It’s Time We Rethink What It Means to “Be Professional”

By: Lilah Krueger, Ethics and Policy Intern

Entering the “real world” introduces a new obscure expectation for young people – to be professional. Sometimes your dad tells you to take the exclamation marks out of your emails, or your mom asks if potential employers take you seriously with all your piercings. Sometimes, professionalism is more insidious. It is an ever-present expectation in the workplace, often going unquestioned in the name of efficiency, competency, or just tradition. While professionalism does serve a purpose in creating a standard expectation of conduct, it has roots in a white heteropatriarchal status quo and causes disproportionate harm to anyone who falls outside of it.

What is Professionalism?

Professionalism is a vague construct and, as such, has no simple definition. It appears differently to everyone based on their personal identity and experiences. Although rather lengthy, I find Smith College scholar Mark Davis’ definition to be reasonably comprehensive. He states, “I will use the term professionalism to mean the set of standards concerning appearance, character, values, and behavior that mark employees as competent, appropriate, effective, ethical, and respected/respectful. By ‘set of standards,’ I mean spoken or unspoken rules about how employees are supposed to dress, act, talk, groom, accessorize, gesticulate, emote, and decorate in order to have the above qualities attributed to them by their supervisors and colleagues” [1]. Davis goes on to assert that positive attributes like “competent” and “appropriate” can have problematic interpretations which imbue professionalism with “multiple forms of oppression”. I personally define professionalism as an effort to instill the status quo of what is “respectable” onto workers to maintain existing power structures and advance profit goals. The status quo is simply the current state. Maintenance of the status quo benefits those who are already at the top of the power structure and keeps those at the bottom down. Therefore, an individual’s experience with professionalism depends on how easily they fulfill the status quo. Carmen Rios states in the article, “You Call It Professionalism; I Call It Oppression in a Three-Piece Suit,” “In office environments especially, standards of professionalism are the law of the land—and they reinforce social hierarchies that value White maleness above all” [2]. Anyone in a workplace who exists on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy must strain to conform or face judgment as unprofessional.

What does Professionalism do Right?

I will acknowledge that my definition is likely one many disagree with, and one that is influenced largely by my personal beliefs. To many, professionalism is a core tenant of being an effective employee. If professionalism was purely negative, it would not be such a pervasive value. Jason Burns authored the blog post “Why Professionalism Matters More Than Performance,” in which he states, “Professionalism, in any industry, simply means that you treat others with respect, value people’s time, keep your commitments, and act with integrity” [3]. This definition lends support to the importance of professionalism. Obviously, respect and integrity are important values not just in the workplace, but anywhere. In the article, “Why Professionalism is Essential in the Workplace,” Laura Hutton outlines three reasons why professionalism is important: professionalism demonstrates respect, improves business reputation, and helps to minimize conflict [4]. Again, respect, reputation, and peace all sound like great things. To Burns and Hutton, “be professional” is a shorthand for ensuring employees maintain a healthy and productive environment that benefits not just company profits, but employee experience as well. Professionalism is also incredibly context-dependent, and in some workplaces, a certain standard of professionalism is essential to the job function. In a tattoo shop, for example, it might be acceptable to wear casual clothes, have brightly dyed hair, and have “sent from my iPhone” at the bottom of every email. It might even be considered more professional to be covered in tattoos, as they communicate expertise in the field. Conversely, in an industry like healthcare, different standards of professionalism are required. As Garth Warnock describes in “Reflecting on principles of professionalism,” “The primary rationale for professionalism and collaboration is to promote patient safety. Health care is delivered by teams of professionals who need to communicate well, respecting the principles of honesty, respect for others, confidentiality and responsibility for their actions” [5]. Again, I don’t know anyone who would be against communication, respect, honesty, and responsibility, especially on behalf of their healthcare workers. In the medical setting, it would be unprofessional to show up in anything other than scrubs, but that serves a health safety purpose, and not just an aesthetic one. Even though the specifics of how one dresses or presents themselves to be professional might change depending on the workplace, the intention of these requirements is the same. Differing expectations of professionalism across workplaces all hold people accountable to acting with integrity, respect, and responsibility.

