From Alyssa Rorke, Andrew Chen, Bethany Frank, and Matt Tamayo
Image matters in the workplace. How you dress, how you interact, and how you handle changing environments and situations greatly affects the way in which you are perceived by your peers, your superiors, and your existing and potential clients. A survey done by OfficeTeam[1] , Menlo Park, California, of nearly 1,000 professionally employed men and women found that 46 percent believe that how a person dresses "significantly" affects his or her professional image, while 35 percent believed it affected professional image "somewhat."
Overview
When subscribing to an organization an individual must express the descriptive model for it's members
Professional image construction is the process by which an individual evaluates and profiles their competence and capability. [2] This is done through observing one’s personal and social identity, and attempting to mold one's individuality within the descriptive model of the social identity of an organization. [3]
Four general perspectives on identity/image are presented below: each of these describe a relationship that motivates the construction and revision of image: • Affinity-identity: is attempting to exude the popular/accepted traits of the group within which an individual desires to gain acceptance. • Institution-identity: trying to imitate a description by a precise organization. • Discourse-identity: trying to show understanding of the desired groups philosophies and interactions in the environment. • Natural-identity: allowing ones innate reasoning/behavioral qualities and physicality while still fitting the organizations “image”.[4] Each of these describe a relationship that motivates the construction and revision of professional image. The entirety of perceptions of one’s competence and character held by clients’, bosses’, superiors’, subordinates’, and colleagues’ is how a professional image is explicitly formed: explicitly how an individual employee believes their peers recognize their public identity.[5] It is not simply how an individual projects his/her personal identity characteristics.[6] Most people attribute relationships with generally undervalued factions, for example minority groups,incongruous and potentially detrimental characteristics; it forces individual cultures, principles, and ethics to modify themselves to fit the larger professional model.[7] Removing the stereotypes of looked-for and common supposed professional images is the essential part of forming one's professional image in an organizational profession. [8] Social identity, the identity that is perceived by others, is part of an individual’s self-concept, which perpetuates a cycle. Self-concepts are derived by positive criticisms, and by familiarity of connection between social groups which create the professional image. Various organizations are composed of different intensities of morals and sentiments and it is pertinent to that groups belonging that employees achieve and balance that image in congruence with their own.
Even though this video pokes fun, it illustrates that the values of an organization help to define the organizations goals, legitimacy, and image. As an invested employee of that organizational dynamic individuals must exude those values to an extent within themselves.
Workplace Attire
A professional image can have major impacts on one's success, failures and interactions in the workplace. People are judged and characterized by how others perceive them, and those with more positive identities could possibly reap more professional benefits than those associated with negative images in the workplace. The way one dresses is a crucial component in success in the workplace.
The way someone dresses is one of the first nonverbal clues he gives about his personality. A recent survey found that 41% of employers stated that an employee who was dressed professionally was more likely to be promoted, and the number jumps to 55% of employers in certain industries such as financial services [9] . Well dressed employees are believed to make better impressions with colleagues, coworkers, supervisors, customers and clients [10] .
Dress code is a complicated component of professional image. "People-friendly" companies tend to implement more casual and relaxed dress codes [11] . Some business students view traditional business attire as a form of conformity, but they acknowledge the importance of such attire in business settings [12] Studies suggest that positive business characteristics can be correlated to a more relaxed, business casual dress code[13] ; William McPhearson of Indiana University of Pennsylvania reports that some companies state that casual dress codes boost morale, increase productivity and foster more open communication in work environments [14] . However, clothing that is too revealing or otherwise inappropriate for a professional setting could have adverse effects on one's success
General guidelines for proper attire in the workplace are: Men: -a classic and understated look -slacks -simple-colored button down shirts -neutral colored shoes AVOID: -prints or bright colors -boots and buckled shoes -bright or heavily printed ties -wrinkled clothing
Women: -a conservative and professional look -neutral-colored blouses -moderate length skirts -suits -low heels -conservative jewelry AVOID: -revealing clothing -bright colors -very high heels -contrasting colors [16]
CitiBank Example
Debrahlee Lorenzana was fired from Citi Bank in 2010 for “dressing too sexy”
Notions and ideals of an appropriate professional image in an organizational setting has become a salient issue in recent months. Debrahlee Lorenzana was fired from Citi Bank in June of 2010 for “dressing too sexy”, according to her co-workers. Her story captured the nation's interest as the question was posed: what is appropriate business attire for men and women respectively? Lorenzana was told prior to her lay-off that she had to wear specific articles of clothing during her time at the office or she would be fired. Lorenzana refuted these demands by explaining that she was raised in a manner that taught women, girls and young ladies to “dress up”; and that she came to work with as professional an appearance as anyone else in the office. She proclaimed upon her firing that her termination was because she herself was “too sexy”, and not because of her attire at all, and proceeded to file a law suit against Citi Bank. This case leads to many issues, explicitly to the ideals of professional image and identity management in organizational, cultural, and routine organizational dynamics; and whether an individual must compensate and dress differently then another individual to meet the accepted definition of professional at any given organization. Impressions aside, the facts are that the occupation Lorenzana chose for employment and applied to be part of set strict guidelines for all codes of conduct: including an appropriate social demeanor, attire befitting the company's values, and business communication skills. Each organization has its own particular culture, values, and ideals of image and discourse. When Lorenzana ignored the initial warning of her conduct, she explicitly crossed the particular line of Citi Bank’s organizational culture, thus subjecting herself to the penalties for breaking those values. To be a devoted member of an organizational culture one must be willing to adopt the dynamics of the organization’s image, abandon ones prior values, and/or adapt to the companies image including but not limited to its values.
