WorkplaceConversations 9.0: The Silent Killers in Culture: Unspoken Practices That Drain Performance

Описание: Workplace Conversations is an evolving series that creates space for professionals, thinkers, and practitioners to interrogate workplace realities. In previous editions, we have examined leadership resilience, professional compatibility, and the interplay between policies and practice.

In this 9th edition, we confront an often-ignored but highly consequential issue: The Silent Killers in Culture: Unspoken Practices That Drain Performance.

Why should we pay attention to this?
• Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 found that disengaged employees cost the global economy $8.9 trillion annually, roughly 9% of global GDP — much of this tied to invisible cultural factors.
• McKinsey & Co. (2021) showed that organisations with strong, adaptive cultures achieve 3× higher total shareholder returns compared to those with weak or toxic cultures.
• A Harvard Business Review study (2023) revealed that employees are 55% less likely to leave organisations where psychological safety and cultural trust are actively nurtured, even when pay is not competitive.
The evidence is clear: organisational performance is not only determined by formal strategies, but by informal, unspoken practices — behaviours tolerated, encouraged, or ignored. Practices like meeting theatre, silent non-reporting of hazards, celebration of burnout heroics, or performative compliance may not appear on the balance sheet, but they quietly erode resilience, trust, and productivity.

Tonight, with the help of our distinguished panelists, we named these practices, interrogated why they persist, and explored practical interventions to dismantle them.

We were honoured to be joined by two professionals whose perspectives helped us unpack this critical subject:
• Mr. Olusegun Olaniyi – a seasoned Health and Safety Professional, deeply experienced in diagnosing hidden risks in workplace environments, ensuring compliance, and promoting a culture of proactive risk management.
• Mrs Olusola Amu – an accomplished Human Resources Professional, with expertise in workforce culture, employee relations, and organisational behaviour, ensuring that people practices align with long-term organisational goals.

Dr. Olumuyiwa Oludayo, Principal Consultant at Nathan Leadgate Limited, was privileged to moderate the dialogue.

Please leave a comment of your impressions.