inappropriate personal presentation in the workplace

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Consequences for bad professional appearance in the workplace.

Most workplaces have standards for employee dress, grooming and hygiene. An unprofessional appearance may not only violate your company's policies, but can have tangible and intangible effects on your performance. Maintaining professional etiquette and appearance are central to career development.

Dull Performance

Dressing down can affect your psychological approach to work. If you don't dress in a way that suits your profession, it's difficult to adopt a productive mentality. A car salesperson who shows up in jeans and a polo shirt, for instance, would likely have a harder time getting into professional sales mode compared to his colleagues in suit and ties.

Turning Off Customers

Organizations that deal face-to-face with clients and customers typically have higher dress standards for employees. If you look unprofessional, customers may take you less seriously, view you and your company in a negative light and may even complain. An under-dressed business-to-business sales rep could miss out on some sales by offending well-dressed buyers.

Trouble Ahead

If you violate your company's dress code policy, you could face consequences. A verbal or written warning is often the starting point. If you don't correct your appearance, you could face suspension, demotion, job reduction or even termination. Repeatedly bad dress that violates standards is typically viewed as insubordination. If you lose your job over poor dress, you likely won't get a favorable job referral.

Tense Employee Relations

Employees who follow the rules often don't appreciate it when you dress in a way that negatively reflects on the work group or team. Tension can be intensified if peers point out your unprofessional appearance and you react in anger. The impact from bad dress is especially significant in tight-knit groups where a professional image is critical.

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The importance of dressing professionally →.

Wearing a Blazer Vs. Wearing a Suit to a Job Interview →

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Adult Behavior Patterns in the Workplace →

What Are the Causes of Negative Workplace Relationships? →

Why Is Professionalism Important? →

• Undergraduate Research Community: The Effect of Casual Dress on Performance in the Workplace

Neil Kokemuller has been an active business, finance and education writer and content media website developer since 2007. He has been a college marketing professor since 2004. Kokemuller has additional professional experience in marketing, retail and small business. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University.

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Wellness Gaps

Why is Personal Presentation Important at Work?

By Ion Doaga

There are so many obstacles that stop an employee's growth within a company. And one of these obstacles is the employee's poor personal presentation.

Without a good personal presentation, an employee may never receive positive attention. But he will get enough negative attention. 

Without knowing him well, his coworkers make negative assumptions based on his appearance. They'll say things like "He is not professional", "He's a negative person", or He is a bad team player".

The truth is that they express their concern about his poor personal hygiene. They think that he doesn't want to make their life easier while working in the same team.

What if the employee would try to improve his presentation in the workplace? Would his coworkers consider his efforts to be in the team? Would all the negative perceptions about the employee disappear?

May ... but that's not the only benefit of having a good personal presentation at work.

See below which the benefits of aligning your appearance with the company’s standards .

What is a personal presentation at work?

A good personal presentation speaks about the employee as a responsible employee. That's a message that influences his coworkers, supervisors, and managers. 

Dressing, behaving and communicating  appropriately  leave a good first impression. 

It’s a way of telling everybody that you want to be helpful to their working environment rather than being a hurdle . 

The importance of personal hygiene in the workplace

Effects of inappropriate personal presentation in the workplace.

You heard the saying that you have only one chance to make a good impression on yourself. That’s especially important when you build relationships with coworkers or represent the company meeting clients face to face. Let’s imagine the following situations where Jerry is our hero:

• If, while meeting clients, Jerry dresses inappropriately it may result in lost opportunities and sales . Customers judge their service provider reps by their appearance too. They have a hard time trusting a  poorly dressed person.
• Jerry works in a beauty salon where clients come to make themselves beautiful. In this case, clients expect Jerry to have good personal hygiene and appearance. 
• Now, imagine that Jerry is a real estate broker.  In such a case, any poor sign on Jerry’s appearance takes the client's focus from what Jerry tells them about the features of the house . Every time the client is distracted from the employers' words, his chances to sell the house decreases .
• Now, Jerry arrives into the office looking like he rolled out of bed. He didn’t clean his teeth. He didn’t clean his nails, and his hair spikes due to unwashed hair. He just gave his coworkers a reason to be talked behind his back. In the eyes of management, sloppiness is a sign of disrespect for your job.

Which are the most important personal image standards at work?

1. be well-groomed.

To be well-groomed follow the below basic grooming tips: 

• use deodorant without excesses.
• maintain a clean hairstyle.
• trim your nails.
• shave your face. Or if you have a beard, maintain it regularly.
• wear clean and fresh clothes matching the style and color.
• avoid wearing excessive jewelry. 
• 14 Tips for Maintaining Employee Personal Hygiene at Work

2. Maintain a healthy image

Another element of personal presentation is a healthy physical appearance.

A healthy look speaks about practicing healthy habits, eating well, and exercising.

This keeps the employee energized and positive.

A healthy employee is more efficient and takes fewer sick leaves.

While on the other side, poor health speaks about an employee as having a weak character. That tells his boss or coworkers that if he can’t take care of his health then he can't take care of the company as well.

3. Maintain good hygiene 

• maintain a dental hygiene routine to avoid such hygiene issues such as bad breath, caries, teeth yellowing.  
• maintain good body hygiene to avoid releasing embarrassing odors and skin diseases. 
• wear clean and ironed clothes.
• wash your hands often to avoid the spreading of your microorganisms within the office.

4. Show a friendly attitude

Besides maintaining a good workplace personal hygiene and having a pleasant physical look, you must also behave professionally. This means treating your coworkers and clients with a positive and professional attitude:

• greet and welcome guests appropriately.
• use suitable language.
• show good and friendly manners.
• open doors for guests. 
• offer seats.
•  be confident and maintain good posture.
• be punctual.

Your presentation at work plays an important role in your career growth.

Maintaining a professional appearance helps your coworkers and your boss perceive you as a valuable employee in the company while your clients perceive you as a helpful and useful professional at their job.

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How to Give an Employee Feedback About Their Appearance

Don’t understate or sugarcoat your message.

Whether we like it or not, a person’s appearance often affects their success at work. When an employee looks unkempt or wears revealing clothing, they may have a harder time gaining their colleagues’ or customers’ respect. How can you frame the feedback as a way to help them while not making them feel self-conscious? Start by questioning your assumptions. Be thoughtful about any bias you might be bringing to the situation. And prepare for the conversation. Don’t understate or sugarcoat your message. Be direct and give concrete advice. For example, you might say “More tailored is better than too short or too tight.” Leave room in the discussion – by not doing all the talking – for the person to share what they might be going through. There may be something going on underneath. Follow up a few days after your conversation to see if the person has any questions. And when you notice changes, offer compliments.

Whether we like it or not, a person’s appearance affects their success at work. When an employee looks unkempt or wears revealing clothing, they may have a harder time gaining their colleagues’ or customers’ respect. But how do you broach what feels like a sensitive topic? And how can you frame the feedback as trying to help them — not make them feel self-conscious?

• Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, cohost of the Women at Work podcast , and the author of two books: Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict . She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics. Watch her TEDx talk on conflict and follow her on LinkedIn . amyegallo

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20 Personal Appearance Tips For The Modern Workplace

The way you look plays a significant role in your success.

