Workplace Toxicity: A Symptom of Our Cultural Clash

When I write about holding the line, I often mean navigating that invisible yet undeniable space between two worlds: American Samoa and the United States. One leans collectivist, where harmony and respect for rank or seniority hold weight. The other leans individualist, where innovation, efficiency, and accountability are emphasized. Both have value, but where they clash? The fallout is real.

Workplace toxicity is one of those symptoms.

In too many offices here in American Samoa, qualified people are discouraged from doing the work they are more than capable of doing. They are silenced, sidelined, or told to “wait their turn.” Not because their ideas lack merit, but because the culture demands “peace” at any cost. Leaders shield the very people who break the system, because challenging them would upset the fragile balance.

And then there’s seniority. In fa’aSamoa, respect for age and rank is foundational. It is how families and villages maintain order. But in the workplace, this principle becomes a ploy. It transforms into a weapon that protects incompetence and punishes initiative. Someone’s years of service are valued more than their actual contribution, and “we’ve always done it this way” becomes the death knell of progress.

For those of us who have spent time in the U.S., where accountability is expected and innovation is rewarded, this dynamic is debilitating. To watch a system stall because of misplaced “respect” is not just frustrating - it’s exhausting. It drains good people of their energy, and it slowly convinces them that stepping away is the only healthy choice.

The clash of cultures is at the root of this toxicity. Where America says speak up, Samoa says stay quiet. Where America says earn your place through action, Samoa says wait your turn. Neither is inherently wrong, but when one is forced to dominate the other in spaces like the workplace, the result is dysfunction.

We should not still be dealing with this. Not in 2025. Not when our community deserves leaders who value contribution over seniority, accountability over comfort, and truth over silence.

For me, holding the line means naming this tension for what it is. It means acknowledging that yes, we are a people of respect, but respect was never meant to be an excuse for protecting bullies or enabling incompetence. Respect should build us, not break us.

Until we learn to honor both sides of our cultural inheritance - the accountability of the West and the compassion of Samoa - we will keep fighting ourselves. And good people will keep walking away.