The "gun at work" thing varies for everyone. Some years ago, when my employer (large municipal utility) went totally batshit
anti-weapon (I said "weapon" because they wrote their policy so poorly that anything
which could be used as a weapon was prohibited)
nuts, some female employees complained that they rode the ferry to work, then walked from the waterfront through a questionable neighborhood to get to the building where they worked; the prohibition of guns on City property robbed them of their right to carry a defensive arm while commuting. I don't recall how much legal action it took, but the employer had to back off and provide lockers in the building to store their guns during the work day. I'm just thinking there MAY be a similar option for you. You DO have the right to be armed going to and from work.
I use flashlights at work - a lot - mostly for inspection, but I'm the guy who has to restore the plant if we're put in the black. I carry a handy little 4Sevens Preon2 next to the pen in my shirt pocket. I carry a SureFire G2X on the "magazine pocket" of my 5.11 pants. (This is because I lost my 6Z Combatlight in 2006, then Kathleen lost our Z2 Combatlight in 2010, so we decided the G2X is more affordable. Two lights is probably not a necessity (I have carried three or more), but a "tactical level" light (60 lumens or more IIRC) can be a useful defensive tool.
I use the Leatherman WAVE (with the 20 bit accessory pack) on my belt a LOT; it's on its 3rd sheath. The mini-Leatherman in my LF pocket may not be necessary, but there are times when I want pliers and screwdriver both at once. When dressing up, I have sometimes left the big Leatherman in the car and taken only the mini. I have also left in the car or my jacket, the 4" Crescent normally in my LF pocket.
It may be overkill to have the Al Mar SERE2000 in RF pocket, two Leatherman tools, Ed Caffrey EBK I in neck sheath
and a belt buckle that's a 30 year old single edged Bowen Survivor (
Bowen Knife Company if you're not familiar). But I consider some sort of knife to be essential. I find I cannot go a day without using a blade multiple times. I don't think anyone gets through a day without using knife - unless he has another doing his food preparation & chores for him.
There's always one or two butane lighters in LF pocket. I don't smoke, but I put knife and source of fire ahead of even gun and flashlight as survival essentials.
I like having a pen and something I can write on (business cards will do), and a pen is a tool of my job. The tiny EZE-LAP diamond sharpener in LF pocket is not essential, but I like to take care of my knives - including the EBK I that I used an hour and a half ago to cut the pork chop I fried for lunch.
I see it this way:
At least one knife and a source of fire is absolutely essential to survival in an emergency.
Flashlight and gun are to be carried if at all possible.
You don't need as many tools as I carry. I carry them because I find them all very useful. (I find my digital camera and my cell phone camera useful, though they are not essentials.) But you need the minimum.
Many would add a bit of paracord to my normal EDC. Maybe in the future... But I do have more gear in my vehicle.
I believe sincerely that it is the Right and the
Responsibility of every free man to be "at all times armed" (as Jefferson put it).
Even if it's only a little penknife and a book of matches, don't give up the blade and source of fire. Someday you may need it.