At the heart of every Ghanaian office is one shared ritual: lunch. That midday meal is sacred, whether it’s waakye from the street vendor downstairs, leftover jollof from home, or a perfectly portioned bowl of kontomire stew and boiled yam. It gets many of us through morning deadlines, traffic-induced stress, and awkward team meetings.
So, when the lunches began to mysteriously disappear from the staff fridge at the office of Junction Ltd., chaos was inevitable.
It started on a Tuesday.
Ama, the sweet-tempered HR assistant, returned from a client meeting only to find her beloved boiled plantain and palava sauce missing. She paced around the kitchenette, eyeing every colleague with subtle suspicion. “Maybe someone mistook it for theirs,” she reasoned.
But the following day, it was Kojo’s grilled tilapia and kenkey.
Then, Emelia’s fried rice.
Even the hard-to-love banku and okro didn’t survive.
By the second week, no one dared bring lunch from home. Trust had been broken.
The mystery piqued when Kwabena, the office cleaner, found an open lunch pack half-eaten behind the water dispenser. A meeting was called. Tensions flared. Accusations flew. Everyone denied it, except Bismark from IT, who remained unusually quiet.
It wasn’t until the security footage was reviewed that the truth came out: the snack thief wasn’t Bismark, or the cleaner, or even an outsider—it was Esi, the very person who had been loudly advocating for justice and even created a “Lunch Watch Taskforce” WhatsApp group.
She confessed. “I didn’t mean to,” she said, tears in her eyes. “I was broke that week. I told myself I’d replace them… then it became a habit.”
The team was stunned. A mix of sympathy and disappointment filled the room.
And OH! Just when we thought she had repented, can you believe what happened the following week? Snacks got stolen again!
By who? Same culprit, Esi!
Guess what?
She was let go a week later, not just because she had stolen food, but because she had broken a code of trust every workplace runs on.
Moral of the story
In every workplace, trust is currency. Whether it’s in meetings, on projects, or in the fridge, integrity matters. No matter how small it may seem, a single act can stain your reputation and cost you more than a few bites of someone’s jollof. If you’re hungry, ask. If you’re struggling, speak up. But never, ever steal.
Because in the office jungle, the snack stealer is always found out.
Maintaining trust at work is essential for upholding workplace integrity because it forms the foundation for effective collaboration, accountability, and ethical behaviour.
Here are 6 key reasons to maintain trust at work.
Table of Contents
1. Trust Strengthens Team Collaboration
When employees trust one another, they communicate openly, share ideas freely, and work together more effectively. It reduces conflict and encourages mutual support, which enhances overall team performance.
2. It Encourages Ethical Conduct
Trust reinforces a culture of honesty and transparency. Employees are more likely to make ethical decisions and hold themselves accountable when they know integrity is valued and reciprocated.
3. Trust Boosts Employee Morale
A trustworthy environment fosters psychological safety. People feel secure, respected, and valued leading to higher job satisfaction and loyalty.
4. It Reduces Workplace Tension and Gossip
When trust exists, there’s less room for suspicion, gossip, or blame games. Employees focus more on solutions than on office politics or second-guessing motives.
5. It Encourages Innovation and Risk-Taking
In a trusted environment, employees feel confident to take initiative, share bold ideas, and try new approaches – key drivers of innovation.
6. Trust Supports a Strong Organizational Reputation
Companies known for integrity attract top talent, loyal customers, and investors. Internally, trust ensures the workforce is aligned with the company’s mission and values.
In short, trust isn’t just a “soft skill”; it’s a strategic asset. Without it, workplace integrity crumbles; with it, everything from productivity to company culture thrives.
This is the Office Buzz. Work, Culture and everything in between.