How is Professionalism Harmful?

As Mark Davis said, professionalism can become dangerous when employees and managers interpret positive attributes problematically. Laura Hutton views professionalism as carrying yourself with integrity and respect. She describes how this respect is evident when, “an employee continually behaves professionally, despite inappropriate comments from the other party” [6]. The expectation that professional employees are always calm and collected in the face of potentially discriminatory or harassing actions can place an excess burden on those who are more often subject to bias. Additionally, Hutton emphasizes the importance of presenting yourself professionally in the way “you dress, do your hair, and groom yourself” [7]. She states, “If your appearance has been a topic of conversation with your manager in the past, ensure you pay particular attention to it and demonstrate that you truly are more professional than they thought” [8]. The danger is that a supervisor’s bias can influence if they see a certain hairstyle or way of dress as professional. The employee’s ability and willingness to conform to the supervisor’s expectations then becomes another measure of potentially toxic professionalism. The story of Brittany Noble, a news reporter, provides an example of how Hutton’s expectations of professionalism can be problematic. Noble details in her article, “Why I disappeared from WJTV in Jackson, Mississippi,” that she was told by her boss that her natural hair was unprofessional, even though her official request to wear it naturally was approved. She made this request shortly after giving birth to her son. Due to this situation, and other discriminatory acts, Noble filed a report against the company. She describes how the internal harassment grew after her official complaint, and one month later she was fired [9]. Noble’s is just one of many stories of workplace racial bias. Koval and Rosette found in their study, “The Natural Hair Bias in Job Recruitment,” that Black women with natural hair were ranked as significantly less professional and competent than Black women with straightened hair, and white women with both straight and curly hair. In addition to being considered less professional and competent, Black women with natural hair were less likely to be recommended for a job interview by participants [10]. This study and Noble’s story prove that racial bias in professionalism can infringe on both the work environment and being able to provide for yourself. Noble wrote that for the first time in her life, she collected unemployment and included a GoFundMe at the bottom of her article [11]. Expressions of queerness are also subject to the professionalism assessment. Expressions of queerness include presenting outside of gender norms, non-binary pronouns, tattoos, dyed hair, and vibrant clothing, all of which can be perceived as unprofessional in certain contexts. Jacob Tobia, a genderqueer activist and writer, spoke of their struggle with professionalism in the article, “Why I’m Genderqueer, Professional and Unafraid.” They reference being told they need to “tone it down for work,” or that they are dressed inappropriately, just for wearing feminine clothing as a male presenting person [12]. Professionalism allows those who fit inside the gender binary to be their authentic selves, while those who are outside must conform to fit in. The crux is that professionalism is disproportionately applied. If professionalism is a reproduction of the status quo, and the status quo prizes those at the top of a power hierarchy, it would stand to reason that those people have an easier time fulfilling professional expectations. Professionalism places an excess burden on people who must change themselves to fit society’s mold of professionalism. For example, if whiteness and straight hair are the status quo, Black women are expected to put in the additional effort to conform. If gender norms are the status quo, genderqueer people are expected to put in the effort to conform.

Where to Go from Here?

