WOCULT

For Beatrice Okemute , surviving a toxic workplace meant pretending she was fine while losing parts of herself. Delayed salary, verbal abuse, fear of speaking up and the strain on her mental health eventually made it clear that what she was experiencing was more than a difficult job. She lost sleep, weight, confidence and the passion she once brought to work. In this Wocult Voices conversation, Beatrice reflects on why professionals normalise harmful workplaces, how silence can slowly erode identity and self-belief, and what it takes to begin choosing yourself again. Her message is simple: you cannot keep wishing for change. You have to act.

A toxic workplace does not always announce itself loudly. Sometimes, it shows up in the things you slowly stop doing: sharing ideas, dressing with care, speaking up, sleeping well or believing your voice matters. For Beatrice, recognising those changes became part of understanding how deeply the workplace had affected her.