“This is just how it is here.”
It’s usually said casually.
Almost apologetically.
And it’s meant to end the conversation.
The Normalisation of Dysfunction
You hear it when you question something that doesn’t make sense.
Why deadlines are always impossible.
Why decisions change without warning.
Why the same problems keep resurfacing.
“This is just how it is here.”
Not because it’s good.
Not because it works.
But because no one wants to be responsible for changing it.
Tradition Without Thought
The phrase often comes with a shrug.
As if inefficiency is a personality trait.
As if stress is cultural heritage.
Processes exist because they’ve always existed.
Meetings happen because they always have.
Bottlenecks remain because addressing them would require effort.
So instead, the system is treated as untouchable.
Who Benefits From This
Not the people doing the work.
Normalising dysfunction protects comfort at the top.
It shields bad decisions from scrutiny.
It discourages questions.
If it’s “just how it is,” then no one has to own it.
When You Try to Improve Things
Suggesting change marks you instantly.
You’re “not a good fit.”
“You don’t understand the context.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
Translation: stop noticing.
Curiosity becomes disruption.
Care becomes inconvenience.
The Slow Erosion
Over time, this mindset does something subtle.
It teaches people to lower their standards.
You stop expecting clarity.
You stop suggesting improvements.
You stop believing things can be better.
And that’s when stagnation sets in.
The Lie Beneath It
Every broken system started with a decision.
Someone chose speed over quality.
Someone avoided a hard conversation.
Someone accepted a shortcut.
“This is just how it is here” is not truth.
It’s accumulated avoidance.
The Reframe
Healthy organisations explain why things are the way they are.
Unhealthy ones use inevitability as a shield.
If the best justification for a bad process is that it’s normal…
That’s not culture.
That’s resignation.
The Toxic Boss 
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