"The problem with appearance is that it translates to performance,"  Nicole Williams, career expert at LinkedIn, tells Business Insider. "Even if your boss doesn't think that they're thinking any less of you, they will subconsciously think it."

"When you don't fit in, you're not as accepted and welcomed," says Williams. And at some point, this could hurt your chances of getting a promotion.

In today's workplace, where casual wear is becoming increasingly popular, it can be tricky to understand the rules of appearance. We talked to career and etiquette experts  to get a better idea. Below are 20 rules every professional should follow:

1. Understand what’s appropriate in your industry.

"Everyone draws their lines differently," says etiquette coach Barbara Pachter . "For example, you may be able to wear shorts, but not cutoffs. If your company has a dress code, follow it."

2. Make sure your clothes fit.

"If your clothes are too big or too small, they are not going to look good. Ensuring a proper fit applies to everything you are wearing," says Pachter, and that includes clothing, shoes, and accessories. "One interviewer said he was distracted by a man’s short tie."

3. Don't be too sexy.

Not only is wearing inappropriate clothing distracting, it can also give off an inaccurate impression. Avoid too-short hemlines, too-tall heels, plunging necklines, and exposed under garments. 

"A lot of women are oversexualized in the office," says Williams. "You can wear a V-neck shirt, but make sure you keep your legs covered. People end up discrediting themselves by looking too provocative."

Pachter agrees: "What do you want to be remembered for? What you wore or what you said?"

4. Wear glasses that fit.

Make sure your glasses fit properly and aren't sliding down your nose. You don't want to be playing with them all the time, says Pachter.  "This becomes distracting."

5. Dry your hair.

Never leave your house with wet hair, warns Williams. It makes you look like you don't have your life together, which translates to not having your career together.

6. Pay attention to your bag.

You don't want your personal things jutting out of your purse or briefcase . Keep your bag clean on the inside, especially if it doesn't have a zipper, which allows others to catch a glimpse inside from time to time.

Williams also advises professionals not to wear knapsacks because it looks " too collegiate."

7. Don't wear strong perfume.

"Anything that anyone else can smell is not good," says Williams. To get an idea of whether someone can smell you or not, ask someone you trust.

8. Wearing nude pantyhose is hip.

Ever since Kate Middleton started wearing pantyhose in public, it quickly became stylish again. "It gives you a more finished look," says Pachter.

9. Wear well-kept, polished shoes.

"One recruiter told me the first thing he notices about a candidate is his or her shoes," says Pachter. "Make sure your shoes are polished and in good condition."

10. Avoid ankle socks with slacks.

When you cross your legs and the pants slightly lift up, no skin should be showing, says Pachter. Your socks need to be an appropriate length.

11. Get regular pedicures.

Williams tells us one of her biggest pet peeves is when women wear open-toed shoes without getting pedicures.  "If you're going to show your toes, make sure your toes are well-groomed," she says.

12. Don't over-accessorize.

Accessories are meant to complement your outfit, not overpower it. "I once met a woman who had a ring on every finger," Pachter tells us. "You couldn't look at anything else."

13. Your jewelry shouldn't make noise.

It's really distracting when someone's dangly bangles make noises when they move their arms, says Williams.

14. Pay attention to your watch.

"When I ask the participants in my etiquette classes to name the one accessory that they notice most on both men and women, the watch is the most common answer," says Pachter.

15. Facial hair shouldn't overwhelm your face.

No matter how much you want to grow a full, bushy beard, it just might not work for you. Think about it like a haircut — not every cut is going to look good on every person, says  Adam P. Causgrove, CEO of  The American Mustache Institute . 

How do you know what style will look good on you? Determine what kind of face shape and features you have. Then find others with similar features who are already sporting mustaches and beards, and experiment with their cut and style.

16. Grow facial hair on a weekend or vacation.

You want to look like you've grown hair on purpose instead of just being lazy and not shaving, says Causgrove.

Williams advises using a weekend or vacation time to grow beards out, because "spotty beards make men look like 18-year-olds."

17. Trim your beard.

Facial hair needs to be kept trim and tidy to maintain a professional look. Causgrove advises doing some research on the proper device. Electric razors can be good for short, trimmed beards, and scissors are better for mustaches, he says.

18. A goatee is rarely a good idea.

Any hair that's under your lower lip that isn't a beard is not a good idea, says Pachter. "Do you want to be the only person [with it]? It may work for you, it may work against you, but you need to make that decision for yourself," she warns.

19. Wear rich colors to portray authority.

"Pay attention to your color choices," says Pachter. "Darker colors usually convey a stronger impression than lighter ones." If you're giving a presentation, make sure the color you're wearing doesn't blend in with the background behind you.

20. Avoid neon colors and overly flashy clothes.

"Both men and women have to be cautious with bright colors," Patcher says. Clothes that are too flashy can be distracting and the visual equivalent of shouting.

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Locker room talk… in the office? Ask HR

Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest HR professional society.

The questions are submitted by readers, and Taylor's answers below have been edited for length and clarity.

Have a question?  Do you have an HR or work-related question you’d like me to answer?  Submit it here .

Question: My boss and co-worker have inappropriate conversations at work about everything, including sex-related topics. The three of us work in a small space, so it's hard to ignore, nor do they try to hide it. I don't participate or show any interest, but that hasn't helped. I have plenty of specific complaints, but it's just me against them. I'm also concerned that I won’t remain anonymous. What can I honestly expect HR to do if I get up the courage to report them? – Anonymous

Johnny C. Taylor Jr.:  I understand that voicing your concerns in this situation will take some courage, but I believe the effort is worth it. No one should be subject to a pattern of inappropriate, uncomfortable work conversations. But ignoring it rarely helps.

Before you go to HR, let me suggest another path. Try talking with your co-worker and your boss first, one at a time or together. You could explain, without appearing judgmental, that in your small environment, their conversations make you uncomfortable, and you’d like them to refrain when you are nearby. In many instances, this works and your colleagues become more discrete and respectful of you and the workplace.

But if a direct co-worker conversation doesn’t work, you may need to go to a superior uninvolved in the conversations, or to human resources. Be sure to follow your organization’s complaint or grievance procedures. Keep in mind that every organization has its own standards for professional behavior. You’ll find these policies in employee handbooks and union contracts under headings like Business Conduct, Professional Conduct, Employee Conduct, Work Rules, Codes of Ethics, etc. Every employee, including supervisors, can be held accountable to these policies.

Body odor: When your workplace literally stinks: Ask HR

Too chatty: Help! My co-worker won’t stop talking: Ask HR

I suspect that the problem will be resolved before you find yourself in HR’s office, but once there, you should know that that anonymity is rarely possible when certain complaints are made known. But you can expect that a thorough, good faith investigation will be conducted.

Q : We need to hire a Spanish-speaker, and we have received many applications from DACA recipients. What are the rules regarding these candidates? Can we hire any of them? – Anonymous

Taylor : The answer is yes, you can, so long as their work authorization documentation is current.

DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the federal policy that allows qualified individuals who came to the U.S. as undocumented children to apply for a renewable work permit and defer any deportation action for two years. They are required to complete a form I-9 like any other new employee. 

DACA recipients are issued an employment work authorization document, which makes them eligible to work until the authorization expires. When it does, the employer can ask the employee to renew his or her status, just like any other employee with an EAD.

The future of the DACA program is uncertain; but for now, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is accepting applications for DACA renewals, although it is not honoring new requests to participate in the program.

A number of DACA cases are awaiting their turn before the Supreme Court in 2020 , and their outcome will determine the future of the DACA program and its recipients. If the program is terminated, the government will provide guidance for employers on how to deal with employees covered under the program.

Remember, though, employers should not ask applicants about their specific work authorizations before a contingent offer of employment is made to avoid any claims of discrimination.

Professional Appearance and Grooming for the Workplace

Proper grooming and professional appearance are important to gain not just positive impression but also respect in the workplace. First impressions matter and the way you look and carry yourself create impact on people you get along with in the work setting. Proper grooming and professional appearance is important to both men and women. Lack of these may lead to poor image and may interfere with your chance of getting good impression and positive feedbacks from your workmates and superiors.

Professional Standards in the Workplace

In today’s competitive and modern business world, it is highly essential to adhere with professional appearance and grooming for the workplace. If you have the desire to look your best at all times in social and professional settings, you need to keep in mind the following basic guidelines for good grooming in the workplace:

1. Wear business suits in basic colors. 2. Always be neat and clean including your teeth, fingernails, face, hair and even your shoes. 3. Keep your pockets empty and as much as possible avoid tinkling coins or keys and bulges. 4. Avoid eating candies, smoking cigarettes and chewing gum when you are inside the office. 5. Use portfolio case or light briefcase when carrying important documents with you instead of compiling these documents in folders and carrying these between your armpits. 6. As much as possible get rid of tattoos and body piercings for these will just make you look untidy and unprofessional. 7. Wear light perfume and cologne and minimize using lots of jewelries.

It is also highly important to maintain professional appearance and image at all times. Proper grooming and professional appearance can certainly make you stand out and be ahead of the competition. You can achieve these by following these helpful tips:

Make Sure To Wear Clean And Presentable Clothes

Have separate clothes for hanging out and going to the office. It seems to be unprofessional if you wear clothes with holes and stains in the workplace. Wear the cleanest and most presentable outfit when going to work for this will surely help you look your best. However, you need to still comply with the dress code set by your company.

Invest on Iron and Dry Cleaner There are some clothes that require pressing or special care by a reliable dry cleaner. Pants and other clothing look better when they are professionally pressed.

Dressed Conservatively If you wanted to establish a credible and respectful image, you need to dress conservatively in the office. In the case of women, they are advised to avoid using clothes that are revealing. Clothes must be in proper fit and length to ensure confidence and comfort upon wearing.

These are just few of the many ways on how you can achieve ideal professional appearance and grooming for the workplace. Individuals also have to note that personal hygiene must be practiced in the workplace and not just at home. Professional appearance can further be enhanced by reporting to work early, wearing the best smile often and displaying positive attitude.

Written by Lina Dubois • July 30, 2023 • 8:06 pm • HR, Benefits, & Workplace Culture

Addressing Inappropriate Work Behavior: Best Practices Guide

In today’s dynamic workplace, fostering a healthy and productive environment is paramount for any organization’s success. However, addressing inappropriate work behavior can be a delicate and challenging task.

Whether it’s conflicts between colleagues, unprofessional conduct, or any form of harassment, handling such situations with finesse is essential to maintaining a positive workplace culture.

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the best practices for addressing inappropriate work behavior effectively, promoting a harmonious work atmosphere where employees can thrive.

Understanding Before Addressing Inappropriate Work Behavior

Before we dive into the best practices, let’s clarify what constitutes inappropriate work behavior. It encompasses a wide range of actions, including verbal abuse, bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, and even subtle actions that create a hostile work environment. Identifying and acknowledging such behavior is crucial for creating a safe space for all employees.

Here’s a comparison table to highlight the key differences between appropriate and inappropriate behavior in the workplace:

The Impact of Inappropriate Work Behavior

Inappropriate work behavior can have far-reaching consequences, affecting not only the target but also the entire organization.

It can lead to decreased employee morale, increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and higher turnover rates. Moreover, it tarnishes the company’s reputation and may result in legal implications.

1. Decreased Employee Morale and Engagement

Inappropriate work behavior can take a toll on employee morale and engagement. When employees witness or experience such behavior, they may feel demotivated, disheartened, and disconnected from their work.

A toxic work environment hampers creativity and enthusiasm, leading to a decline in productivity and overall performance.

2. Increased Absenteeism and Reduced Productivity

Employees who are subjected to inappropriate behavior may feel the need to distance themselves from the workplace to cope with the stress and anxiety caused by such incidents.

This often results in increased absenteeism, as employees may take sick leaves or vacation days to avoid confrontations or uncomfortable situations. Consequently, reduced productivity becomes evident, as absenteeism disrupts workflow and team dynamics.

3. Higher Turnover Rates

In a work environment where inappropriate behavior is prevalent, employees may become dissatisfied and disillusioned with their jobs. The lack of support and respect may lead them to seek employment elsewhere, resulting in higher turnover rates for the organization.

High turnover not only incurs recruitment and training costs but also affects team stability and continuity.

4. Damage to Organizational Reputation

News of inappropriate work behavior can spread quickly, either within the company or externally through word-of-mouth and social media.

A tarnished reputation can make it challenging for the organization to attract top talent, form partnerships, or retain clients. Clients and customers are more likely to align themselves with companies that demonstrate ethical conduct and a commitment to a respectful work environment.

5. Legal Implications and Lawsuits

In severe cases, inappropriate work behavior may result in legal consequences for the organization. Harassment, discrimination, and other forms of misconduct can lead to costly lawsuits and damage the company’s financial standing and brand image.

Compliance with labor laws and regulations is vital, and failing to address inappropriate behavior can lead to legal liabilities that may be challenging to overcome.

Recognizing the Signs Help Addressing Inappropriate Work Behavior

Identifying inappropriate work behavior is the first step in addressing it. Look out for patterns of behavior that make employees uncomfortable or create a tense atmosphere.

Keep an eye on sudden changes in performance, increased conflicts, or excessive complaints. Open communication with employees and active listening can help uncover underlying issues that need to be addressed.

Best Practices for Addressing Inappropriate Work Behavior

1. establish a clear code of conduct.

Promote a culture of respect and professionalism by developing a comprehensive code of conduct. This document should outline acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in the workplace. Ensure that all employees read and understand the code, and make it easily accessible to everyone. Reinforce the importance of adherence to these guidelines regularly.

2. Provide Training and Workshops

Investing in training and workshops on diversity, inclusion, and respectful communication can be invaluable. These programs not only educate employees on appropriate behavior but also create awareness about unconscious biases and stereotypes. Employees can gain a deeper understanding of the impact of their actions and words on their colleagues. Or you can use some of the smart hiring strategies from the begining to find the right person for your organization.

