Nearly 70% of the population in the United States works, and no matter where they work they are bound to work with some unfavorable characters that are far from professional in anyway. And no matter how hard someone tries to do their work and stay professional, they are met with the same thing over and over again: gossiping, yelling, mismanagement, coworkers not taking their positions seriously, etc. When a staff member is presented with another coworker's unprofessionalism it can be hard to stay on track and make sure that the client services are at the top highest percent for their workplace. But how can we identify unprofessionalism and eliminate it?
PASSING THE BLAME
One of the biggest points of unprofessionalism is when a staff member constantly passes the blame to another to avoid getting in trouble, and to potentially make themselves look a lot better than what they really are. But how does one stop another from passing the blame? Unfortunately we cannot force someone to accept the role they played in, but the person who has been trying to pass the blame needs to take the responsibility before things get worse.
INAPPROPRIATE CONVERSATIONS
There are certain topics that should always be avoided in the workplace no matter where you work, but the number one topic that should be avoided at all cost is sex. It is not the place nor is it the time to discuss with your coworkers the crazy antics that you are into. It is also not the place to discuss this subject because more than likely you are going to have customer service in some way shape or form. Because if you work at a school, hospital, or any other places similar to that the customers would more than likely not want to hear such a topic when they are trying to learn something new or even obtain a health service.
So, when it comes to inappropriate conversations keep them to yourself, and don't discuss it at work.
INAPPROPRIATE SEARCHESMost of the time no one would believe that someone would have the audacity to venture into the rabbit hole that is the internet. But it more common than you would think, there have been several instances where former staff members were found to have searched on porn sites and had watched multiple videos, making the work computers slow down or even crash all together completely.
Common sense says to not even venture into this world while at work, whatever you do on your own time at home is one thing, but it is never wise to do this. You are more than likely to find yourself unemployed.
A WILD NIGHT
There is always that one coworker who fumbles into work after a crazy night out with alcohol still lingering on their breath, and their personal hygiene is so bad that the remnants of alcohol is splattered all over their work attire, hair is a mess, and still have a slurred speech.
Many things are wrong with this picture for multiple reasons, but the number one reason is due to the fact that there is a high possibility that someone will end up getting hurt either on the way to work or even while at work. Driving with a hang over is already not the best thing in the world because you are still in a drunken stupor where you can cause a car pile up, and if you are at work there is a greater risk that you will end up not only hurting yourself but also any coworker or customer you may come into contact with. The best remedy for this situation is to stay at home and take care of your hangover till you are completely sober.
CHILDISH BEHAVIOR
"I have something juicy!" "Did you hear what ____ did?" Gossiping, making up rumors with unfounded evidence, anything of that nature is unfortunately common in almost every workplace. But how does one limit it? It can be hard because you can't really control someone's mouth nor can you change the mentality of said coworker/employee. But there can be multiple ways to approach it from warranting verbal warnings to written ones to even potential firing if it is also encompasses harassing or bullying another coworker.
Childish behavior shouldn't be an issue in the workplace due to the fact that everyone is over the age of 18, but the mental age of that person might not be of their chronological age.
For some it is common sense to not partake in these antics and strive to be good employees who come into work, do the job that they were hired to do. But for others they don't see it as common sense and still end up partaking in these unprofessional behaviors and end up finding themselves in the unemployment line with no good references. We as a business society need to do a better background check on those who are future employee candidates to prevent this from escalating even worse.