Workplace Interactions
Employees often have to manage their interactions with everyone they work with in order to get along. Whether it’s a boss, a supervisor, a fellow coworker or someone that they don’t necessarily get along with, it’s important to interact pleasantly, effectively, and appropriately. Today’s employees are required to be proactive and productive, and much of that comes with how you interact.
Knowing Your Place
Interacting with coworkers in a respectful and productive manner can be a daunting task. Cengage Learning overviews main points to keep in mind when interacting with coworkers:[17]
Be a “strong” listener. Your fellow employees will be interested involving relation- in your ideas when you show genuine interest in their ideas—it’s a ships between two-way street.
Check your body language. A smiling face and open posture con- vey interest, while crossed arms and a frown send negative signals. Lean forward and make eye contact as often as possible.
Use “I” language. Using the word “you” to point out problems puts people on the defensive. Instead of saying, “You made me feel like a fool when you pointed out my mistake,” try saying, “I was embarrassed when my mistake was pointed out in that way.”
Validate the other person’s ideas. Show others that you under- stand and respect what they’re saying. For example, try restating what you’ve just been told: “It seems that answering the telephone is taking too much of your time.” Validation helps minimize con- flict and encourages others to be more receptive to what you have to say.
Use the same medium. Communicate in the medium favored by the other person. If a coworker prefers to e-mail you, e-mail them. If a coworker prefers to use the phone, call them.
Be mindful of what you put in writing. It’s important to remem- ber that written communication is permanent—you can’t take it back! Whether you’re writing a fax, e-mail, memo, or letter, make sure your tone is friendly and professional.
Avoid using profanity and derogatory terms. It should go with- out saying, but some people forget that using offensive language is the quickest way to turn someone off. Many businesses have spe- cific policies against using offensive language in the workplace.
Increased Productivity
Rees et all. (2003)[18] showed that individual productivity is also affected by the average productivity of co-workers who do not belong to the same compensation-tied group. The study goes in depth into conclusions that information transmission and learning from co-workers how to best perform their tasks leads to behavioral peer interactions at work. Not only does getting along with other coworkers create a healthy work environment, it is also necessary for a productive one as well.
Nonverbal Interactions
Just as important as verbal communication, nonverbal interaction, or the expression of messages through facial expressions, gestures and body language, is essential to successful relationships within the workplace. Eye contact, posture, voice speed are all examples of nonverbal communication.
"About 65-75% of all communication is nonverbal in nature," says Susanne Jones, associate professor of communication studies at the University of Minnesota[19] . Nonverbal cues can give us information to make sense of how others feel about us, and how we feel about others. In Jones' article, she emphasizes the importance of eye contact within the workplace in terms of how we express emotions and respect. Behaviors such as gesturing or fidgeting express nervousness, while speaking loudly and quickly expresses aggression - both of which should be avoided during most job interactions.
The following video is a great display of nonverbal interaction, and how much can be said without words.
Adaptability
Joining a new work environment requires the new member of the organization to adapt to the certain ways it is run, and how they are expected to perform and integrate smoothly into the foreign environment. Two major factors of workplace adaptability are performance requirements and assimilation into the culture of the organization.