3. Encourage Reporting Mechanisms

Create a safe and confidential reporting system for employees to express their concerns about inappropriate work behavior. Assure them that their complaints will be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly, and kept confidential. This will empower employees to come forward without fear of retaliation.

4. Address Complaints Promptly

Act swiftly when a complaint is received. Investigate the matter impartially, gathering evidence and interviewing relevant parties. Avoid making assumptions and ensure that everyone involved has a chance to present their perspective. Address the issue with sensitivity and take appropriate disciplinary actions if necessary.

5. Promote Mediation and Conflict Resolution

Encourage mediation as a means of resolving conflicts between employees. Mediation allows the parties involved to engage in open dialogue, facilitated by a neutral mediator, with the goal of finding a resolution that satisfies both parties. This approach can foster understanding and rebuild relationships.

6. Lead by Example

Leaders and managers play a crucial role in shaping workplace culture. They must exemplify the behavior expected of employees. By leading with integrity, empathy, and respect, they set the tone for the entire organization. Leaders should also be approachable, so employees feel comfortable discussing their concerns.

FAQs: Answers to Common Questions About Addressing Inappropriate Work Behavior

1. how can i encourage bystander intervention in case of inappropriate work behavior.

Encouraging bystander intervention involves fostering a culture of responsibility and support. Train employees to recognize and address inappropriate behavior when they witness it. Provide clear guidelines on reporting procedures and emphasize the importance of everyone’s role in maintaining a safe work environment. Reward employees who intervene appropriately, reinforcing the message that taking a stand against misconduct is valued and appreciated.

2. What steps should HR take for addressing inappropriate work behavior and protect employees who report incidents of misconduct?

To protect employees who report incidents of misconduct, HR departments should implement strict confidentiality measures. Also assure the reporting individuals that their identities will be kept confidential to prevent any potential retaliation. Establish anonymous reporting channels and conduct thorough investigations to maintain trust in the reporting process. Additionally, educate employees about the company’s non-retaliation policy and ensure it is strictly enforced.

3. Is it possible to rehabilitate employees who have engaged in inappropriate behavior?

Yes, it is possible to rehabilitate employees who have engaged in inappropriate behavior. Rehabilitation requires a structured approach that includes counseling, additional training, and clear expectations for behavioral change. Therefore, the focus should be on helping the individual understand the impact of their actions and providing them with the tools to improve their behavior. However, it’s essential to monitor progress and be prepared to take appropriate disciplinary action if the individual does not show genuine efforts to change.

4. How can small businesses address inappropriate work behavior with limited resources?

Small businesses can address inappropriate work behavior by prioritizing prevention through training and awareness programs. Leveraging online resources and seeking external partnerships can provide cost-effective training solutions. Also establishing a clear code of conduct and reporting mechanisms is essential. Consider engaging an external consultant for periodic reviews and advice on handling complex cases. Investing in promoting a positive work culture will prove beneficial in the long run.

5. Are there any legal obligations for organizations to prevent and address workplace harassment?

Yes, organizations have legal obligations to prevent and address workplace harassment. Laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction, but most countries have anti-discrimination and harassment laws that protect employees from such behavior. Indeed, employers are required to provide a safe and respectful work environment, which includes taking proactive measures to prevent harassment, promptly investigating complaints, and taking appropriate actions against perpetrators. Failure to comply with these legal obligations can result in severe consequences for the organization.

6. How do you deal with unacceptable behavior at work?

Dealing with unacceptable behavior at work requires a proactive and tactful approach. First, identify the behavior and gather evidence to ensure a thorough understanding of the situation. Address the issue promptly by having a private conversation with the individual involved. Use “I” statements to express how the behavior impacts you or others and listen actively to their perspective. Set clear expectations for improvement and offer support if needed. Follow up to monitor progress and be prepared to take further action if the behavior persists.

7. What are 3 examples of inappropriate behavior in the workplace?

• Harassment : This includes any unwelcome conduct based on protected characteristics, such as race, gender, or religion, that creates a hostile work environment.
• Bullying : Persistent and harmful actions, such as intimidation, verbal abuse, or spreading rumors, targeted at an individual or a group.
• Micromanaging : Excessive control and interference in an employee’s tasks and decisions, which can stifle creativity and autonomy.

8. How to professionally tell someone their behavior is unacceptable?

Approaching the conversation professionally is key. Choose an appropriate setting for privacy, ensuring there are no distractions. Use “I” statements to express your feelings without accusing the individual. For example, say, “I feel uncomfortable when…” instead of “You always…” Provide specific examples of the behavior and its impact. Remain calm and composed throughout the conversation, and actively listen to their perspective. Offer suggestions for improvement and be open to discussing potential underlying issues. Thank them for listening and express your hope for a positive change in their behavior.

Addressing inappropriate work behavior is a multifaceted process that requires a proactive approach from all levels of an organization. By establishing a clear code of conduct, providing training, encouraging reporting, addressing complaints promptly, promoting mediation, and leading by example, companies can foster a healthy and respectful work environment where employees can flourish.

Remember, addressing inappropriate behavior is not just a legal requirement; it is a moral obligation to ensure the well-being and success of your workforce and your organization as a whole. Also, make sure your read our full and detailed best practice guide about Addressing Inappropriate Conversations at Work and The Truth About Lying in the Workplace .

So, let’s commit to creating a workplace where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.

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Managing Employee Dress and Appearance

Dress codes are used to communicate to employees what the organization considers appropriate work attire. A dress code or appearance policy allows an employer to set expectations regarding the image it wants the company to convey. Dress codes can be formal or informal and might include the use of uniforms. This toolkit discusses workplace dress and appearance, including policy considerations, challenges (including discrimination issues) and best practices. The toolkit also refers to federal and state laws and to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rules that may affect dress and appearance policies.

Business Case

Employers realize that impressions made on clients and customers are important to the success of an organization. Employees typically are the "face" of the company, and employers often find it necessary to control that image. In the past, employers used dress and appearance policies to help employees work comfortably and safely while still projecting a professional image to clients, customers and future employees.

Employers over the years also have used dress and appearance policies to help create an employment brand. Some organizations intentionally use dress to create a specific perception or certain image as an employer. Dress codes help employers fulfill these varying goals of comfort, professionalism, safety, brand and image.

HR's Role

Ideas behind dress and appearance have developed into more than just unwritten policies and practices made and used by managers and supervisors. Dress and appearance policies now require organizations to develop strategies that align with employer goals and culture while protecting the employer from discrimination claims and protecting employees' rights. HR, which is frequently responsible for policy development, must work with other parts of the organization to ensure that dress codes are managed consistently and fairly.

The business of dress and appearance requires HR or managers to do the following:

• Set and manage policies by working directly with internal managers, business partners and executives.
• Identify and mitigate legal issues, such as protected class considerations, by working with the legal department.
• Manage employee requests for dress code accommodations.

