My recent coffee catch-up with an old mate from the tech industry sparked some interesting thoughts about corporate culture. He’d just made the leap from a small dev shop to a big corporate gig, and his observations hit surprisingly close to home.

The corporate world often feels like watching a carefully choreographed performance where the actual work sometimes takes a backseat to the art of being seen doing work. Picture those endless meetings in the glass-walled rooms at Collins Street, where people seem more focused on crafting the perfect email response than solving actual problems.

Reading through online discussions about people quitting their jobs without a backup plan really struck a chord with me today. Here in Melbourne’s CBD, where the “return to office” mandate echoes through the steel and glass towers, many are facing similar crossroads in their careers.

The sentiment that caught my attention was a company’s response to employees resistant to returning to the office: “maybe it’s best people who aren’t ok with being in the office just leave then.” The sheer arrogance of such statements makes my blood boil. It’s 2024, and some employers still haven’t learned from the pandemic years that flexible work arrangements aren’t just a temporary measure – they’re a fundamental shift in how we approach work.

I’ve been thinking a lot about a recent online discussion that highlighted the complexities of talking about politics in the workplace. The scenario went something like this: an employee expressed frustration about the impact of immigration on the economy to their director and new manager. The manager responded by saying that the employee didn’t understand the bigger picture, and that new people drive change that helps the organisation progress. The employee felt overwhelmed and foolish.