Pandemic has changed how people view professionalism

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.”

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Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.