35 Unprofessional Mini Habits That Sink People's Careers
"Unprofessional", the Dictionary.com definition:
• "Not professional not pertaining to or characteristic of a profession."
• "At variance with or contrary to professional standards or ethics not befitting members of a profession, as language, behavior, or conduct."
• "Not done with professional competence".
Examples of general things that might make a person "unprofessional" in a variety of situations, in no particular order:
• Showing up to work late
• Dressing inappropriately
• Practicing poor hygiene
• Using inappropriate or rude language
• Harassing, bullying, or distracting coworkers
• Flirting
• Sexual harassment or inappropriate physical contact
• Exhibiting threatening behavior (physical, verbal, written violence)
• Passive-aggressive behavior
• Disrespecting your boss/manager/employer
• Demanding special treatment
• Refusing to do work assigned to you
• Stealing or taking things that don't belong to you (food, office supplies, etc.)
• Sabotaging others' work
• Being overly criticizing of others' work or behavior
• Being surly (bad-tempered) or rude
• Procrastination
• Discrimination
• Making unfair or inappropriate judgments about coworkers or the company
• Poor communication (not returning emails or calls, failure to follow up)
• Poor work ethic or laziness
• Performing at an amateur level (literally un-professional!)
• Failing to keep promises or repay favors to coworkers, customers, bosses, etc.
• Passing blame
• Lying
• Excessive complaining
• Spreading rumors, badmouthing, backstabbing
• Unwillingness to work with others
• Inability to work alone or without someone "holding your hand"
• Using a personal relationship to gain advantages at work
• Displaying excessive uncalled-for emotion (screaming, crying, etc.)
• Bringing non-work problems and issues to work
• Defensiveness or excessive sensitivity to constructive criticism
• Displaying a consistently negative attitude
...and last but not least, failing to report unprofessional behavior to a supervisor.
Different occupations will have different standards for what they consider "unprofessional." For example, I'm a musician. If I am supposed to play a certain piece of music, but start improvising instead, that's unprofessional. Or if I'm supposed to improvise something but I play the written music instead, that's also unprofessional.
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VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Variance (n.) ~ the fact or quality of being different, divergent, or inconsistent
2. Flirt (v.) ~ behave as though attracted to or trying to attract someone, but for amusement rather than with serious intentions
3. Special treatment (n.) ~ favoritism
4. Sabotage (v.) ~ deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct (something)
5. Surly (adj.) ~ bad-tempered and unfriendly
6. Badmouth (v./ informal) ~ criticize (someone or something)
7. Uncalled-for (adj.) ~ undesirable and unnecessary
8. Improvise (v.) ~ create and perform (music, drama, or verse) spontaneously or without preparation
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What is the definition of unprofessionalism?
2. Some companies don’t allow romantic relationships in the office because they consider it unprofessional. What is your opinion on this matter?
3. How do you feel about your co-workers criticizing your work?
4. What kind of behavior do you consider to be unprofessional?
