Professionalism is a set of standards that an individual is expected to adhere to in a

workplace A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of the ...

, usually in order to appear serious, uniform, or respectful. What constitutes professionalism is hotly debated and varies from workplace to workplace and between

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

s. Professionalism is typically defined as a mix of

professional ethics Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals. The word professionalism originally applied to vows of a religious order. By no later than the year 1675, the term had seen secular appli ...

and dress code.

Definition

Common traits of a "professional" person include: * integrity * punctuality * reliability * organization skills *

emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional quotient (EQ), is the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. High emotional intelligence includes emotional recognition of emotions of the self and others, using ...

* appropriate dress

Changing attitudes

Having

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

s is considered taboo in some workplaces, but this has been changing in recent years. A

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

survey found that respondents who had tattoos were more likely to be employed than non-tattooed respondents, although the researchers cautioned that this result was correlative. In New Zealand, some businesses have dropped bans on traditional Māori tattoos. Hairstyles are also subject to professionalism requirements in many workplaces. In the United States, employers have banned natural hairstyles for

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

, resulting in a push for CROWN Act laws (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair).

References

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