“Not Trying To Start a Fight”: Black Employee Exposes Painful Reality of Working at Afrikaans Firm

• A black woman at a mostly Afrikaans-speaking South African firm says colleagues exclude her group from conversations by switching languages
• She claims a double standard exists, where Afrikaans staff demand English when black employees speak their own languages, but not the reverse
• The Reddit post has drawn hundreds of comments, with many South Africans sharing similar workplace experiences

A black woman working at a predominantly Afrikaans firm in South Africa says she constantly feels sidelined by her colleagues. She shared her frustrations in a Reddit post on 15 July 2026, sparking a wide discussion about office language etiquette.

Frustration over office language divide

The woman, posting under a throwaway account, said fewer than ten of over 50 staff members are black. She explained that this small group naturally sticks together and speaks their own languages among themselves. According to her, blending into the wider office circle rarely happens, since Afrikaans dominates most group conversations. She said colleagues occasionally try switching to English, but others quickly steer chats back.

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She raised a specific gripe about double standards inside the company. Afrikaans staff reportedly complain when black employees speak Zulu, demanding English instead. Yet she said the same courtesy is never extended when Afrikaans is spoken all day. She recalled once suggesting a colleague learn Zulu, only to be dismissed outright. The colleague allegedly called the language “gibberish” and refused to consider it.

She also described awkward moments with clients, where Afrikaans colleagues switch languages mid-meeting. One client reportedly questioned why staff kept doing this despite understanding English. The woman said she doesn’t want special treatment, only basic workplace consideration. Getting cc’d on Afrikaans emails, she added, remains one of her biggest annoyances.

Her post quickly gained traction, with several users sharing similar stories. One commenter described a former job where a strict English-only policy applied to all business matters, regardless of employees’ first language.

See the Reddit post here.

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More workplace stories

• A company pranked new employees with a fake office ritual, leaving them confused but willing to go along before a meeting.
• Samke Mbuthuma shared a video of her parents visiting her office for the first time on 2 July 2026.
• A light-hearted TikTok from a busy kitchen has gone viral thanks to a cheeky twist on a common workplace joke.

Source: Briefly News