The other day at Living Africana HQ – read any cafe with free wifi and good coffee or a smoothie, we had a team meeting. The agenda was simple: Strategy for the website. A check-in. Light laughs. Progress talk.
Instead, we cried.
We were going around the room sharing updates of the week from our 9-to-5s when one of our team members — usually the composed one, always buttoned-up and bright — suddenly broke down. Quietly at first, then fully, heaving and all.
Tears.
Confusion.
Silence.
We paused. We let her breathe. Then we hugged her — tightly, without needing answers. Eventually, between breaths, she said this:
“Sometimes I wish a car would just hit me on my way to work.
Not to kill me. Just enough to make it all stop for a while.”
She said getting out of bed felt like dragging a boulder.
She said she felt invisible in the office.
She said her light was going out and no one seemed to notice — not even her.
None of us knew what to say at first.
So we didn’t talk strategy that day.
We talked survival.
We talked burnout.
We talked boundaries, and toxic bosses, and how it’s possible to have a “dream job” that slowly eats you alive.
That’s why we’re starting this column.
Because behind every polished LinkedIn post is someone Googling “How to quit without burning bridges.”
Because too many of us are clapping at promotions we didn’t want, working under peopele who don’t see us, and wondering if it’s just us — or if the system is broken.
So if you’ve ever cried in a bathroom stall, or edited your emails 14 times before hitting send, or walked into a meeting feeling like a fraud — this space is for you.
We’re not career experts. We’re just women trying to figure it out out loud — with honesty, humour, and a little healing.
💌 Got a career question, story, or frustration?
Send it to [socials@livingafricana.com].
You can stay anonymous. But your voice deserves to be heard.
This is Work, Please.
Where we talk about the things your HR manual never prepared you for.
— The Living Africana Team
