No one needs your whole self

Hello, Buddy!

Can we raise a glass to a year full of new opportunities, a salary raise, and maybe even a promotion or two?

Happy New Year, f!

By the way, I heard that after you kept shouting “Let’s circle back in January” all through December, you’re still not ready to circle back!

Anyway, if you’ve been around the workplace long enough, you must have heard organizations promoting the buzz phrase “Bring your whole self to work.” Basically, what this phrase preaches is that instead of pretending to be someone they’re not, employees should ditch their ”workplace persona” and feel comfortable being their authentic selves at work.

But do they really mean it?

All I see is employers trying to adopt this phrase as a retention and recruitment strategy since it’s clearly cheaper for them to provide than, say, a raise.

Abi Oga, are you saying I should really give it to Madam HR hot hot when she’s moving mad?

See I’m not even here for vawulence because it’s a new year but can we at least have an honest conversation about whether or not this phrase holds water?

If you ask me, as much as it sounds like a great idea, it’s all just crap! I’ll say keep to your workplace script and let’s all be acting abeg.

Now, before you start throwing tomatoes at me, hear me out. I’m not saying that you should completely suppress your true identity and become someone you’re not. But let’s be real, bringing your whole self to work is just not practical.

Work is, well, work! You’re there to get stuff done, not to air your dirty laundry or engage in personal discussions. Imagine you were always completely honest in meetings and gave your unfiltered opinions on your boss’ ridiculous idea.. Yeah exactly!

“But I thought being authentic and genuine was a good thing? Shouldn’t we strive to be ourselves at all times?”

Well, sure!

In an ideal world, it would be great if everyone could be their true selves at work but the workplace is not an ideal world. It’s a cutthroat environment where only the strongest (or most fake) survive.

While it’s important to be genuine and authentic, it’s also important to remember that there are certain boundaries that should be respected in the workplace.

So please, do yourself, your company, your colleagues, and your career a favor and leave some of your “self” at home.

At the end of the day, all your employer cares about is your best self!

But hey, that’s just my opinion!

Inside Twitter

See what I’m saying!

• Head of Business Growth at Kippa: You will lead Kippa’s Partnership efforts and sales team for their Finance product (Agency Banking + Business Banking). | Click here to Apply
• Operations Lead/Business Manager at Intron Health [Lagos, Nigeria]: You will be responsible for coordinating operations in the Southwest Nigeria office, team member number 1; establishing the Ibadan office and then country HQ in Lagos afterward. | Click here to Apply
• Accountant at Garage Mobility [Lagos, Nigeria]: You will be responsible for preparing accounts, budgeting and managing financial information. You will focus on producing the monthly management accounts and performing meaningful financial analysis on the management account. | Click here to Apply
• Price and Procurement Manager at Garage Mobility [Lagos, Nigeria]: You will be responsible for developing and managing the pricing strategy for all products sold on their marketplace and will collaborate with management and the Senior Supply Chain Lead to implement new pricing initiatives. | Click here to Apply
• Logistics Lead at Garage Mobility [Lagos, Nigeria]: You will be responsible for developing and executing strategies to meet Garage’s mandate of 1-hour delivery for all orders across Lagos in an efficient and cost-effective manner.  | Click here to Apply

New Year, New Money!

If the only reason you’re going to ask for a raise is the fact that it’s a new year, it’s totally worth it! Get started with this FREE Salary Negotiation guide; It has all the deets you need to negotiate your way to that raise.

We also shared real data on how much your role might be currently worth in the industry.