A Nigerian woman named @deeglam_varieties has sparked a lot of conversation about her experience of getting dismissed from her UK job for apologizing to her boss too much.
She described how she was accused of sleeping on the job after spending her night shift in the office lounge to prevent dozing off in a now-viral TikTok video.
She kept apologizing and was ultimately fired rather than giving her boss the truth.
Online responses to the cultural differences in attitudes regarding apologizing have been extremely heated. Many Nigerians who are employed abroad are advising their fellow citizens to avoid over-apologizing, noting situations in which expressing regret could be interpreted as an admission of guilt rather than a gesture of goodwill.
Patbaby warned, “Don’t tell them sorry oooo. even when you see them falling just waka pass.” Others echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the need to clarify situations without automatically assuming blame.
Below are other social media reactions:
Oluwasimidele Ifeloluwa Joy said: “That’s sacking you with a false allegation. That’s why people who work in the healthcare sector have been told to join a union. You would have refuted this by laying off your work if you were under any union.”
Oh rays said: “And I told my manager today that I am sorry. I unsorry here oooh.”
Yemzy said: “A colleague of mine tripped and fell and I said oh sorry she said oh no you didn’t do anything.”
user9602975014235 said: “If anything happens at your workplace you need to explain your part and never say I’m sorry to these people it means acceptance of being guilty. Even after your explanation never tell them you are sorry.”
About The Author
