We need to stop pretending work isn’t personal

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard some version of this:

• “It’s just business; don’t take it personally.”
• “Detach your emotions from work.”
• “Keep feelings out of it.”

And every time, I wonder—has anyone actually met a human before?

Because here’s the truth: work is personal. It always has been. It always will be.

We spend most of our waking hours working—thinking about work, stressing about work, and pouring ourselves into work. And yet, somehow, we’re supposed to pretend it’s just this robotic, transactional thing? That it shouldn’t mean anything beyond a salary??

That’s ridiculous.

Honestly, I think the best work (the work that actually moves people, changes industries, builds legacies, etc.) comes from those who take it personally.

Work isn’t just a job—it’s identity, purpose, and (let’s be real) survival

For years, I tried to play along with the “don’t take it personally” mindset. I told myself to separate emotions from work, to be “professional” in the way corporate culture defines it—detached, efficient, focused on the bottom line. (Note: This is hilarious because I'm obviously lying: I’ve always taken everything unnecessarily personally.)

But here’s what no one tells you: detachment doesn’t make you stronger—it makes you indifferent.

And indifference doesn’t create anything worth remembering.

The reality is, work shapes who we are. It affects our self-worth, our mental health, our relationships, our ability to show up for the people we love. It’s not just a job. It’s how we contribute to the world. And for many, it’s how we find purpose.

So when people say, “Don’t take it personally,” what they’re really saying is, “Don’t care too much.”

But why shouldn’t we?

The best work comes from people who give a damn

Let’s talk about branding for a sec. If you don’t care about your business—about the message you’re putting out into the world—why should anyone else? People connect with brands that feel human, not ones that feel like they were cooked up in some sterile corporate lab.

And entrepreneurship? That’s as personal as it gets. Every business owner I know has bled for their company. They’ve made sacrifices, lost sleep, and taken risks that most people would never even consider.?

The idea that it’s “just business” is laughable when you’ve given everything trying to get something off the ground or had to pick yourself up after a failure that felt like it took a piece of you with it.

Let’s not even get started on losing a job. Even if it’s “just business,” it still feels like rejection. Because it is rejection. It’s human for that to sting.

And success? That’s personal too. Because success is rarely just about money—it’s about proving something to yourself. About becoming something more than you were.

On building something personal

For years, I was told to follow the rules. To play the game. To stay in my lane.

And then? I realised that the best thing I could do (the only thing I could do) was to make it personal. To build something I actually cared about.

That’s why I started Sidebar Design —because I believe legal branding and marketing should be about stories and connection, not just aesthetics and jargon. Because I’ve seen what happens when a brand actually resonates with people.

That’s why I’m building Lexecho —because I want to make legal marketing better, not just louder. Because I know lawyers deserve more than the same tired and generic content strategies.

And that’s why this version of my career—the one that feels like mine—only exists because I refused to stay detached. Because I took it personally. Because I gave a damn.

The real problem? We’re still pretending we shouldn’t care

So maybe the issue isn’t that we’re too emotional about work. Maybe the issue is that we’ve been conditioned to hide how much we care.

But the people who build the best things? They care. Deeply.

So here’s my take:

• Take it personally.
• Care deeply.
• Make it matter.

Because when you do? That’s when the real magic happens.