Types of Dress Codes

Dress codes used in many organizations range from those that require formal business dress or "business casual" to those that allow more casual wear in summer or those that include grooming and hygiene standards. Employers must consider which type of dress code will not only provide the image they want to portray but will also support company cultures and values.

Those cultures and values might embrace a more serious and formal image in a law firm; a uniform in a delivery company; or colorful, informal dress (that still acts as a kind of uniform) at a casual restaurant. Employers also need to consider relevant industry standards or safety regulations that affect employee dress and appearance.

Address Offensive Attire with Dress Code, Nondiscrimination Policy

Should Companies Relax Their Dress Codes?

Summer Dress at Work: What's Appropriate and What's Not

Formal Business Attire

To present a professional, businesslike image to clients, visitors, customers and the public, some employers implement dress and appearance policies requiring formal business attire. Environments likely to enforce formal business attire are law, finance, banking and accounting firms. No casual clothing or shoes are usually allowable.

Business Casual

Some employers create business casual policies that are a little less formal. Industries that tend to be more creative or artistic, like technology environments, are more likely to have a business casual dress code. The attire usually includes most apparel except shirts with graphics, shorts, torn jeans, tank tops or sandals, though policies will differ. 

See Attire and Grooming Policy and Business Attire Policy .

Casual Fridays

Some organizations designate Friday as the day of the week when employees may dress more informally than the normal day-to-day formal business or business casual attire. These provisions usually apply only to employees who have no client or customer contact. On these days, employees can wear blue jeans, T-shirts (without any inappropriate slogans or images), long or knee-length shorts or capri pants, and athletic shoes.

Summer Casual

Many employers offer summertime policies and activities to keep employees productive and happy on sunny, warm days. The relaxed summer dress code typically runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day for employees who have no client contact. Blue jeans, T-shirts and athletic shoes are permitted, but employers may have specific provisions against showing midriffs or wearing sandals or flip-flops.

See Summer Dress Policy .

Grooming and Hygiene

Employers often address grooming and hygiene standards in dress code policies. Grooming standards might include the requirement that clothing be neat and clean and not ripped, frayed, disheveled, tight, revealing or otherwise inappropriate. Hygiene standards tend to include a regular bath or shower, use of deodorant, and appropriate oral hygiene.

A written policy about grooming and hygiene can help support an employer's action if a workplace situation involving hygiene arises that must be addressed by the employer. Employers should also be aware that body or breath odor issues may be related to medical conditions. If that is the case, the employer should address the issue appropriately and confidentially; otherwise, it could run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act or anti-discrimination provisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

See What should HR do when an employee's body odor is affecting the workplace? and How to Talk with a Worker About Body Odor .

Legal Issues

Although no federal law bans employment decisions based on appearance in general, most employers know better than to base employment decisions on appearance that is related to legally protected factors. What employers and managers may not know is that employees' appearance can still qualify for legal protection in some situations.

For example, some local jurisdictions have enacted laws that specifically protect workers from discrimination based on appearance. And some aspects of appearance, such as those related to gender roles or sexual orientation, can—in some situations—qualify for legal protection.

On the other hand, the nature of the business or of the job can play a role in determining how much latitude employers have in requiring a certain look for their employees. Whenever an organization has a job requirement such as a particular dress or grooming code, a good HR professional should question whether that criterion really is relevant to the job.

See Ugly Policy Alleged at NBC: Only Beautiful People Need Apply .

A dress and appearance policy should be clear and specific. Employers also want to ensure some flexibility. Managers may need to use some discretion when dealing with certain matters such as disability, religious requirements or other case-specific issues that might require accommodations.

Employees Dressing Too Casually? Clarify Your Dress Code

Managing Equal Employment Opportunity

Supreme Court Rules for EEOC in Religious Accommodation Case

Union Insignia

One aspect of dress codes is the ability of employees to wear union buttons, decals or other insignia in the workplace. The right of employees to wear union insignia at work has long been recognized as a reasonable and legitimate form of union activity. Employers that curtail that activity risk violating the National Labor Relations Act. However, an employer might be able to show special circumstances that justify limiting employees' ability to wear union insignias.

See  NLRB Upholds Tesla Employees’ Right to Wear Union Logos .

Safety could be compromised, for example, if people confused decals or buttons, such as union insignia, with safety-related insignia on uniforms. If an organization requires specific employees—those with particular certifications or training—to wear insignia indicating that they are qualified to help in an emergency, then the wearing of other insignia on their uniforms could create confusion.

In an emergency, people might be confused by multiple insignias and unsure who is qualified to help. Such an example demonstrates the possible "special circumstance" in which an employer could curb employees' rights to wear union buttons, decals or other insignia.

Many employers are familiar with making reasonable accommodations pertaining to schedules or job duty modifications. An employee with a disability can also request modification of the company dress and appearance policy as a reasonable accommodation. For example, an employee may ask to wear sneakers instead of dress shoes due to a foot condition that is a result of diabetes. 

An employee may ask to wear a different uniform shirt because of a severe allergic reaction to the material of the standard uniform shirt. Like with any reasonable accommodation, an employer must permit the exception unless it creates an undue hardship for the organization.

See Applying Performance and Conduct Standards to Employees with Disabilities .

Gender Disparities

A dress and grooming policy that has different requirements for men and women may be challenged because the requirements for one sex are based on stereotypes.

See Can employers have dress code requirements that differ between genders?

Gender Identity and Accommodations

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. This means that the EEOC will accept claims brought by transgender individuals and can bring lawsuits against employers determined to have discriminated against transgender employees or applicants. 

Employers doing business on a national or regional scale should review all state and local provisions. Employers may have to make accommodations to their dress and appearance policies for employees in transition or those choosing to express themselves as the opposite gender.

Health and Safety Issues

In some industries such as health care, hospitality, manufacturing and corrections, employers must enforce guidelines designed to protect employees or others from injury. These guidelines often include restrictions related to dress and appearance. HR professionals may be required to enforce such restrictions and may have to deny requests for exemptions from such policies.

Some requested exemptions may stem from employees' need to wear certain religious garb. For example, three Muslim women employed in a prison requested accommodation to wear head coverings at work but were denied an exemption on safety grounds when the prison successfully argued that the head coverings posed hazards because an inmate could use them to strangle the employees, the coverings could make it difficult to identify employees, or they could be used to hide contraband. Also see the section below on religious expression.

Appearance and Race

Grooming and appearance standards that contain prohibitions against certain hairstyles or beards or that treat traditional ethnic dress differently from other attire may also result in race discrimination allegations. Policies should be "neutral" and used "evenhandedly," according to the Race & Color Discrimination section of the EEOC Compliance Manual.

For example, although employers can generally require employees to be clean-shaven, Title VII requires exceptions for men who have a condition in which shaving causes inflammation—a condition that occurs primarily in black men. The EEOC provides another example: Employers can require employees to have neatly groomed hair, but such rules must "respect racial differences in hair texture" and cannot, for instance, prohibit black women from wearing their hair in a natural Afro style. The EEOC recommends that to minimize the likelihood of discrimination claims, employers should make sure grooming standards are race-neutral, adopted for nondiscriminatory reasons and consistently applied.

