When Gen Z Meets Professionalism: Is Every Joke Really Just a Joke?

There are lots of trending news out of the Nigeria space, such as the NFA plane crash and Dangote refinery shares, amongst many others to name but a few, but if I were to talk about one of the trending news that catches my attention the most and even went on to raise lots of discussions, I'd say it's regarding the trending TikTok video of the Madonna University nursing students that posted a video showing them dancing, but with a thought-provoking caption that read, "No fall sick o, na Gen Z full hospital." The news particularly trend further due to how 500-level students end up getting expelled from the school because of the video, and these have led to lots of questions, like if the video is inappropriate for a hospital environment, if the expulsion was too harsh, and several others, to name but a few, and today I'll be stating my two cents on the matter.

To be honest, I must start by saying that dancing in the hospital environment isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially since no one was injured or endangered while they were doing that; however, we can't help but be concerned about what if a patient needed help while they were busy dancing, since they ought to be monitoring patients and the like. Beyond that, the biggest focal point of discussion for me is the caption of their video, which said, "No fall sick, o, na Gen Z full hospital now." Personally, I think this raised a big concern about professional ethics. Imagine the message that passes to patients or sick people; it's more like a threat that you won't be in good hands if you fall sick during this era where Gen Z are the health workers.

Looking at the punishment being given to the students, I think the exclusion is kind of too much for a student who has spent years studying. Not to forget the amount already invested into that and what it'll cost to start all over again. Since it's not like their act caused severe damage, I believe a serious warning, alongside suspension, even if it'll lead to an extra year, is much better than an outright expulsion. Hopefully they'll revise it and pardon the students.

But then for those who felt what they did is not a big deal, what would you do if you own a school and the teachers you employed posted a video like that, with the caption, "No send your children here o, na Gen Z dey teach now," or you own a bank/fintech and your staff posted something like that saying, "No bring your money here o, na Gen Z full bank now," or even the pilot of an airline you own, doing that and saying, "Don't fly today o, na Gen Z dey fly plane." All of a sudden what seems like a simple joke to you earlier will now sound like a threat to your business and also to the lives of potential customers, who obviously boycott your business because of that so they can get the best possible services.

We need to be professional and learn to follow professional ethics, because what seems like a simple joke to you is more like a threat to someone else's life, business, and the seriousness of that field. I can't imagine me going through the internet and seeing an engineer who's working on a bridge post a video saying, "No cross this bridge o, na Gen Z build ham." I'd be frightened and boycott that bridge for fear of it collapsing due to what the engineer himself posted. So overall we must understand that there's a difference between being young and unserious. Even if you want to joke, be mindful of what you'll joke with, the environment, the message, and the likes.

All photos are generated using ChatGpt.