Would You Work for an Unprofessional Boss?
Employees working on a problem.Image: Video Block So…I got an invitation to attend an interview in Lagos and it got me really excited. The company had a great online presence and I imagined how I could add value to the company. I took a bus trip and somewhere between Ondo and Oyo, we were nearly in an accident. It would have been fatal if the cars had connected so I was thankful for the miss. The near accident left me shaken until we got to Lagos and as such, I couldn’t sleep well that night. By morning, I knew I had to get myself together or be horribly bad at the interview. Knowing Lagos traffic, I set out for Ikeja 2 hours before the scheduled time. As fate would have it, I got to the venue a good 1 hour before my interview; even though I took leisurely walks and paced my bus-hopping. I decided to buy time by going to the bank, entering a shopping mall and enjoying the scenery. I only managed to use up 20 minutes. I walked back to the venue of the interview as slowly as I could and got there with 20 minutes to spare. I knew I couldn’t go anywhere else so I just went in. When I got into the office, I was a bit disappointed. It didn’t look as I expected it to do. I was not bothered (much) because they were an online firm and all they needed were computers and internet right? Moreover, I felt that since they could rent a place in Ikeja, they must be serious with themselves. At 10:20am, only one person had resumed work. That was my first cue that something was wrong with the firm. The guy whom I saw kept calling his colleagues to inform them that the person scheduled for the 10am interview was around. After about 30 minutes, the guy told me he had to go somewhere and left me alone in the office. I was surprised. How was he comfortable leaving the office with a total stranger? What if I was a criminal? Or had evil intentions? I remained where I was, hoping the guy wouldn’t be long. Another interviewee came in at around 10:40am and we both sat and waited. You wouldn’t believe that the COO of the company came in at about 11:30am and the CEO came in at about 12:30pm. How could they set an interview for 10am and turn up more than two hours late for it? I sat there and waited like a fool, wondering if this was what I left Kaduna to Lagos for. I hoped that it would be worth it in the end. When the boss was finally ready for us, he asked to see the other girl first. The guy I met said I came in first and the man said in a loud voice that ‘it didn’t matter’. I was beyond shocked! Did this man have no principles?! I sat there fuming and knew I wouldn’t want to work with them. When it was my turn to be interviewed, I went in and sat across from the man. He started by saying, ‘so you are the one who came here since 8’o clock right?’ That made me pause. Here was a prospective employer mocking me for coming to an interview early! I wondered if the man even knew any interview etiquette. I faked a smile and waited for the questions. He asked me a series of questions and I answered them. Then he mentioned a few brands and asked if I followed them. I said I had heard of them. He said he wanted to do ‘something like that’ and my disappointment finally set. This company didn’t understand what originality was. After less than 5 minutes, he said he was done and that I should return in 3 days for the second phase of the interview. I was so mad! If I had known that was what I was coming for, I would never have come to Lagos! I went back home and packed my things. My friends and siblings said I should wait and see since I had gone all that way. I really wanted to leave but I didn’t want to worry about ‘what could have been’. So I waited. I went back to the office as planned and again, had to wait for 2 hours before the CEO came in. I swore that no matter what they were offering, I was not going to take the job! From the waiting area, I heard the CEO call a group of people repeatedly and I thought they were part of the interview panel. This was because he kept saying, ‘we are waiting for you oh!’ When these people finally came, turned out they were also to be interviewed; just like me! They had no sooner sat down than the CEO invited them in for their interview. I was mad! So was the other girl! Here we were waiting for more than two hours and the moment 2 guys walk in, they were attended to first. Eventually, I moved beyond anger to resignation; I had wasted money coming to Lagos. When I finally got in, the first thing I noticed was that the CEO’s shirt was streaked with dirt; almost like he had spilled coffee on himself and used his shirt as a rag. I was repulsed. This man didn’t even bother to make an impression. Like the first time, I sat across from him and waited. The man said I had the job and explained my duties. It wasn’t another phase of the interview; it was just job confirmation. I wondered if they couldn’t have done that via mail and why I had to come back after 3 days to hear that. After explaining himself, he told me what the salary was and that was when I lost it. The fake smile dropped and my semi poker, semi I-wish-I-can-punch-you-in-the-gut look came on. I
Disgusting Work Ethics
