Ah, professionalism. What an underused word in today’s society. I say this because I have heard many friends, acquaintances and even fellow colleagues lament on such behaviour from their own colleagues. I, myself have experienced many instances of unprofessionalism in the workplace, which often surprises me. After witnessing some act of unprofessionalism, I ask myself, “What on earth are you doing/saying? How can you not know that that’s just not cool?” Yes, it always comes accompanied with a gaping mouth of awe.
Two days ago, I had one such nasty experience in the office. Monday morning, I came in office, bright and cheery, ready to start work, when one colleague, BT, started to make a fuss because I had left two items (a mug and a can of spray) on his desk on Friday and had forgotten to remove them. You see, we had a new colleague who was coming in on Monday, and I had placed those items left by a previous owner temporarily as I cleaned the unoccupied desk in front of his.
“Did you put this on my table?” he asked sourly.
“Oh yah, haha sorry. I forgot about that,” I said and went to clear the items quickly.
What came next was unexpected. The shouting. The yelling. The vulgarities unfurled. All for the entire office to hear.
“This is no respect! How would you like it, huh? If I just throw sh*t on your table, you like ah? AH?”
My countenance, once bright and cheery, turned dark. I apologised to the ape once more, only because I didn’t think engaging in mudslinging boorish behaviour was going to solve the problem, even though my instinct was to yell back. But somewhere, at the back of my mind, to engage in such petty arguments, would be unprofessional. At least I knew that.
He, obviously did not think that way.
Now what exactly did he do which was unprofessional?
- He was in a bad mood from probably God-knows-what, and took it out on me
- Use of vulgar language unnecessarily
- Yelling by using intimidation and humiliation to bring his co-worker down.
What he could have done was:
- Asked professionally if I had placed the ‘unwanted items’ on his desk
- I would have apologised, rectified the problem, and simply not do it again. It was my first offence after all.
- Case closed
Now he claims cold war. Not that I care much, honestly speaking. Carry on, little man, carry on.
Yet I am not the only one in the office who encounters similar behaviour from such co-workers, who are often actually much older and much more experienced than us. We are often at the mercy of such colleagues who make work far more difficult because they practise bad working conduct.
Professional ethos is apparently lacking in the working world. Whether you are in an office environment, or perhaps a vendor, business partner or collaborator, you must be aware that there are just some no-nos to be adhered to.
If you are still unsure if your current behaviour in the workplace is professional, take a good look at this list, and your life, and see where you might go wrong. It’s not exhaustive, but nonetheless, illustrates the basics of unprofessionalism which one should try to avoid falling into. That is, if you are serious about being taken seriously.
By Naweera
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