Performance There are eight dimensions of adaptive performance:
1. Handling emergencies or crisis situations 2. Handling work stress 3. Solving problems creatively 4. Dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations 5. Learning work tasks, technologies, and procedures 6. Demonstrating interpersonal adaptability 7. Demonstrating cultural adaptability 8. Demonstrating physically orientated adaptability
Culture There are several cultural demands when entering a new work environment. In addition to adapting to performance expectations, one must emerge themselves into a new environment that may be very different from the previous place of work. Goals and values: formal rules and principles as well as unwritten, informal goals and values that govern behavior Language: acronyms, slang, jargon unique to the organization or culture History: traditions, customs, myths, rituals Politics: formal and informal relationships and power structures within the culture
Development of a Model of Adaptive Performance: A Study In a study performed by Elaine D. Pulakos and Sharon Arad of Personnel Decisions Research Institutes, Michelle A. Donovan of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Kevin E. Plamondon of Michigan State University, a goal was sought to develop a taxonomy of adaptive job performance and examine the implications of this taxonomy for understanding, predicting, and training adaptive behavior in work setting. Over 1,000 critical incidents from 21 different jobs were content analyzed to identify an 8-dimension taxonomy of adaptive performance (described above). The jobs included were specifically selected to represent a wide variety of different job types, including service jobs technical jobs, support jobs, law enforcement jobs, and several different types of military jobs, as well as supervisory and managerial jobs. A total of 9,462 incidents were reviewed from the 21 jobs. The incidents contained examples of demanding or challenging situations employees encountered on their jobs, as well as a description of the actions taken to deal with these situations and the resulting outcomes. Of the 9,462 incidents examined, just 1,311 were judged to require some type of adaptation. It wasn't until after the analysis of this data that 2 dimensions of performance adaptability were added to the original six: Handling work stress and Handling emergencies or crisis situations.
Eliot, Matt, Jennifer Turns, and Kejun Xu. "Engineering Students' External and Internal Frames of Reference for the Construction of Professional Identity." Web. 15 Dec. 2010.
"Provisional Selves: Experimenting With Image and Identity in Professional Adaptation - HBS Working Knowledge." HBS Working Knowledge - Faculty Research at Harvard Business School. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. .
^Eliot, Matt, Jennifer Turns, and Kejun Xu. "Engineering Students' External and Internal Frames of Reference for the Construction of Professional Identity." Web. 15 Dec. 2010.
^Jeffrey Hill, E., Joseph Grzywacz, Sarah Allen, Victoria Blanchard, Christina Matz-Costa, Sandee Shulkin, and Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes. "Defining and Conceptualizing Workplace Flexibility." Community, Work & Family 11.2 (2008): 149-63. Print.
^Pulakos, Elaine D., Sharon Arad, Michelle A. Donovan, and Kevin E. Plamondon. "Adaptability in the Workplace: Development of a Taxonomy of Adaptive Performance." Journal of Applied Psychology 85.4 (2000): 612-24. Print.
McPherson, William. "'Dressing Down' in the Business Communication Curriculum". Business Communication Quarterly 60.1 (1997). Web. 18 Dec 2010.
^ Burgess-Wilkerson, Barbara, Boyd Thomas, Jane. "Lessons from Ugly Betty: Business Attire as a Conformity Strategy. Business Communication Quarterly 72.3 (2009). Web. 19 Dec 2010.
^ Cardon, Peter, Okora, Ephraim. "Professional Characteristics Communicated by Formal Verses Casual Workplace Attire". Business Communication Quarterly 72.3 (2009). Web. 18 Dec 2010.
^ McPherson, William. "'Dressing Down' in the Business Communication Curriculum". Business Communication Quarterly 60.1 (1997). Web. 18 Dec 2010.
Pulakos, Elaine D., Sharon Arad, Kevin E. Plamondon, and Michelle A. Donovan. "Adaptability in the Workplace: Development of a Taxonomy of Adaptive Performance." (2000): n. pag. Web. 20 Dec 2010.
Professional Image (Construction, Workplace Interactions, Adaptability)
Table of Contents
From Alyssa Rorke, Andrew Chen, Bethany Frank, and Matt Tamayo
Image matters in the workplace. How you dress, how you interact, and how you handle changing environments and situations greatly affects the way in which you are perceived by your peers, your superiors, and your existing and potential clients. A survey done by OfficeTeam[1] , Menlo Park, California, of nearly 1,000 professionally employed men and women found that 46 percent believe that how a person dresses "significantly" affects his or her professional image, while 35 percent believed it affected professional image "somewhat."
