Why are we all pretending this workplace culture is normal?

I think Nigerians are particular good at normalising things because we have had to survive a lot of things. We know how to manage. It seems like we know how to adjust quickly to the conditions of things. We even know how to say “no problem” when there is, in fact, a very big problem.

So sometimes, I wonder if we have carried that survival instinct into the workplace. Maybe that’s why someone can be completely exhausted and still say, “At least I have a job.”

The fact that your job description said Content Writer but somehow you are now also the unofficial graphic designer, event planner, customer service representative and person responsible for buying cake when someone has a birthday.

Phew!

There are some things we complain about so often that we’ve stopped asking whether they should be happening in the first place.

I don’t mean that every difficult day at work is a sign that you need to resign. Sometimes work is just stressful. Sometimes there is a deadline. Sometimes something genuinely goes wrong and everybody has to stay back.

I’m talking about the things that have quietly become part of the job because we think boundaries mean we’re coming off as rude.

The lack of time boundaries and receiving messages at night after close of business.

The leave you postpone because you don’t want your boss to think you’re not serious.

The job description that somehow grows every three months but your salary doesn’t.

The colleague who has been doing two people’s work for so long that everybody now considers it normal.

And perhaps, the strangest one is how often we call exhaustion ambition.

Poor work culture happens everywhere and in different parts of the world. A lot of people are dealing with the reality of needing their salary to pay rent, support family, sort out transport, send money home and generally keep life moving.

So when someone says, “This workplace is unhealthy,” the answer can sometimes be, “At least you have a job,” and I understand that, but I also think we need to be careful with it.

You can be grateful for your job and still think your manager should speak to you with respect.

You can appreciate having an income and still believe you deserve your agreed salary.

You can love your work and still want to go home when the workday is over.

You can be ambitious without wanting your entire personality to become your job.

Maybe this is where we need to get a little more comfortable with having conversations that used to feel uncomfortable.

Set boundaries because, ideally, it shouldn’t be a norm. A healthy workplace culture is where you can work hard without having to prove your loyalty through exhaustion.

So the next time someone says, “That’s just how things are done here,” maybe ask yourself:

Does it actually have to be?

solveX is a product studio building digital tools for African and diaspora communities across Nigeria and the UK.