One of the first things most companies draft before they register themselves is usually an organizational structure. It doesn’t matter whether the company is a conglomerate or non-profit. This structure is explained to new staff as they take up their mantle of responsibility in the company. But like most ideals, there is always that company that defies laid out principles of business ethics. And if we are talking about Nigeria, we know that very many companies fall into this category. They never bother with any organizational structure; and where they do, it is usually not fully articulated to staff. If you are quick to disagree, then explain this: why else would security guards at their post interact with staff and visitors with great disrespect? Shocked? Don’t be! A certain lady told me she went to her office one day, only to be stopped at the gate by the security personnel. They asked her for her ID card. She told them she hadn’t one because she had lost hers and was awaiting the issuance of a new one. The security man, in the most disrespectful manner he could, told her to stand outside the premises as her case was a ‘special case’. She flew into a rage and asked if he would do her job for her that day. He looked at her blatantly and told her he didn’t want ‘too much talk’ and continued what he was originally doing. When she said she was going home, he said ‘better’ and continued what he was doing…which was gisting with his other colleagues! Now…that was a security officer! Some might be quick to say that he was just doing his job, but the first image of a company is from the security post! If the security man is callous and rude, you know that you can’t trust the company to be courteous. The lady in question said that she had worked for that company for almost two years, and as such, that treatment was totally unwarranted. If the company had trained their operatives well, the security guard could have said, ‘I’m sorry ma’am. I don’t know if you heard about the new policy regarding ID cards. As a result, we cannot let you in without one. Is there anyone you can call to help clear this inconvenience?’ That courteous statement alone would have meant that they did their jobs and still maintained decorum. But treating that lady as such was horrible. Same security personnel treated a customer with such disrespect that he took his business away. The customer made sure he contacted the bosses to let them know he was taking his business to the competition because of the attitude of the security guards. Long story short, no one was fired. In another company, it was reported that the company canteen was run by ladies who were very disrespectful. When staff members went in for meals, they would not so much as say ‘hi’ or ‘welcome’. They would stare at the staff with unfazed disgust and disdain. One began to wonder if the meals were free and the staff a bunch of homeless people lining up in front of a soup kitchen. One member of staff went at it with them, demanding respect and quality service. She reminded the ladies that she was paying for the food, not begging for it. When one person spoke up, the entire crew started complaining in agreement. It had to take collective criticism for them to get it into their heads that one cannot serve meals with dour facial expressions and a rotten mood. That mini revolution got the girls in check, though they started serving meals, especially to the men, like strippers looking for ones. Still speaking of food, a friend told me that a couple of his colleagues got into a physical fight in the office because one of them took food meant for the other. It was so bad that they had to be pried off each other before the fight ended. By this time, they had upending tables, destroyed property and even lost some blood. The manager was appalled but let them off the hook with a gentle pat on the wrist. How does a company allow fighters remain in its employ? Like how does this even work? Well, turns out the manager was a cheapskate who couldn’t afford to lose his grossly underpaid staff. I heard that in a certain company, the Muslim sisters perform their religious ablutions in the convenience sinks, raising their legs to the height of the sink to get their feet clean. I heard also (couldn’t help but be an aproko) that this method of ablution over time, put so much pressure on the sinks that one of it fell and broke! The toilet had to be locked to prevent further usage. All members of staff had to suffer for the acts of some! This is not isolated. I know that there are certain women in every company who carelessly dispose their pads, use the toilets without flushing, let the tap run and generally leave the toilet a less appealing sight than they met it. It is shameful that grown women (and men too) do nasty things little children wouldn’t. If that isn’t enough, you know of those companies that probably have two or three computers in each office and about ten staff members to those offices? Where everyone has to ‘book’ to use the computer? Yeah. So anyway, someone said he needed to use the computer in the office. This was at about 2pm. He said he needed to prepare documents for a presentation the next day. He kept telling one of his colleagues to let him use it so he could work. The colleague kept saying he would be done in a jiffy. This guy then proceeded to start writing his ideas down, so when the computer was free, he’d just type what he needed. He was so engrossed in his work, that he