Overview
Professional image construction is the process by which an individual evaluates and profiles their competence and capability. [2] This is done through observing one’s personal and social identity, and attempting to mold one's individuality within the descriptive model of the social identity of an organization. [3]
Four general perspectives on identity/image are presented below:
each of these describe a relationship that motivates the construction and revision of image:
• Affinity-identity: is attempting to exude the popular/accepted traits of the group within which an individual desires to gain acceptance.
• Institution-identity: trying to imitate a description by a precise organization.
• Discourse-identity: trying to show understanding of the desired groups philosophies and interactions in the environment.
• Natural-identity: allowing ones innate reasoning/behavioral qualities and physicality while still fitting the organizations “image”.[4]
Each of these describe a relationship that motivates the construction and revision of professional image. The entirety of perceptions of one’s competence and character held by clients’, bosses’, superiors’, subordinates’, and colleagues’ is how a professional image is explicitly formed: explicitly how an individual employee believes their peers recognize their public identity.[5] It is not simply how an individual projects his/her personal identity characteristics.[6] Most people attribute relationships with generally undervalued factions, for example minority groups,incongruous and potentially detrimental characteristics; it forces individual cultures, principles, and ethics to modify themselves to fit the larger professional model.[7] Removing the stereotypes of looked-for and common supposed professional images is the essential part of forming one's professional image in an organizational profession. [8] Social identity, the identity that is perceived by others, is part of an individual’s self-concept, which perpetuates a cycle. Self-concepts are derived by positive criticisms, and by familiarity of connection between social groups which create the professional image. Various organizations are composed of different intensities of morals and sentiments and it is pertinent to that groups belonging that employees achieve and balance that image in congruence with their own.
Even though this video pokes fun, it illustrates that the values of an organization help to define the organizations goals, legitimacy, and image. As an invested employee of that organizational dynamic individuals must exude those values to an extent within themselves.
Workplace Attire
A professional image can have major impacts on one's success, failures and interactions in the workplace. People are judged and characterized by how others perceive them, and those with more positive identities could possibly reap more professional benefits than those associated with negative images in the workplace. The way one dresses is a crucial component in success in the workplace.
The way someone dresses is one of the first nonverbal clues he gives about his personality. A recent survey found that 41% of employers stated that an employee who was dressed professionally was more likely to be promoted, and the number jumps to 55% of employers in certain industries such as financial services [9] . Well dressed employees are believed to make better impressions with colleagues, coworkers, supervisors, customers and clients [10] .
Dress code is a complicated component of professional image. "People-friendly" companies tend to implement more casual and relaxed dress codes [11] . Some business students view traditional business attire as a form of conformity, but they acknowledge the importance of such attire in business settings [12] Studies suggest that positive business characteristics can be correlated to a more relaxed, business casual dress code[13] ; William McPhearson of Indiana University of Pennsylvania reports that some companies state that casual dress codes boost morale, increase productivity and foster more open communication in work environments [14] . However, clothing that is too revealing or otherwise inappropriate for a professional setting could have adverse effects on one's success
[15]
.
General guidelines for proper attire in the workplace are:
Men:
-a classic and understated look
-slacks
-simple-colored button down shirts
-neutral colored shoes
AVOID:
-prints or bright colors
-boots and buckled shoes
-bright or heavily printed ties
-wrinkled clothing
Women:
-a conservative and professional look
-neutral-colored blouses
-moderate length skirts
-suits
-low heels
-conservative jewelry
AVOID:
-revealing clothing
-bright colors
-very high heels
-contrasting colors
[16]
CitiBank Example
Workplace Interactions
Employees often have to manage their interactions with everyone they work with in order to get along. Whether it’s a boss, a supervisor, a fellow coworker or someone that they don’t necessarily get along with, it’s important to interact pleasantly, effectively, and appropriately. Today’s employees are required to be proactive and productive, and much of that comes with how you interact.
