Mindset, Bad Choices, Employability: Professionalism!

Just because others are doing it doesn't make it right. We often are influenced by the people we surround ourselves with. If you're surrounded by no good, no goals driven, unmotivated, uninspired, undisciplined, unprincipled people, you'll most likely be influenced by their negative character and inertia.

I help people find employment in the Philadelphia region and I provide career coaching to hundreds of people annually. But all of my great efficacy is rendered ineffective when people sabotage their own best interests.

Here is an abridged list of things that can severely undermine your professionalism, hinder your employability outlook, and careen your upward career growth (in no particular order/ranking). Be wise and avoid doing these things at all cost...

1.?Smoking weed, drinking alcohol, or doing drugs before or during work is pathetic and wrong!?If you feel you have to be buzzed, drunk, or inebriated to some degree before, during or after work, you have an addiction problem with intoxicants! Such people lack a professional mindset, are undisciplined, and are prone to bad habits! Bad habits produce bad judgment and bad judgment is an unacceptable workplace trait! Potheads, drug addicts, and alcoholics are too high risk and employers rather not deal with such known high risk employees, they hurt the company brand and are a major safety risk!

2. Threatening verbal or physical confrontations with employees and/or supervisors.?Your job isn't a boxing ring or the UFC octagon! Creating an antagonistic kerfuffle in the workplace is always unacceptable and most often a disciplinary offense and/or grounds for immediate termination, and possible arrest and jail time.

3.?Stealing.?Pilfering supplies, equipment, electronic devices, skimming money from the company accounts, submitting false expenses, making false injury reports, etc., will likely get you fired. Depending on how egregious the theft, you may be arrested, fined, and jailed. The stealing can be as minor as company supplies up to large sums of money.

A former Amazon.com manager has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after stealing over $9.4 million from the company while working there. Kayricka Wortham, along with six other people, have been charged in connection with the stealing of the money in Georgia, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office Northern Department of Georgia press release. - USA Today, July 6, 2023

4.?Bad hygiene and unprofessional attire are unacceptable!?Body odor, funky musty smelling clothes, and bad breath are all bad! According to Mindtools.com,?"Dirty, unhygienic workspaces can cause stress and illness, reduce productivity and morale in your team, and damage your organization's reputation."?No one wants to work around a nasty, smelly, disheveled person. Your bad hygiene can result in a reprimand and possible firing.

Most employees are hired on an “at will” basis. According to Nolo, this term indicates that an employer can fire you for any reason save discrimination based on race, religion or gender.?It is perfectly legal for a company to fire you for having bad hygiene, however. - CNBC, article - "Common Ways Smart People Lose Their Jobs"

5.?Sexual harassment, salacious remarks, and unwanted advances are extreme no-no's in the workplace and outside the workplace!?The Wilshire Law Firm provides five important facts about sexual harassment that every employee and supervisor need to be intimately familiar with...

I) Both Women and Men Can Be Victims of Sexual Harassment.

II) Harassment Can Happen Between People of the Same Sex.

III) Sexual Harassment Doesn't Have to Involve a Physical Act.

IIII) The Harassment Doesn't Have to Come from a Supervisor.

V) Retaliation Against Harassment Victims is Illegal.

Bullying, discrimination,?sexual harassment?and other forms of workplace misconduct can create a crisis for any company—and trying to ignore or cover it up will make a bad situation worse.?In addition to costing an organization its image, reputation and credibility, misconduct in office and other settings can impact their bottom line. The financial hit to U.S. businesses in the past year was an eye-popping?$20.2 billion,?according to a new study published today by Vault Platform, a workplace misconduct reporting platform. - Forbes, article "Workplace Misconduct Costs U.S. Businesses $20 Billion In Past Year: New Study"

6.?Don't abuse or misuse company privileges!?If you have a company issued car, credit card, computer, mobile phone, house, don't abuse or misuse these things! Remember, you're a trusted steward of these COMPANY OWNED or ISSUED ITEMS, THEY ARE NOT YOURS TO MISAPPROPRIATE! Be especially mindful about your use of communication devices, like cell phones and computers, employers can privately surveil these communication items at anytime, because it's the property of the employer!

7.?Social media shenanigans can get you reprimanded or fired!?LinkedIn, the world's largest social media/professional networking platform, published an article entitled "How Can Social Media Hurt Your Job Search and Future Career" - in the article, it reported that?“70% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates...And that review matters: Of those that do social research, 57% have found content that caused them not to hire candidates.”

Life is never a solo act, as socially wired beings, grow from engaging with positive, progressive, morally principled, goal driven people. Learn from the best practices of others to grow socially, intellectually, professionally and spiritually. Apply the applicable best practices you've learned and observed to excel in various facets of your life. Endeavor to become a lifelong learner and you'll ensure your odds at succeeding more in life than failing.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rev. Michael Robinson is an award winning corporate executive, university administrator, and community leader. He's serves as an executive administrator and faculty member at Temple University, and he is an appointed member of the the Governor's Advisory Commission on African American Affairs for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.