A STORY ABOUT WORKPLACE CLIQUES, COURAGE, AND THE SILENCE THAT HURTS

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There was a period in my career when I worked in an organization where cliques quietly controlled the atmosphere. People stayed in their circles, decisions flowed through friendships, and collaboration only happened within familiar boundaries. You could almost sense the invisible walls separating teams that were supposed to work as one.

As Head of HR, I made it my mission to change this. I focused on synergy, encouraging cooperation, building bridges, and promoting harmony. Slowly, people began to open-up to one another. Departments that barely spoke started sharing ideas. The workplace felt lighter, warmer, more human.

But then, an incident reminded me just how fragile workplace harmony can be.

One day, a senior colleague attempted to undermine me in a moment of open disrespect. It was an attempt to bully, not because of work, but because they felt they could. As someone responsible for safeguarding the culture, I refused to overlook it. I escalated the matter to higher management, expecting support, clarity, and fairness.

What I received instead was a reminder of the imbalance many employees face:

·       a message that maintaining “peace” and “workflow” mattered more than addressing the core issue of respect.

·       In other words, handle it yourself.

·       No acknowledgment of the misconduct.

·       No reinforcement of respect.

·       No assurance that such behaviour was unacceptable.

·       Just silence disguised as neutrality.

That moment taught me something powerful: unfair treatment in the workplace often isn’t loud. Sometimes, it’s hidden in the quiet expectation that the person who was wronged should simply endure, adjust, and move on for the sake of “keeping the work going.”

I resolved the issue professionally, because that’s what we do but I also walked away with renewed understanding of what employees experience a daily; being asked to rise above disrespect without the backing they deserve.

This is why culture-building is more than slogans or team activities. It is the everyday commitment to creating a workplace where people feel protected, valued, and heard because when leadership avoids discomfort, unfairness becomes normal.

When individuals and HR refuse to enable toxicity, true harmony begins to grow.

Have you ever faced abuse or unfair behaviour in the workplace that you had to endure? Share your experience with me...

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is very relatable
December 2, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Anonymous said…
This is a nice and educative piece. More ink to your pen
December 2, 2025 at 8:05 AM
N F Ughas said…
This is a nice piece Seun. Encouraging workplace friendship and bonds can lead to better communication, increased trust, and higher retention rates, though it's important to manage potential issues like favoritism by fostering an equitable and inclusive environment. However the truth is that the workplace should also be treated as what it is. A place for work or service and meeting a need/target. Not a ground for buddy bonding. Most time we have difficulty separating the two. As much as we need relationships in the workplace, we ought to remember that too much familiarity breeds contempt.
December 2, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Ola said…
Whao, it’s more than just beautiful slogans and memorized corporate slangs. This is relatable ma and it made me think of experiences where disrespect was bypassed or allowed just to maintain decorum.
December 8, 2025 at 4:16 AM
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