Employee leaves job for a startup in August, returns to his old job after realizing the startup owners were inept and clueless: 'They wanted me to handle everything for the income of only 1 person.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
May 24, 2026 8:30 PM EDT

No wonder he wanted to leave.

Work-life balance is something that most of us want, but we're often hesitant to mention it in work settings. It's perfectly acceptable for a recruiter to claim that their company's culture promotes work-life balance, but the moment a candidate expresses interest in work-life balance first, the red flags start to fly.

I understand why some companies that expect their full-time employees to work overtime might be hesitant to bring someone on board who only wants to work from 9 to 5 exactly. This could all be sorted out if recruiters and candidates were completely candid about what they want from each other. If a company only wants people to work during work hours and nothing more, they should say that. If they expect employees to put in a little extra time during the busy season, they should also make this expectation clear. If they want their employees to work at the office and sleep around the clock, it's imperative that they say so. On the flip side, job seekers should also be able to be honest about what they want too, and if their expectations are different than the company's, that might be cause to reject them, but they shouldn't be dragged through the mud for their personal preference.

The employee in this story thought he was willing to work startup hours for more money, but he quickly learned it was not for him once he got in that environment. Luckily, his old job was happy to take him back, but that's not without weirdness.

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  • A man with a beard holding a cup of coffee
    via Jotform

    An employee who left his old company to join a dysfunctional startup.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Returning to a job after leaving is a surreal experience.

    Last August, I left my job - willingly and with notice - for a position in a startup. The money sounded way too good, and being in charge was alluring. That position, however, crumbled under the
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • weight of ownership being inept and clueless. They wanted me to handle everything for the income of only 1 person. I ditched there, found something else. I wasn't
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • Three men sitting while using laptops and watching man beside whiteboard
    via Austin Distel

    A group of startup founders who have no idea what they're doing.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • particularly happy, but it was income so... whatever. I noticed that my position with the job I left in August was still open. I spoke to several people and they all
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • said: "We would be glad to have you back!" I applied, and after some long wait times, ups and downs, I got the job back. I'm back, in the same role,
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • same seat, largely the same coworkers, but with a pay raise a little over 8% what I had made before. Almost nothing has changed, I stepped right back into what I was doing as if I hadn't left
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • at all, and everything is almost like business as usual. This is literally the most surreal feeling, at a job, I've ever experienced. Let me preface this by saying I didn't
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • hate the job, I just wanted more money - as do we all.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • MrsOreo I've done the same! It was so weird at first but I've been back for 2 years now and it's like I never left.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • Purple-Haku You got 8% raise. That's a win
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • erikleorgav2 OP When the recruiting manager called me up and said they would offer me the role with a bump, and that it equates to around 8.4%, I was floored. I think I'll stick around a while.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • jdsbahdvjhsd wait this is so validating to read. I left a marketing job last year for a "better" agency that turned out to be a complete mess, came crawling back after 4 months and it was honestly less awkward than I built it up in my head to be. the ego hit of going back is real but like, sometimes the grass really is just astroturf on the other side.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • erikleorgav2 OP Sometimes in the professional world, people - in fact professional. are
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • Group of businesspeople standing together in office.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A group of professionals who actually act professional, even when the going gets tough.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Designer-Homework682 It's expensive to train people and get up to speed. You basically can't buy that.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • FloppityFlopFlop2285 I left a job for money, saw in the span of two weeks that the new company was a toxic train wreck, and called my old bosses and walked back into the job a couple days later. That was in 2021, they've promoted me twice and we all laugh about it occassionally.
    via u/erikleorgav2
  • erikleorgav2 OP If more companies weren't so toxic, just made sure the work got done, they'd be so much more profitable. Keep the talent you have, don't lose it because of arrogant people make the work harder.
    via u/erikleorgav2

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startup salary job work incompetence quitting
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