We need professionals back in the workplace
Let’s start by rolling out this hand grenade into the conversation. Work is not adult day care. Or it shouldn’t be. Doing whatever you want, whenever you want is rarely a good idea in any scenario. Including work.
Clarification. This is not about any particular issue being right or wrong. It’s not about being fair. This is about being competitive, increasing value you offer, and being someone people want to have on their team.
Over the past decade or so, there has been a “movement” that has changed degraded the workplace. It’s “bring your whole self to work”. If it sounds suspiciously similar to “bring your kid to work day”, there is a reason. The items in both statements (self and kid) are too often immature.
How did it start? I don’t know, but I am guessing it has its roots with employees guilting others to buy their kid’s candy for fundraisers and mandatory …I mean voluntary UnitedWay donations. And during the tech booms, certain tech companies built perfect people traps to keep people at the office beyond a normal work day’s hours, blurring the boundary between work and personal lives.
When people go to work, they are there to do one thing. Work. Be polite, courteous, and civil to each other as human beings. Maybe you gain friends (not without risk, though). Then leave work and live the rest of your life.
At work an employee exchanges time and/or skill for compensation that advances the employer's desired outcome. You should be advancing your professional desired outcome. It’s a simple concept. Do your job at your highest level.
When people lose sight of these outcomes, workplaces can be poisoned by people wielding deeply personal animus against one another for things outside of work. Moral is impacted. This costs money and productivity. And it drives people apart from one another. Rarely is reconciliation an option in these situations.
People don't have to like each other to work together. They do need to be respectful of one another. In far too many ways, our society has lost sight of this practice.
Relationships have become an all or nothing affair for people. There can be one difference and people shun on another. Professionals treat people with dignity and respect while completing their tasks. Along the way, people may discover they have things in common. Regardless, people should be able to function together at work.
This has become an ongoing issue. As the 2024 election cycle gets going, these problems are likely to become more acute. If you’re a leader, consider implementing policies based on the ideas in this article. Be crystal clear what your organization’s desired outcome is and that people are expected to work in support of it. This is not legal advice (seek an attorney for that). Just good business practice guidance. If you are a non-leader, these concepts can help you become a better professional. And keep you out of unnecessary trouble.
Avoid topics that interfere with your organization’s desired outcome. Or that undermine your professional desired outcome. A slight tangent here, but most people do not consciously define their own professional desired outcome. This is bad on two counts:
When your professional desired outcome is in conflict or detracts from your employer’s desired outcome, this can become a big problem. If this difference is significant enough, an employee needs to adapt to support their employer’s desired outcome or they should leave. Or get fired.
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Should employers listen to employees concerns and suggestions? Sure, when it’s done in a respectful and professional manner. There may be a valid idea that benefits everyone.
How does a professional behave? It’s not a complex concept. Here are three professional behavior traits:
Three simple things that too many people make incredibly hard for themselves. When people focus on doing these three things, they tend not to do something that is less than professional. There is no excess time to venture into unprofessional territory because people are being professional doing their job.
What is less than professional? This can be one of the more difficult things for a person to judge. Especially for those who believe they are more important than they really are at work. If necessary, seek guidance from someone you respect or a professional business/career coach.
If you feel like you might be doing or saying something that crosses that into being unprofessional, stop and reflect on it. Once something is said or done, it is in people’s memories. And if it’s online, it lives forever.
This is not a judgement of your opinions or if your values are valid or invalid, right or wrong. It’s about context. Doing a good job. And people.
America is a country of thirds. Roughly. We have been since our war for independence. Back then about a third of people wanted to stay British, a third was for independence and a third really didn’t care.
There are exceptions to this ratio, but it’s a good measure for this reason. If you bring in a potentially controversial topic or one’s that completely irrelevant to the workplace, there’s a decent chance you may undermine desired outcomes for you and your employer. About a third of people will agree with you. A third will not care. But you’re probably going to piss off a third of people.
Which one of those groups are going to have people who can impact your job, career, and financial well-being? It may not always be obvious. And there could be negative repercussions to your professional desired outcome that are linked to something you said, did, wore in real life or on social media.
For those of you jumping up and down that you have freedom of speech and can say whatever you want to say? You can. But is work the right place to bring it up? This is a judgement call. Maybe it is. Free speech protection rights are typically from the government, not employers (consult your attorney).
Doesn’t sound fair? Maybe it’s not. Like I said at the start of this article, it’s not about being fair. It’s about being professional. And sometimes that sucks for a person.
Be good at what you. Be a reliable and consistent person. Think of how other people inspire you and model them to invoke confidence in yourself and from other people. Be useful. Make a difference. Be a professional.
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1 年There is something to those sayings of "everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten" and "most of life ends up being a lot like high school". There is so much unprofessionalism in the workforce when leadership does not set the right example or expectations. People also bring their personal lives into the office, which is not always a bad thing (it's difficult to sit in place for years and never share personal info), but that means they sometimes also bring their worst to work. College sorority girls continue to want to form cliques so they can gossip and be queen bee. There is lots of targeting and ridicule and humiliation to sabotage the next guy. Many people are too immature and insecure to have the self-confidence and security in their intellect and abilities to perform without harming the next guy. There is even a complete lack of professionalism in industries like consulting, where they do not even know how to comport themselves on client site. It's incredible. Getting work experience at a young age is really important, with the hope that an adult workforce teaches high school and college students how to go to work.
Director | PMO Director | Project & Program Management | Tech
1 年Very well written. So many things in here that resonated with me and situations I have seen and gone through in professional life, volunteering or even family.