Knowing Your Place
Interacting with coworkers in a respectful and productive manner can be a daunting task. Cengage Learning overviews main points to keep in mind when interacting with coworkers:[17]Increased Productivity
Rees et all. (2003)[18] showed that individual productivity is also affected by the average productivity of co-workers who do not belong to the same compensation-tied group. The study goes in depth into conclusions that information transmission and learning from co-workers how to best perform their tasks leads to behavioral peer interactions at work. Not only does getting along with other coworkers create a healthy work environment, it is also necessary for a productive one as well.Nonverbal Interactions
Just as important as verbal communication, nonverbal interaction, or the expression of messages through facial expressions, gestures and body language, is essential to successful relationships within the workplace. Eye contact, posture, voice speed are all examples of nonverbal communication."About 65-75% of all communication is nonverbal in nature," says Susanne Jones, associate professor of communication studies at the University of Minnesota[19] . Nonverbal cues can give us information to make sense of how others feel about us, and how we feel about others. In Jones' article, she emphasizes the importance of eye contact within the workplace in terms of how we express emotions and respect. Behaviors such as gesturing or fidgeting express nervousness, while speaking loudly and quickly expresses aggression - both of which should be avoided during most job interactions.
The following video is a great display of nonverbal interaction, and how much can be said without words.
Adaptability
Joining a new work environment requires the new member of the organization to adapt to the certain ways it is run, and how they are expected to perform and integrate smoothly into the foreign environment. Two major factors of workplace adaptability are performance requirements and assimilation into the culture of the organization.
Performance
There are eight dimensions of adaptive performance:
1. Handling emergencies or crisis situations
2. Handling work stress
3. Solving problems creatively
4. Dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations
5. Learning work tasks, technologies, and procedures
6. Demonstrating interpersonal adaptability
7. Demonstrating cultural adaptability
8. Demonstrating physically orientated adaptability
Culture
There are several cultural demands when entering a new work environment. In addition to adapting to performance expectations, one must emerge themselves into a new environment that may be very different from the previous place of work.
Goals and values: formal rules and principles as well as unwritten, informal goals and values that govern behavior
Language: acronyms, slang, jargon unique to the organization or culture
History: traditions, customs, myths, rituals
Politics: formal and informal relationships and power structures within the culture
Development of a Model of Adaptive Performance: A Study
In a study performed by Elaine D. Pulakos and Sharon Arad of Personnel Decisions Research Institutes, Michelle A. Donovan of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Kevin E. Plamondon of Michigan State University, a goal was sought to develop a taxonomy of adaptive job performance and examine the implications of this taxonomy for understanding, predicting, and training adaptive behavior in work setting. Over 1,000 critical incidents from 21 different jobs were content analyzed to identify an 8-dimension taxonomy of adaptive performance (described above). The jobs included were specifically selected to represent a wide variety of different job types, including service jobs technical jobs, support jobs, law enforcement jobs, and several different types of military jobs, as well as supervisory and managerial jobs. A total of 9,462 incidents were reviewed from the 21 jobs. The incidents contained examples of demanding or challenging situations employees encountered on their jobs, as well as a description of the actions taken to deal with these situations and the resulting outcomes. Of the 9,462 incidents examined, just 1,311 were judged to require some type of adaptation. It wasn't until after the analysis of this data that 2 dimensions of performance adaptability were added to the original six: Handling work stress and Handling emergencies or crisis situations.
The results of the study are shown in Table 2.
References
Dellinger, Kirsten. "Ingentaconnect Wearing Gender and Sexuality "On Your Sleeve": Dress Norms and Th..." Ingentaconnect Home. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. .
Eliot, Matt, Jennifer Turns, and Kejun Xu. "Engineering Students' External and Internal Frames of Reference for the Construction of Professional Identity." Web. 15 Dec. 2010.
"Provisional Selves: Experimenting With Image and Identity in Professional Adaptation - HBS Working Knowledge." HBS Working Knowledge - Faculty Research at Harvard Business School. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. .
Cardon, Peter, Okora, Ephraim. "Professional Characteristics Communicated by Formal Verses Casual Workplace Attire". Business Communication Quarterly 72.3 (2009). Web. 18 Dec 2010.
McPherson, William. "'Dressing Down' in the Business Communication Curriculum". Business Communication Quarterly 60.1 (1997). Web. 18 Dec 2010.
"The Office: Revealing Too Much". Video. Hulu. 18 Dec 2010.
Proper Business Attire and Etiquette: Presenting the complete package. tcbsolutions.net. Web. 19 Dec 2010.
http://www.swlearning.com/swepstuff/previews/files/communication/c2000/0538433035/ic_ch01.pdf
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/nonverbal-communication-workplace-interactions-844.html
Pulakos, Elaine D., Sharon Arad, Kevin E. Plamondon, and Michelle A. Donovan. "Adaptability in the Workplace: Development of a Taxonomy of Adaptive Performance." (2000): n. pag. Web. 20 Dec 2010.