My BH Story...

Every time I see this picture it reminds me of how I feel. Hopeless. Exhausted. Flummoxed. Exasperated. Like I've suddenly had the wind knocked out of me. Frustrated beyond belief. And generally unable to comprehend the current state of affairs. 

July would make it a year since I quit a job (where I was revered but underpaid) to join another job with a solid multi-national company ("Texas Multi-national") that I thought would elevate my career to extraordinary heights. Only said job just shy of my 90 days confirmation and a planned trip to London to meet and train with my manager (who has never been to Africa by the way) decided to let me go. Why? What type of company would do such a thing after making you quit a job? What type of manager would do that after listening to salacious stories from other male colleagues and not verifying their accuracy? Questions I presented to my manager. His response:

Simply because no one likes you. 

Why does no one like me?

Pray tell. Let us count the ways. Could it be because:

1. I don't spend an hour every morning of my productive work day catching up with my work colleagues and filling them in on the events of my previous evening like I'm some sort of daytime host on a morning talk show. "Good Morning Lagos, Guess what I did last night..."

I also don't discuss where I got the designer purse or dress or shoes I wore to work in such tremendous detail. I consider that my employer pays me to be here to work not to discuss such frivolities. I don't take time out of said work day to take selfies of my colleagues shoes/dresses and how we all seem to have such matching attires even though we didn't plan it. Once again, more frivolities taking away from my employer's time. 

 

2. They may have wanted someone much younger and a lot more naive. The first statement my HR rep said when he met me was, "My, you look rather young." Of course, I do. I apply my anti-aging face cream quite religiously. At first it didn't clue in as I've never had HR in a multi-national comment so expressly on my age or looks!!! Never thought a US company would factor in my age in my job performance. But this Texas Multi-national was not run like no ordinary multinational with international labor standards. It was working in accordance with local standards, actually. 

 

3. I know what it was. It's because I asked that we kindly refrain from speaking Yoruba in the office like we're traders in frigging Ojuelegba or Idumota. This is a Texas Multi-national for crying out loud, certain standards must be adhered to, plus English is the national language of Nigeria. It was so bad even the HR rep spoke Yoruba to his constituents who clearly outnumbered the non-Yoruba speaking staff. I even went as far as putting up a vernacular jar for anyone to put in every time they felt the need to speak Yoruba... ahem...vernacular in the office. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against a local language because I speak one myself. I just have a problem with speaking it in a workplace that has (or was supposed to have) different tribes and even nationalities. Speaking one language and making it the central language alienates members of other tribes, makes them feel as if they are not relevant, as if they're being discussed, as if this is not an inclusive environment. And in the end, it wasn't. It was an exclusive society made up of that ONE tribe, and that tribe dominated and bullied other tribes into submission, so not what a Texas Multi-national should represent in a diverse multicultural country such as...Nigeria. Talk about #DiversityandInclusion when the entire board, senior management and staff is dominated by members of just one tribe. Interesting...

4. Then, consequently I spoke up about the lack of parking. With barely 50 slots for about 500 staff you had to get to work between 5 - 7am in order to squeeze into a spot. Even then, it was not guaranteed. You get in at 7:01am and security would tell you, too bad, so sad, try again tomorrow. The worst part is, some folks would show up at 11am and STILL get a parking spot, how is that possible you might ask? A little something they call...Egunje. In no way was this looming frustration discussed with me at any time during the interview process or the non-existent on-boarding. Can you imagine anything more infuriating than going through rush hour traffic just to have to circle needlessly for a parking spot? What a waste of productive man-hours? This company obviously didn't care. 

5. Then, of course there was the office seating arrangement. With a 3 months head start on my start date I was shocked to learn that Facilities and HR did not make any arrangements to assign me a designated desk. "Oh but we don't have designated desks over here, they're 'hot seats'." This explanation proffered to a professional who's worked in Atlanta for 14 years. Do you know the last time I started a job and did not have an assigned desk on my first day - 2005! Kept thinking if this was Texas would I have to deal with these housekeeping issues from a company of this size? 

I suppose items and 4 and 5 have been swiftly dealt with by the inevitable unprecedented rather exacting consequences of counteracting #COVID19. But still...I had to deal with these challenges and a multi-national could not manage its effects on a new employee. 

6. Most importantly, I aired my thoughts (rather loudly I presume) on how I would have preferred to work for the formidable holding company (ahem...GE...) who had just relinquished their majority interest a mere month into my employment instead of this small acquired company. I made them feel less than so they thought they'd make me feel the same. However, anyone who's picked up a Forbes list or has observed the financial market and is aware of said holding company's value knows that there's simply no comparison to that holding company (that's been featured and studied as the No. 1 company for several years) and this Texas Multi-national. It's like comparing Mozilla to Microsoft. Or Google to AskJeeves...Or Amazon to anyone else. You're a small fish in a big pond...deal with it. 

That was it. All this because I spoke truth to power and called them out on their inefficiencies that rubbed certain people the wrong way. I hear people who speak up are usually marginalized and pushed back, called difficult, confrontational, you name it. In my case, I was called a wrong fit, translated to mean, "No one likes you."

Needless to say its been an arduous time trying to find work since this event. I thought I had a handle on things and I could pick my next job this time: ask the right questions, interview the companies properly, ascertain their work culture and environment and figure out how all of this fits into my career plans, try to determine where, what and whom I could work with - all those luxuries you want in a perfect career. 

Then, COVID19 occurred and everything capsized. Now I'm just the lawyer wondering, should I have sued them? Would it have been worth it? How do people get away with ruining someone's life, someone's carefully planned career like this? How do companies, multi-nationals abuse labor laws that are existent in their country but deficient in mine? Don't they have international standards to adhere to? How, and why do companies abuse their right to terminate without cause, and how do they do this without repercussion, without fear of tarnishing their goodwill or their Corporate Social Responsibility? How does my Government, Local Content regulations, etc., still let such companies thrive? How do companies preach diversity and inclusion and yet turn around to fire you simply because you speak your truth, and that truth hits too close to home?

Most importantly, personally, how do I not look back but keep looking forward and try, so hard, to really concentrate on my recovery? Suddenly, I feel like John Wick when they killed his dog and he stewed in his anger and contemplated for a brief moment what to do to his attackers. Only in this moment, what do I do? What can I do?