The pendulum seems to be swinging back on remote work, and not in a way that many of us are happy about. Looking at recent discussions online, there’s a clear trend of companies pushing for more office presence, typically settling around that magic number of three days per week.

Working in tech for over two decades, I’ve witnessed numerous workplace transformations, but none quite as dramatic as the COVID-induced shift to remote work. Now, watching companies backpedal on their WFH policies feels like watching a streaming service suddenly reverting to scheduled programming – it just doesn’t make sense anymore.

Something deeply unsettling has been happening in the job market lately. The FTC recently reported a staggering $220 million in losses from job-seeking scams, and frankly, it’s both infuriating and heartbreaking to see predators exploiting people at their most vulnerable moments.

Let’s be real here - nobody in their right mind would normally consider paying money to apply for a job. It goes against every basic principle of employment. Yet, these scams persist and succeed because they’ve mastered the art of manipulation, targeting people when they’re at their most desperate.

Reading through online discussions about workplace satisfaction feels like wading through an ocean of discontent. The prevailing narrative seems to be that everyone absolutely loathes their job, their boss is terrible, and corporate culture is soul-crushing. But is this really the complete picture?

Recently, someone started an interesting discussion by admitting they actually enjoyed their job in risk management. The responses were fascinating - a mix of skepticism, agreement, and everything in between. It reminded me of conversations I’ve had over coffee at Hardware Lane, where friends would look at me oddly when I mentioned not hating my work in tech publishing.

Looking out my home office window towards the Melbourne CBD skyline, I’ve been pondering the peculiar way we define ourselves through our work. Just yesterday, during a coffee catch-up at Hardware Lane, a friend introduced me to someone new with the classic opener: “This is Dave, he’s a…” and there it was - my profession front and center, as if it were the most important thing about me.

The subject of professional identity has been weighing heavily on my mind lately, particularly after watching a thought-provoking discussion about career-based identity and its pitfalls. It’s fascinating how deeply we’ve woven our professional achievements into the fabric of our self-worth, especially here in our achievement-oriented culture.

Reading through various online discussions about workplace attitudes lately has got me thinking about how dramatically our relationship with work has shifted. The conversation that really caught my eye centered around basic workplace courtesies - things like wearing headphones in customer-facing roles or the way people approach leave requests these days.

Sitting here in my home office, sipping my flat white and reflecting on my own career journey, I can’t help but see both sides of this evolving narrative. Twenty years ago, when I landed my first proper job at a tech company in the CBD, the workplace dynamics were radically different. We showed up early, stayed late, and genuinely believed that going above and beyond would lead to recognition and advancement.