The vast range of experiences with professionalism proves how widespread the impact is. Low-income people are often unable to afford business casual wear, mothers are painted as lazy when they miss work for their kids (while mothers who never mention their kids are professional), Southerners are perceived as less intelligent because of their accent, Black women are told their appearance is “ghetto”, or are asked to cut off their locs [13, 14, 15, 16, 17]. It is time to rethink the overlooked dangers of professionalism. I am not calling for a casting out of professionalism; I think it holds merit. It is reasonable to expect employees to be respectful, act with integrity, and do their jobs well. However, professionalism must encourage authenticity and remain free from bias. Professionalism that truly has a basis in respect should insist that respect is also given to those who do not fit squarely in the white, heteropatriarchal norm. Authentic professionalism is good for business. Feelings of authenticity in the workplace are positively correlated to employee performance [18]. However, there are concerns that if an individual is different from not similar to their coworkers, a push for authenticity can result in increased conflict and lower performance. In her article, ““Be Authentic At Work”: Is It Always The Best Advice?” Laura Guillén says these concerns could be mitigated by placing an equal emphasis on diversity. She concludes that, “Authenticity is not without risks, but it is the path to a more satisfying and productive professional life” [19]. The struggle is how to truly cultivate authenticity in professional settings without simply adding “authenticity” to the list of company values and moving on. In their article, “Our Biases Undermine Our Colleagues’ Attempts to Be Authentic,” Tina Opie and R. Edward Freeman discuss the danger of performative authenticity “lip service.” Based on the questions and thought exercises they pose; the following steps can be helpful for anyone interested in a reconstruction of professionalism.

• Observe: Does everyone in my organization act or look similar? What am I noticing that I find unprofessional?
• Reflect: Be curious about your own thought processes. Question your judgments about what is professional and what is not. Consider whether your ideas of professionalism translate to increased performance (maybe they do!).
• Empathize: Think about where each person comes from in their lives. Consider how easy or hard it is for each person to conform to the ideals of professionalism. Are they able to be easily considered professional while being true to themselves?
• Let loose: As you are comfortable, model authenticity to those around you! [20]

No matter how you define professionalism, any overarching concept that goes largely unchallenged is worth reconsidering. So many people have personal stories in which they feel judged, marginalized, and discriminated against by standards of professionalism; it’s time to cast light on those standards. Reconsidering our underlying presumptions could make someone feel more respected and valued in the workplace, and isn’t that the professional thing to do?

References

1. Davis, M. D. (2016). We were treated like machines : professionalism and anti-Blackness in social work agency culture. Masters Thesis, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
2. Rios, C. (2015, February 15). You Call It Professionalism; I Call It Oppression in a Three-Piece Suit. Everyday Feminism.
3. Burns, J. (n.d.). Why Professionalism Matters More Than Performance. Sci.bio Recruiting.
4. Hutton, L. (2015, September 1). Why Professionalism Is Essential In The Workplace. Australian Institute of Business.
5. Warnock G. L. (2008). Reflecting on principles of professionalism. Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie, 51(2), 84–87.
6. Hutton, L. (2015, September 1). Why Professionalism Is Essential In The Workplace. Australian Institute of Business.
7. Ibid
8. Ibid
9. Noble, B. (2019, January 7). Why I disappeared from WJTV in Jackson, Mississippi. Medium.
10. Koval, C. Z., & Rosette, A. S. (2021). The Natural Hair Bias in Job Recruitment. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(5), 741-750.
11. Noble, B. (2019, January 7). Why I disappeared from WJTV in Jackson, Mississippi. Medium.
12. Tobia, J. (2014, June 10). Why I’m Genderqueer, Professional and Unafraid. HuffPost.
13. Ibid
14. Abrahamson, R.P. (2018, June 14). Childless Model Kelly Brook Says Women With Kids Don’t Work as Hard. Us Weekly.
15. Alta. (n.d.). Americans have a bias against Southern Accents – even if they have one. Alta.
16. Lemire & Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C. (2013). Civil complaint against Michael Stapleton Associates, Ltd. United States District Court, Southern District of New York.
17. Cauterucci, C. (2016, September 21). A Federal Court Ruled That Companies Can Fire People Just for Having Dreadlocks. Slate.
18. Metin, B., Taris, T.W., Peeters, M.C.W., Van Beek, I., Van Den Bosch, R. (2016). Authenticity at work – a job-demands resources perspective. Journal of Managerial Psychology. 31. 483-499.
19. Guillén, L. (2021, October 10). Be Authentic At Work”: Is It Always The Best Advice? Forbes.
20. Opie, T., & Freeman, R. E. (2017, July 5). Our Biases Undermine Our Colleagues’ Attempts to Be Authentic. Harvard Business Review.