THE DAY WORK CULTURE STOPPED BEING THEORY
I didn’t set out to become a work culture advocate. There was no grand moment of awakening and I didn’t have any perfectly curated vision board.
If anything, it was much simpler and much more uncomfortable than that.
I have always been wired to fix things. To look at broken systems and ask, “Why is this even happening and why is it allowed to continue?” That instinct has taken different forms over the years, but it found its sharpest expression in the Nigerian workplace through experience.
Where It All Began
At the time, I was working closely with someone I’ll call Mr. O—an entrepreneur in the truest African sense of the word. The kind of man who didn’t just run businesses; he built systems, carried responsibilities across multiple ventures, and wore more hats than most people could keep track of. He is someone I’d call a classic multipotentialite.
Working with him was like sitting in the engine room of ambition. But it was also where I first saw, up close, the deep rot inside many of our workplaces. I am talking of the kind of rot where stealing is rationalized, mediocrity is normalized and exploitation is often disguised as “opportunity”.
I have seen and heard of employees cut corners like it’s standard practice. And to be fair, I have also observed how employers stretch people beyond reason without matching compensation. It was dysfunction… on both sides.
At some point, Mr. O had built what I’ll call Business 2 to a respectable level. Then It was time to scale. Naturally, we needed someone to drive growth—a Business Development Manager. I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a girl whining, but the search was frustrating.
Being at the point of scale, we had budget constraints, which meant we couldn’t attract top-tier talent. Weeks went by. Interviews came and went but nothing clicked.
Then came a referral. That was how Cambiaso entered the story. To be honest, he wasn’t exactly what we were looking for. But he was… manageable. Someone we felt we could work with temporarily while keeping the door open for a stronger hire later.
To avoid future emotional drama or claims of unfair replacement. So we were intentional—we didn’t give him the full title. Just a role similar to a Business Development Manager. It felt like a safe, strategic compromise.
Or so we thought.
The first few months seemed Impressive. Revenue picked up and the energy was high. It felt like we had unlocked a new level in the business. So we relaxed. Big mistake.
Because somewhere between Month 2 and Month 5, something changed.
The numbers suddenly stopped making sense.
At first, we rationalized it thinking “Business isn’t a straight line.”
Then came the decline. The “oh oh” moment. I can assure you that the decline the business experienced was not in anyway gradual, it was a nose dive.
We responded the way many businesses do—throw money at the problem. With more Ads, campaigns and generally just spending more. Nothing worked. Then came the moment that changed everything.
It was a hot Tuesday. The kind of Lagos heat that makes you feel uncomfortably tense.
A client reached out via Instagram, with panic evident in his message.
He had paid for a product from Business 2 but hadn’t received it. Somewhere between placing his order and receiving it, communication had suddenly broken down, and there was no update, it was jut cricket silence.
His first instinct?
“I’ve been scammed.”
Now pause. Why would a customer jump straight to that conclusion?
Because somewhere deep down, we’ve all normalized dysfunction.
In many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, people expect something to go wrong. Trust is low because the systems are weak. And unfortunately, experience has trained customers to assume the worst. But here’s where it got worse. Instead of paying to the official business account, the client had paid into a private account.
Why?
All for cheaper deal or faster processing “Let’s just do it this way.”
This is the same shortcuts that weaken institutions.
Mr. O clearly stunned, asked for just one thing: “Send me the name on the account.”
What he saw next…
Made the afternoon feel hotter, like someone just turned up the heat.
The name of his employee, Cambiaso bold and undeniable.
Silence was the first reaction. A myriad of thoughts running through the mind. Then came the quiet, painful process of uncovering the truth.
What we found was not a one-off incident.
It had been happening since Month 2 in a systematic, intentional and repeated manner. Revenue wasn’t declining because of market forces.
It was being drained from within by someone we hired, by someone we trusted.
Now, here’s the part I never planned for.
I have always avoided anything that had to do with the Nigerian police. Not out of guilt but out of caution. Like many Nigerians, I preferred to stay far from anything that could complicate life unnecessarily.
But life doesn’t always respect your preferences.
That incident pulled me in. Statements had to be written and reports had to be made. And just like that, I found myself documenting a story I never imagined I would be part of.
The Work Culture Lesson We Keep Ignoring
It’s easy to end this story with one conclusion:
“Employees are the problem.” But that would be lazy thinking. Because this wasn’t just a story about Cambiaso. It was a story about culture failure at multiple levels.
1. Competence Gaps Create Vulnerability
We hired below standard because of budget constraints. That single compromise opened the door for a much bigger loss.
In many African businesses, we try to save cost on talent… and end up paying for it in chaos.
2. Weak Systems Enable Bad Behavior
Why was it possible for a staff member to divert payments into a private account for months?
Because there were no strong internal controls. Culture is not what you say.
It is what your systems allow.
3. Customers Also Sustain Dysfunction
This has to be part of the conversation.
Honesty, If that client had insisted on paying only into an official business account, this story might have ended differently.
But we often enable bad systems because:
We want things cheaper
We want things faster
We are used to cutting corners
And then we complain when those corners collapse.
4. Trust Without Structure Is Dangerous
Trust is not a strategy.
In many Nigerian workplaces, we rely too much on “I trust him” instead of building verifiable systems.
Trust should exist—but it must be supported by accountability.
5. Work Culture Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Employers.
Employees.
Customers.
All three groups shape the system.
And until we collectively decide that:
Integrity matters
Systems matter
Accountability matters
We will keep telling different versions of the same story.
Final Thought
That experience didn’t just expose a bad employee.
It revealed a deeper truth:
The real crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa’s workplace is not just people—it is the culture we have quietly accepted as normal.
And until we challenge that “normal,”
We will keep building businesses that look successful on the outside…
…but are quietly bleeding within.