I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what really makes a job worth having. Sure, the pay packet matters – we all have bills to pay and teenagers to feed – but there’s something else that’s been nagging at me: freedom. Not the existential kind, but the day-to-day autonomy we have (or don’t have) in our working lives.

It started with a discussion I stumbled across recently where someone posed a simple question: how “free” are you at work? The responses were fascinating and, frankly, a bit depressing. It got me reflecting on my own journey through the IT world, from junior developer frantically trying to look busy whenever a manager walked by, to now where I can theoretically take a two-hour lunch break without anyone batting an eyelid.

There’s a discussion doing the rounds in corporate circles that’s got me thinking about something we’ve all probably encountered but rarely talk about openly: the high-performing employee who also happens to be a bit of a bigot.

The scenario is frustratingly familiar. You’ve got this junior team member who’s technically brilliant, delivers results, and has the seniors singing their praises. The catch? They regularly drop comments like “girls have no dignity these days” and question why there’s “all the rainbow stuff” at company events. The kicker is that this person belongs to a minority group themselves, which somehow makes the whole situation feel even more complex to navigate.

The other day, I stumbled across an online discussion about management that really resonated with me. Someone shared their experience of receiving high engagement scores from their team, and their “secret” was refreshingly simple: treat people well and give them autonomy. It brought back memories of my early days in tech leadership, where I encountered both brilliant mentors and, well, absolute dropkicks.

The discussion took a humorous turn when they suggested writing a straightforward management book with a rather colorful Australian title that basically amounted to “don’t be a terrible person.” While the language might have been a bit crude, the sentiment hit the nail on the head.