Religious Expression

Employers must be prepared to make exceptions to dress codes when an employee has a sincerely held religious belief that conflicts with the rules and when no undue hardship for the employer (such as a serious safety problem) would exist as a result of the exception. The Religious Discrimination section in the EEOC Compliance Manual notes that religious grooming practices may relate to shaving or hair length and that religious dress may include clothes, head or face coverings, jewelry, or other items.

See Religion and Work: 'A Hot Topic and Getting Hotter Every Day' .

Determining if a religious belief exemption is legitimate may involve discussion between the employer and the employee. The question of whether a particular belief is or is not religious in nature is one that employers typically will not want to address. In some situations, though, the employer may reasonably question either the sincerity of the particular belief or whether it is in fact religious in nature. In such cases, the employer would be justified in seeking additional information from the employee.

HR can prohibit body piercings and tattoos as long as it does so evenhandedly. Religious issues arise only if an employee asserts a religious basis for such piercing or tattoos. In that case, the employer will have to determine whether the request for an exception is based on a sincerely held religious belief and, if so, whether allowing an exception will create an undue hardship. If tattoos or piercings are not worn due to religious reasons (or another protected class reason), employers can deny the exception request.

See What Are an Applicant's Tattoos Telling Potential Employers? and Can employers have dress code requirements that prohibit all tattoos and piercings?

In workplaces where employers require uniforms, employers must still make reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs. Cases involving uniform modifications have covered issues such as allowing Sikh men to wear turbans, permitting Muslim men to wear skullcaps, and allowing skirts or culottes for women whose faiths prohibit them from wearing pants.

Uniforms represent a more restrictive type of dress code. They are sometimes required by law, by the nature of the business or by an employer's preference. In certain industries or professions—health care, hospitality or law enforcement, for example—employers commonly require uniforms. Uniforms may include specific items (medical scrubs, firefighter gear) or standardized colors and types of garments (black pants and white shirt).

Pros and Cons 

Reasons why an employer may want to require uniforms include:

• Safety . Some positions may need or require protective gear to be worn (e.g., fire-resistant jacket, steel-toed shoes).
• Branding. Some employers want to present a specific image to the public. Uniforms can help create that image and provide advertising for the business.
• Appropriateness. Uniforms reduce the chances of inappropriate dress in the workplace because employees have fewer opportunities to misinterpret attire guidelines.
• Productivity. When all employees (including senior managers) wear a uniform, everyone is perceived as equal. An employee will focus less on who is wearing designer clothes and more on being productive.

Requiring uniforms can also have some disadvantages. For one thing, employees might resist wearing them. For another, if customers or clients perceive the uniforms as inappropriate, the result can be negative feedback. Moreover, if uniforms are not well-thought-out, they can hinder performance; for example, a bartender uniform with long, oversized sleeves could hinder the preparation of drinks.

Who Pays for Uniforms?

When employers require uniforms, many organizations assume that they may charge employees for the uniforms; however, employers should review both state and federal laws first. On the federal level, the Fair Labor Standards Act allows for the deduction from wages for uniforms as long as the deduction does not bring the employee's hourly pay or overtime pay for the workweek below the minimum wage. If an employee makes minimum wage, no deductions may be made for uniforms at all because that automatically would take the worker below the minimum wage.

In addition, if a uniform for a worker earning minimum wage requires special cleaning, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division Field Operations Handbook states that employers must pay a uniform maintenance reimbursement, either by reimbursing the exact amount of cleaning or by providing the employee one additional hour of straight-time pay. Similarly, uniform allowances are not considered wages and cannot be used as credit toward meeting minimum-wage obligations.

Although most states simply reiterate the federal law in their provisions, several states have more-restrictive rules, even going so far as to prohibit employers from making employees pay for required uniforms.

See U.S. DOL Fact Sheet #16: Deductions from Wages for Uniforms and Other Facilities Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) .

Templates and Tools

Agencies and organizations

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

U.S. Department of Labor

Informational tools

EEOC: Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices

Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

Race & Color Discrimination

JAN Hygiene Resources

Attire and Grooming Policy

Business Attire Policy

Fragrance Free Workplace Policy

Jewelry and Tattoo Policy

Summer Dress Policy

Uniforms Policy

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Unethical behavior in the workplace: Definition, examples, types, and statistics

Unethical workplace behavior is any action at work that goes against the prevailing moral norms of a community .

At work, unethical behavior can take multiple forms and have multiple targets . From minor to severe forms, everyone can behave unethically, hurting societies, organizations, colleagues, and even the self in the process.

Many studies show that unethical workplace behavior is not only prevalent in most organizations throughout the world, but also extremely costly [1] [2] [3] [4] .

Read on to learn more about unethical workplace behavior.

Table of contents

Unethical workplace behavior and illegal behavior are not the same, unethical workplace behavior can be intentional and unintentional, unethical workplace behavior is anchored socially.

• Context defines, to certain extent, what is unethical at work

Individuals and aggregates can be unethical at work

Types of unethical behavior in the workplace, examples of unethical behavior in the workplace, nine impressive statistics on the incidence of unethical behavior in the workplace, references and further reading, definition of unethical workplace behavior.

Most experts define unethical workplace behavior as any harmful action at work that violates the moral norms of the broader community [5] [6] [7] .

This definition highlights five important aspects of unethical behavior.

First, unethical behavior and illegal behavior overlap, but only to a certain extent .

For instance, there are new moral standards that are not yet part of our legal or regulatory systems. Likewise, we have laws and regulations being enforced that are no longer a reflection of our current moral standards.

Regulations and unethical behavior, thus, co-evolve over time and are largely a reflection of the belief system of a community at a given time. More often than not, laws and regulations tend to follow the evolving moral beliefs of a community, but frequently with a delay [4] .

Second, this definition suggests that when people behave unethically they can do it intentionally or unintentionally [8] .

In intentional unethical behavior, people know that they are crossing an ethical boundary and they act purposely . When people chose to behave unethically they can do it for selfish reasons, but also as the result of situations in which all available options have ethical costs. Counterproductive work behavior is another label that has been used for this type of intentional action.

In contrast, people sometimes behave unethically because they are not aware that they are transgressing moral standards . These unintentional unethical behaviors can be due to, for example, failure to notice important information while making a decision, inability to identify the ethical ramifications of a decision , or even lack of knowledge of what is acceptable and unacceptable for a given community.

Third, this definition brings to the spotlight the social anchoring of unethical workplace behavior.

Communities (such as organizations, departments, and teams) develop and implement moral rules to prevent selfish behaviors that can jeopardize their viability, and to stimulate cooperative behaviors among people who depend upon each other [9] .

As social animals, we tend to internalize the moral standards of our communities , and we end up influencing others morally in the same direction [10] [11] .

This cycle sustains the moral standards of a community but can also be a source of tension between communities . For example, we may find ourselves disagreeing with people from other communities on what is right or wrong at work, and struggling to understand their ethical position due to our internalized standards.

Context defines, to a certain extent, what is unethical at work

Fourth, bluntly illegal and unethical acts aside, unethical behavior is highly contextual [12] .

