Pandemic has changed how people view professionalism
UC professor encourages workers to find their comfort level when deciding what to share
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted workplaces and changed how people view professionalism in the workforce, a University of Cincinnati professor said.
Nadia Ibrahim-Taney
Nadia Ibrahim-Taney, whose research focuses on workplace professionalism, told Molly Longman one of the benefits of the pandemic was it allowed people to open up more dialogue about their personal lives and even mental health.
“COVID has challenged our belief system about what ‘professionalism’ is and how it works in the modern workforce, given that many of us are working from home,” Ibrahim-Taney said. “It’s empowered people to think about how they show up — in general, and for other people — and to speak their own truths as employees.”
How much people share about themselves should depend on how confident, comfortable and safe they feel, Ibrahim-Taney said.
“Being your ‘authentic self’ at work is something you have to come to on your own terms,” she said. “Should I come out at work? Tell my colleagues I’m a mom? The answer to this has to do with whether you feel safe in doing so.”
Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Don't make it easy for thieves to steal your car
January 9, 2026
Professor Cory Habermann speaks to Spectrum News 1 on car theft.
Money matters
January 9, 2026
A Lindner-led team led by University of Cincinnati PhD candidate Sharmeen Merchant published “Gender Differences on Dual-Earners’ Money as Achievement Congruence and Needs-Supplies Fit" in the Journal of Business and Psychology. This research took an in-depth look at the psychological role money plays in households with two sources of income, and showed how a couple's alignment on financial needs impacts job fulfillment.
Removing Barriers to Higher Education
January 8, 2026
Cincinnati media covered the rollout of the Bearcat Affordability Grant which provdes a pathway to tuition-free college for students of famlies who make less than $75,000 per year and are residents of the state of Ohio.