Work Ethics Nigerians Fail to Observe

Unfortunately, when it comes to Nigerians, there is an undeniable poor attitude towards work. You walk into a store and somewhere along the line, you are being treated as an enemy or, the boss is the enemy; with no regard for your physical and mental well being.

A studied view can show that most Nigerian workers and employers alike bring nothing but unprofessionalism to the table. They fall ungracefully to a place of complete lack of civility and the disturbing thing is that they are either unaware or do not mind at all.

Here are examples of how far we have fallen;

We fail to treat co-workers with dignity and respect: We struggle with this, especially when there is a newcomer in the building or there is someone we do not like for almost any reason at all. We become more disrespectful, less humane and show that we are capable of going to extreme lengths to talk down at people.

Integrity and honesty: This rubs off on both the employers and employees where we hear people saying something and mean another. Employers sometimes lie about payment, make promises they do not intend to keep and sometimes, employees, hike cost, handle transactions deceptively or take things a notch higher to what they actually are.
Lack of care when handling the company’s equipment: “…after all, no be my own.” We find ourselves saying this when it comes to the handling of the company’s properties. We wear equipment out, do not take proper care of them as we should, until they pack up and die. And then, we expect a replacement.

To give to work what belongs to work: This is about investing the allocated period for work to what it is meant for, working. Not running personal errands or taking multiple excuses every day to ‘go take care of something.’

Providing a safe environment: This brunt falls on the employers, most times, they are nonchalant about providing safe working conditions for their employees. For instance, the inhalation and constant contact of poisonous substance. It is good to consider the health of your workers and enlist them under a health insurance policy if possible.