Professionalism in the workplace

Tuesday, 21 February 2012 16:09

Professionalism in the workplace

Written by Scott LaMar, Director of Radio Smart Talk

Radio Smart Talk for Wednesday, February 22:

Competent. Trustworthy. Respectful. Acts with integrity. Cooperative. These are words used to describe professionals in the workplace.

For many people, being called a professional is the highest compliment one can receive -- at least when it comes to career matters.

But is what was considered professionalism 25 years ago the same as it is today?

The Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania has conducted a nationwide survey of human resource professionals and business leaders on the state of professionalism. On Wednesday's Radio Smart Talk, Matthew Randall, the Center's Executive Director and David Polk of the Polk-Lepson Research Group join us to discuss their findings.

For example, about half of the respondents said younger employees feel a sense of entitlement while about 27% indicated electronic devices and social media contributed to employees being less focused at work.

But does that make those employees less professional?

In your opinion, are workers more or less professional or about the same as they were 10 years ago?

Listen to the program:

Published in Smart Talk

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comments

# David Lehman 2012-02-22 10:35

Regarding IT abuse at work, short of banning cell phones employees will still be able to access Facebook, eBay, etc. all the while the employer will be clueless as the Internet access will be on their private phone.
As to HR my 40 years of employment public and private is that human resources is nothing but a soft spot to land for the employees there as they do the least.
David.

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# Lisa 2012-02-22 10:44

I think that it is not just the younger employees that are becoming distracted by electronics. When blackberrys became the standard for the upper management level at the Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company where I worked, behavior in meetings became entirely about looking as important as possible as the upper managers spent half of meeting time on their blackberrys.

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# lori 2012-02-22 10:44

please don't use my name, just say i'm from york if you read this on the radio. it's not just the younger employees who aren't professional. i see plenty of people my age or older (mid-50s) who are just as deep into texting, phoning, emailing, and IMing as any 20-something as the work lays there waiting for their attention. shop or office, it's a sad lack of work ethic that has affected me in how i do my job, which i hate. however, don't you have to ask yourself, "why am i working like a maniac when people paid far more than i are lounging around having kaffeklatches all day long and our dead lines aren't being met?"

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# Mary 2012-02-22 11:03

I think a key word for professionalism is respect, used in your notes on the website and by the young woman from Carlisle. It seems to me that even many people in the public eye, particularly in media and in politics, speak and act disrespectfully to other people with whom they disagree. I think it is necessary to teach all people to act respectfully toward all other people. Some of the eroding of respect comes from adults who speak in horrible ways about other people.

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# Matthew 2012-02-22 14:18

Mary,
Agreed! Common courtesy and decency towards others is one of the hallmarks of a true professional. I’ve seen some great CEO’s who treat every employee with respect....no matter if that employee is a custodian or one of the vice presidents.

Matthew Randall, Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania

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# Gwenn 2012-02-22 11:13

Several years ago I was interviewing candidates for an administrative assistant position. A young woman was chosen who seemed very excited about the position, even asking about doing additional tasks that were above and beyond the job description.

When her scheduled first day arrived she didn't show. I tried to call her several times throughout the day; no answer. I sent e-mails; no response. I thought for sure that some family or medical emergency had kept her from reporting for work. Eventually I accepted the fact that she simply did not want the job but did not have the guts (or manners) to say so.

In discussing this with friends and colleagues, I learned that they had had similar experiences. Perhaps this is something we need to teach our young people as they begin their careers.

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# Kevin 2012-02-22 11:14

I am typing this at work while listening to your program. (I won’t say where I work but it is now in IT.)

Until I got this job I worked in factories. The workers couldn’t be on their cell phones, they didn’t have computers, they couldn’t read newspapers and it was too loud to comfortably chat with co-workers.

Now in this quiet environment I have co-workers that spend hours on the phone, sitting in each other areas chatting, reading magazines, books and newspapers, checking cell phones for twitter or facebook, playing games even in meetings.

These are people older than me, in their 50s-60s. The only people that have been fired were people mis-using computers with the internet or email, the ones that could be caught
.
How is that for a double standard?

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# Matthew 2012-02-22 14:30

Kevin,
How frustrating it is to see other employees – at any age – wasting company time with frivolous activities. Not only does this lost productivity impact an organization, it can also be demoralizing to the other high-performing workers (like yourself) who do put a honest day’s work. Sooner or later, someone will realize that these idle co-workers are not adding much value to the organization. From my experience, these low performers are usually the first ones to be let go when an organization faces tough times.

Matthew Randall, Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania

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# Sam 2012-02-22 11:15

I work in an office environment where workers read their newspapers, do the crosswords and trivia, and read books throughout the day. The workers are all ages. No one offers to do more work but get by on what little they can do. I think we are in the age of apathy at the workplace.

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# Kevin 2012-02-22 11:16

While it may be considered "unprofessional" to have a smart phone at work, using social media apps, trying to use Facebook while at lunch, etc...that mindset is from the CIOs and 50 somethings in charge. When my generation and theirs become the CIOs and CEOs..the workplace, and the environment that is considered professional will change….

I know people in their 30s now who have TURNED DOWN jobs because they were told they cant have their smartphone on at their desk and wont be allowed to browse twitter or Facebook during down times and that IM software is not allowed. This is the new trend and we wont re-educate the youth to conform to a dying workplace...we will re define the workplace. Look at companies like Google and others and what their execs look like and their habits.

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# Matthew 2012-02-22 14:50

Kevin,
Certainly having a smart phone at work or using Facebook for personal reasons during lunch doesn’t make someone unprofessional. Cell phones and social media are a part of our lives. The Internet has become a critical business tool.

However, when an employee consistently uses company time to conduct personal matters or uses the Internet to waste time and avoid work assignments…the n there is an issue.

Matthew Randall, Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania

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# John 2012-02-22 15:40

An employer doesn't deserve 'professionalism ' from their employees unless they treat the employees well. In an environment where you can be laid off at any time to increase bonuses for executives, asked to do more with fewer people each year, see the real compensation (after inflation) fall over the years, etc. why should anyone treat the employer well?

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