“Boomerang” is a commonly used term at Anaconda. This is because Anaconda has a special—and growing—category of employees that left Anaconda, realized that the “grass wasn’t greener,” and returned to Anaconda in the same or a similar capacity as before. This group spans across departments, tenures, genders, geographies, and roles. We took some time to dig into the boomerang experience and highlight what our boomerangs have learned from leaving and returning “home.”
“I think there’s vulnerability on both sides when entering into the ‘coming back’ conversion,” says Jessica Reeves, SVP of Operations, as she explains the thought process behind re-employing former Andaconiacs. “While it may be human nature to be spiteful and say, ‘look what you left,’ it’s not like that at all here. We are humble enough to know that we aren’t perfect, and never will be. We know the market is competitive and we don’t want to stand in the way of someone going for a role somewhere else if that’s what is best for them and their family. We also know that we have something unique here in the way of culture, people, impact, and what we are building, and we welcome people back with open arms if they realize this after they leave.”
Many boomerangs confirmed that they did, in fact, come to such a realization. We asked them what the main reason was for wanting to come back, and what they learned through the experience. Sales Manager Asif Maredia says, “The culture. Anaconda has great benefits, work-life balance, and great values, and people truly love working here and actually care about the company. Anaconda feels like a family in that everyone is willing to help each other out in any way.” When asked about what he learned during the boomerang journey, Support Engineer Moises Meja explains, “I learned that working for a Fortune 500 company is great but felt very corporate; a lot of things were very formal. I did not feel I could express myself as openly.” Jessica Agrella on the People team says, “The grass is not always greener, and Anaconda has a special culture and treats their employees extremely well.”
Another common thread across boomerangs is a passion for open source. Connor Martin, Software Engineer, says, “The Anaconda team is supportive of new ideas and willing to help see them into existence. I genuinely missed working with this group.” A member of the data science team shared similar thoughts, saying “I missed my ability to work closely with the open-source community. I value my ability to make contributions to libraries that I use every day as a part of my job.”
A positive relationship with one’s manager isn’t a new concept when it comes to workplace happiness, and it was no surprise that many boomerangs expressed as much. “At Anaconda, having a manager who cares about their team can change the team outlook on work entirely,” says one returned employee. Another says, “I missed having a company that cares for its people and a manager who really looked out for me.”
We asked if there was a triggering moment that made our boomerangs realize they wanted to come back. One employee says, “I was working insane hours and not having any fun. I realized that at Anaconda it was a great balance of hard work (while still having a life) and having fun.” Another says, “It was evident to me early on that my new company wasn’t a good fit, but I wanted to give it the ol’ college try. Returning to Anaconda was always in the back of my mind. I wouldn’t say there was one specific trigger, rather that the straws were piling up on my back and eventually I said ‘to hell with this, I’m going back.’”
To summarize a few key lessons learned during the boomerang process:
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Culture is key: “Don’t take good culture and nice coworkers for granted. Anaconda has amazing culture and coworkers. Not every place is like that.”
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Money isn’t everything: “Money is not the most important thing. It’s not worth it to trade happiness with money, however much it is.”
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Anaconda makes it easy to come back: “I learned that Anacondiacs really do stand by the message ‘come on back when you’re ready’—no one was salty, everyone was warm, welcoming, and happy to have me back, which made me even more sure that I’d made the right decision!”
Thank you to all of the boomerangs who shared quotes for this post, and thank you to all of our Anacondiacs for creating such a positive culture. To learn more about life at Anaconda and view our open positions, visit https://www.anaconda.com/careers.