Since what is considered ethical or unethical largely depends on the judgment of the broader community, a behavior can be unethical in one context and common practice in another .

For example, while giving a gift to a former supervisor or to a friend is perfectly acceptable, giving a gift to a current supervisor might violate your company regulations and constitute unethical behavior.

Many workplace behaviors are not ethical or unethical per se; the context and the reasoning behind those behaviors largely define their ethicality.

Fifth, unethical behavior can occur at any level [13] [14] .

Employees, managers, owners, and executives can all behave unethically.

Likewise, aggregates of people (such as groups/teams, committees, and organizations) can also engage in unethical workplace behavior.

Unethical behavior at work comes in many shapes and forms . The simplest way to categorize unethical behavior in the workplace is to consider both the target of the unethical behavior as well as its severity [15] [16] .

In the table below we outline examples of the multiple types of unethical behavior you may face at work based on the target primarily harmed (society, organization, other employees, self) and on the severity of the behavior (minor/moderate and severe).

Table 1. Examples of types of unethical behavior in the workplace, based on their target and severity.

Before adopting this categorization of unethical behavior, it is important to keep in mind three core aspects:

• Some types of unethical behavior can have more than one target . For example, unsafe behavior can put you in danger as well as other employees.
• Each type of unethical behavior can have both direct and indirect targets and consequences . For example, while political deviance can create an unfair advantage over other employees for a promotion, it can also (indirectly) undermine the long term effectiveness of the team /organization due to the promotion of a sub-optimal employee.
• Minor and severe unethical behaviors tend to have minor and severe consequences, respectively. Nevertheless, minor unethical behaviors can also lead to severe consequences and severe misconduct can cause no substantial harm . For example, lack of attention and effort at work – a minor unethical behavior of withdrawal – may lead to unsatisfactory products or services and consequent contract losses – a severe consequence for the organization.

Each type of unethical behavior can manifest in many different ways. Below, you can find a comprehensive list of the most common examples of unethical behavior in the workplace, by type.

Misleading communications [17] [18] [19] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and society targeted)

• Advertising a product/service feature that does not exist;
• Making misleading claims to clients or suppliers;
• Omitting facts so that the inferences about a product/service are different from reality;
• Exploiting, without making any explicit or implied claims, an existing false belief about the performance of a product/service;
• Creating unrealistic expectations with deceptive marketing practices;
• Raising prices temporarily to subsequently apply a pseudo-promotion/discount;
• Overpricing products and services.
• Evading taxes;
• Bribing other companies or governmental agencies;
• Fabricating or manipulating quality reports and safety tests;
• Violating or ignoring environmental regulations;
• Doing business with third parties that do not follow local and international regulations (human rights, for example);
• Sharing false information with regulators;
• Endangering clients by keep selling a faulty product or service.

Anti-competitive activity [20] [21] [22] (Severe form of unethical behavior and society targeted)

• Price fixing (discussing and fixing prices to be charged to consumers with competitors);
• Bid rigging (discussing and biasing bids for a contract by, for example, winning contracts in turns, withdrawing bids, or making unreasonably high bids for a competitor to win);
• Market sharing (agreeing with competitors the markets and customers that each one tackles);
• Information sharing that might reduce the competition (price, stock, market, and plans, for example);
• Abusing a dominant market position by selling at a loss to drive competition out;
• Agreeing with competitors to limit production with the intention of raising prices.

Production deviance [23] [24] [25] [26] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

• Dragging out work to get overtime payment;
• Claiming more overtime hours than you worked;
• Making mistakes at work on purpose;
• Dragging out work to miss important deadlines;
• Purposely leaving work unfinished so that someone else has to finish it;
• Distracting colleagues instead of working;
• Complaining about unimportant issues at work;
• Being nasty to clients;
• Covering up mistakes with lies;
• Pretending not to know how to do something to avoid a reasonable work request;
• Failing to keep up to date records of your input (for example, your text edits, lines of code added to an app, changes in a machine configuration).

Withdrawal [27] [28] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

• Taking excessive personal time for lunch, breaks, and other personal deeds;
• Daydreaming excessively;
• Pretending to be unwell (call in sick just to take a day off, for example);
• Taking an unreasonable time to do a job;
• Working on personal matters during normal work time;
• Coming late to work or finishing the day early consistently and without reasonable justification;
• Playing online or computer games while at work;
• Being aware of a colleague’s unethical behavior and failing to address the issue (gather evidence, talk with the person, report the issue, for example).

Knowledge hiding [29] [30] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

• Playing dumb : Pretending that you are not very knowledgeable about something, that you do not understand the question posed, or that you know nothing about the requested information;
• Evasive hiding : Sharing knowledge other than the one requested, sharing incorrect or incomplete information, agreeing to help but never actually doing it, providing misleading promises of future assistance;
• Rationalized hiding : Justifying one’s knowledge hiding with deceptive regulations, supervisors’ rules, and confidentiality concerns.

In the video below, Professor Catherine Connelly (from McMaster University) explains why knowledge hiding is a problematic behavior at work.

Property deviance and sabotage [23] [31] [32] (Severe form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

• Taking property from the organization without permission;
• Wasting organizational property (materials, services, and supplies, for example);
• Damaging, on purpose, the organization’s equipment, services, or property;
• Placing, on purpose, false or inaccurate information to derail decision-making in the organization;
• Destroying or falsifying important organizational documents;
• Falsifying receipts to get reimbursements of nonexistent expenses;
• Using personal receipts to get reimbursed for business expenses;
• Helping others to take property from the organization.

Political deviance [15] [33] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

• Showing favoritism to people who are important for personal goals;
• Gossiping and undermining others to gain personal advantage;
• Creating personal connections with others to push them to work beyond job description;
• Giving or accepting gifts in exchange for special treatment;
• Exploiting peers’ networks for personal gain;
• Competing with colleagues instead of working collaboratively;
• Claiming credit for a colleague’s work;
• Putting forth less effort than colleagues.

Ostracism [34] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

• Ignoring or avoiding a colleague at work;
• Shutting out a colleague during conversations;
• Not replying to a colleague’s greetings, phone-calls, or emails;
• Giving the silent treatment to a colleague;
• Acting as if a colleague is not present in the room;
• Refusing to talk to a colleague at work;
• Leaving a room when a colleague comes in;
• Ignoring a colleague’s inputs in a work debate/meeting.

Interpersonal deviance [16] [23] [35] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

• Making fun of, embarrassing, or making hurtful comments to a colleague;
• Cursing at or being rude to a colleague;
• Playing unwanted and mean pranks to a colleague;
• Making mean gender, ethnic, or religious comments to a colleague;
• Littering a colleague’s workspace;
• Starting or feeding harmful rumors about a colleague;
• Blaming a colleague for personal mistakes;
• Starting unreasonable arguments with a colleague;
• Making a colleague’s life difficult at work;
• Undermining the efforts of a colleague;
• Putting down a colleague;
• Pushing a colleague to discuss personal issues.

