Feeling Stuck: Will Returning to My Old Job Hurt My Reputation?

I quit my previous company a couple of months back. I was very successful there and left everything on good terms. The current work environment is totally not what I expected, and my stress levels have gone up considerably because of the hectic work schedule. My boss here is very demanding, and he does this without any guidance or mentoring. I am at a very early stage of my career and I am at a crossroads as to whether I should continue or quit. I share a lot of things with my ex-boss, and I did inform him about what is happening here. I enquired with him whether rejoining would be an option. He is fine with it, and the talks are already on with the HR there. I am pretty sure that I will get through. Now I am seriously concerned about the repercussions that I will face after I rejoin the company. I know all the seniors there, and I have left the company with a good amount of respect. My question is: how will this hamper my image there? Will I cut a loser figure, or should I even avoid doing so?

Rejoining is not an issue. I don't think it will hamper your image. As you mentioned, your current scenario is not up to a professional environment. Here you can choose to go with the current environment and learn new things to manage this kind of situation, or you can also rejoin the previous organization. You will lose your confidence if you choose to rejoin your previous organization because every professional should have the learning to manage situations rather than running from the problem. Finally, I want to say you must continue with your current profile and try to learn/manage your surrounding peers.

Regards,
Sumit Garg

Thanks for your suggestions, Sumit. I totally agree with your point. I am not sure where things went wrong. It'll definitely hurt my confidence, but in the long run, I am expecting things to even out. Also, I'm not shying away from anything. This profile is a complete misfit, and I simply am not ready for this role at this point in time. I do not want to continue with this and make a fool out of myself and the others. Hope I have taken the right decision to quit.

Regards,
[Your Name]