate exactly how much work each employee can be assigned, when new assignments should be given, and who should be working on what project, in order to better manage the amount on each person’s plate.

But in order for slow productivity to work at all, managers will need to set up these systems, which will clearly take more work. So do you think that slow productivity is realistic or do you think managers will balk at, well, having to manage more? Feel free to share your thoughts in the inbox!