Several years ago, it came to you that Work was not a well-researched area of scientific study for psychiatrists and psychologists in Nigeria, and in Africa as a whole. And yet Work was an important part of everyone’s life.
Intrigued, you decided to carry out research on the Nigerian worker – who he was and what made him tick, and to write a book about your findings.
The project would, of course, require a sponsor. You broached the subject with your friend Fola, a man who had already acquired something of a cult status in banking circles as the principal force behind a new generation bank that was redefining banking culture in Nigeria. Might his bank be willing to sponsor a book on Work as CSR? He listened intently for several minutes, with his usual air of calm reflection. You would need to make a presentation to Management, he announced at length.
On the day of the presentation, his deputy, Tayo, directed affairs. Work, you explained, was a central connecting thread in human life, from cradle to grave. Much that was anecdotal, and pejorative had been said about the Nigeria worker. It was surely be a good idea to have an authoritative reference volume on the psychology of Nigerian workers bearing the imprimatur of the bank.
Tayo looked genuinely interested in the subject. He was in his shirtsleeves and he had a kindly face with a gentle smile. He asked a few probing questions.
Two years later, “Nigeria at Work – A survey of the psychology of work among Nigerians” was formally presented at the bank’s Annual General Meeting, with a review by Oxonian publisher and teacher, Dafe Otobo.
Writing the book, for you, was an educational journey, offering up interesting insights and memorable encounters, such as a whole afternoon spent talking with Professor Olatunde Oloko, the world-acclaimed sociologist famous for his research on workers in Ewekoro Cement factory.
COVID-19 has imploded on the world, bringing totally unique challenges and, perhaps, opportunities. The world has been in an unprecedented lockdown. Not only have whole industries been grounded, but their very survival has been called into question
Through the book, you found that Nigerian workers valued “opportunity to advance in the company” more than just the promise of a generous salary. And you discovered that workers were de-motivated if “the pathway to desired goal” (promotion) was not transparent and uniform for everybody.
In the decades since the writing of the book, the knowledge that the mental and social health of workers are crucial to the bottom line of the organisation has gone mainstream.
With the current cross-cutting influence of the Information Communication Technology in Work of all categories, the prototype of the modern worker is shifting from the assembly plant drone who sings the company anthem daily, and expects to be in the chaebol all life-long, such as you saw during a visit to the Sony complex in Tokyo in its heyday. The prototype worker, more and more, is a smartphone and laptop-wielding nerd whose allegiance is to the next bright idea. He, or she, expects to go through easily five employers or branch out and set up on their own.
COVID-19 has imploded on the world, bringing totally unique challenges and, perhaps, opportunities. The world has been in an unprecedented lockdown. Not only have whole industries been grounded, but their very survival has been called into question.
The idea of “working from home” has gone from a vague metaphor for slacking to an absolute necessity. Even children now “school from home”.
In taking on this new expanded definition of home life, new technologies have sprung up, and existing platforms have been expanded and popularised. “Zoom”, a web-platform for conferences has spiralled up astronomically during the COVID-19 lockdown, and the word “Zoom” itself has become a part of common chatter. “I’ve been zoomed off my feet today” means the individual has held several zoom meetings, perhaps sitting before his ragged bookshelf.
The airline industry has been among the worst hit sectors, as nations shut down international travel. It is feared that even an end to the COVID-19 crisis may not lead to “business as usual” for many businesses. Many businesses will not recover from the financial devastation of COVID-19. Many will become unnecessary or unprofitable. New business possibilities will emerge. Will it really be necessary to have so many air flights, and so many airlines? Will tourism be redefined and realigned, killing off some current options, but creating opportunity for new entrants? Is it really necessary for people to work five days a week? Is it necessary for people to go to work every day, or should “working from home” become a greater part of the new normal? Will communication and all the other functions involved in the work process be decentralised beyond COVID-19 so that “Work” does not always mean “office”?
In Lagos, with its perpetual traffic congestion, is it a chance to finally solve the okada menace and move forward on the journey to becoming an efficiently mobile megacity? Go-kada and other organised operators became couriers and home-and-office delivery facilitators in the lockdown. That could be expanded beyond COVID-19, increasing on-line grocery-shopping, increasing inter-office message delivery systems, and reducing the need for people to travel from place to place in the daily crush on the Third Mainland Bridge. Perhaps it is the opportunity to take street traders off the streets and give vendors roles in neighbourhood mobile “way-markets” conveniently located in lay-bys.
Now that basic food self-sufficiency has become an achievable option, deliberately channelling technologically minded youths into the agricultural value chain could engage hands and increase efficiency in production and distribution.
Not a lot of people will want to commit to doing the same thing year in year out, for a whole lifetime. Youths will try to develop new competencies, always on the lookout for new possibilities. In such a new world, people will be defined by the skills they have, what they do now, and what they plan to do next, rather than what they studied in school and who they have worked for.
Welcome to the brave new world of post-COVID-19 Work, loading.