Aggression [36] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

• Hitting a colleague at work;
• Physically or psychologically threatening a colleague;
• Insulting a colleague at work;
• Making obscene gestures to a colleague;
• Engaging in threatening eye contact (aggressive staring, for example);
• Destroying the private property of a colleague;
• Sabotaging the organizational resources a colleague needs to work;
• Purposefully breaking your colleague’s working tools;
• Failing to alert a colleague of an immediate danger;
• Endangering a colleague at work.

Bullying/mobbing [37] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

• Consistently ignoring, humiliating, or ridiculing a colleague at work;
• Making, on a systematic way, offensive remarks and unfounded allegations about a colleague;
• Repeatedly reminding and criticizing a colleague’s past mistakes and errors at work;
• Unfairly accusing or blaming a colleague for something that went wrong at work;
• Persistently pointing out that a colleague is, in your view, incompetent and should quit his/her job;
• Excessively monitoring a colleague’s work;
• Pressuring someone, directly or indirectly, to withhold their rights (such as travel expenses, sick leave);
• Allocating an unreasonable amount of work to a colleague at work, or setting unreachable deadlines and performance expectations;
• Consistently discharging personal frustrations on a colleague.

In the video below, Dr. Gary Namie (from the Workplace Bullying Institute) highlights the behaviors of the four most common bully types that you may find at work:

Abusive leadership [38] [39] [40] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

• Yelling at supervisees;
• Ridiculing, blaming, making negative comments, being rude, and putting supervisees down;
• Influencing supervisees through threats and intimidation;
• Humiliating supervisees when they fail to reach a desired standard;
• Treating supervisees as competitors or inferiors rather than colleagues/partners;
• Encouraging or pressing supervisees to engage in unethical behavior – to take longer brakes or to falsify reports, for example;
• Lying and breaking promises made to supervisees;
• Isolating supervisees by not allowing contact with others or by blocking access to important information;
• Intentionally providing inaccurate or false information to supervisees;
• Ignoring and diminishing the inputs of supervisees;
• Undermining supervisees’ efforts at work.

Alcohol and drug use/abuse [41] [42] (Minor/moderate to severe form of unethical behavior and self targeted)

• Using illegal drugs at work;
• Using legal or recreational drugs that severely limit productivity and ability to work;
• Being unable to perform normally due to alcohol or drug hangover;
• Consuming alcohol on the job.

Unsafe behavior [42] (Severe form of unethical behavior and self targeted)

• Neglecting to follow safety instructions;
• Failing to read safety instructions/manuals;
• Endangering yourself, coworkers, or customers by ignoring safety procedures;
• Discussing confidential information with unauthorized people.

Unethical behavior in the workplace is far from being an anomaly. In reality, multiple research studies indicate that unethical behavior can be pervasive and frequent in many organizations . Here is a compilation of nine impressive statistics on the incidence of unethical behavior at work.

Abusive leadership and its rippling effects

Abusive leadership is a form of unethical behavior that affects about 11% of workers in the Netherlands [43] , 14% of the US workforce [44] , and 34% of workers in Norway [38] .

Knowing that people who are subjected to abusive leaders tend to retaliate by engaging in unethical actions against their organization, leaders , colleagues, or customers [45] [46] is an additional reason to worry.

In fact, abusive leaders can increase the rate of unethical behavior in organizations way beyond their own actions, as they contribute to a work environment conductive of unethical behavior .

Some bosses are bullies, but not all bullies are bosses

Large scale studies show that between 10% and 19% of workers, both in Europe and North America, have recently been victims of bullying at work [3] [47] [48] [49] .

Bosses, direct supervisors, and other higher ranks tend to be the primary source of bullying at work – they account for 65% of bullying reports [3] . Hence the expression “bully boss”. Importantly, however, more than one third of bullying at work (35%) is made by peers and by subordinates .

This suggests that in order to truly tackle the problem of workplace bullying we must pay close attention to all sources of bullying at work : higher ranks, equals, and lower ranks.

If you behave unethically once, you most likely will do it again

About 67% of those who behave unethically once end up doing it repeatedly [50] .

Those who engage in an ongoing pattern of unethical behavior may have a faulty character, but may also be subjected to higher and more consistent pressures to misbehave at work. In fact, individual characteristics and organizational environments are among the strongest forces pushing people towards unethical behavior at work [6] .

Importantly, researchers have found that those who remind themselves of their past misbehavior [51] and those who reflect on the morality of their actions [52] , tend to take restorative measures for their past deeds and restrain from engaging in further unethical behavior .

Most of us have witnessed unethical workplace behavior

47% of American workers have witnessed someone behaving unethically in the last year [50] , and 81% of Nordic workers (Norway, Finland, and Sweden) can easily recall observing at least an episode of unethical behavior in their work life [4] .

This incidence of unethical behavior at work is estimated to cost organizations worldwide more than $4.5 trillions per year [1] .

While large corporate scandals catch our attention, everyone can potentially misbehave at work, even if they are committed to follow high moral and ethical standards [53] [54] .

Personal life choices matter for how ethical we are at work

Some people are more prone to behave unethically than others, and some work environments are more likely to cause unethical behavior than others [6] .

Nevertheless, the most consistent red flag for unethical behavior is living beyond means [1] . Indeed, 42% of people who were found engaging in unethical behavior were living beyond their means.

Thus, a substantial amount of unethical behavior at work is due to the choices we make in our personal life , not to the demands of our work.

Pressures, unethical behaviors, and professional roles

Large scale studies depict an interesting picture on how unethical are top managers and employees without a management role [1] [55] .

On the one hand, although top managers feel twice the pressure to behave unethically, they are only responsible for approximately 20% of the unethical behavior detected in the workplace. On the other hand, although the remaining employees are accountable for about 80% of the unethical behavior detected in organizations, the losses they provoke tend to be ten times smaller , compared to the losses provoked by top managers.

The media tends to highlight the expensive cases of unethical behavior perpetrated by top managers. However, many of us commit, intentionally or unintentionally, less expensive acts on a daily basis. Accepting that all of us can fail ethically is the first step towards showing integrity at work.

As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined

Engagement in unethical behavior appears to start early in life , as more than half of high school students in the US acknowledge that they have behaved unethically during their studies (for example, by cheating in exams or lying to teachers) [56] .

This statistic is particularly troubling since unethical high-school students are up to three times more likely to lack integrity later in life compared to ethical high-schoolers [57] [58] .

The patterns we adopt early in life are likely to continue, unless we take action . Keeping in mind the values, principles, and morals that sustain our integrity in difficult and tempting times is a great starting point to break our questionable patterns.

Undetected unethical behavior is costly

Using complex statistical methods, researchers have recently found that one out of nine large companies in the US commit undetected fraud every year ; and that four out of ten violate accounting rules at least once during a business cycle [59] .

This undetected fraud has an annual cost of $275 billion dollars, just in the US .

Such incidence of unethical behavior highlights the importance of having a system in place that promotes adherence to ethical standards and the importance of defining unambiguous, fair, and ethical policies . In fact, research has found that people in organizations with ethical policies written in an unclear and obfuscated way tend to commit more ethical infractions that those with clear and unambiguous policies [60] .

Small unethical behaviors, large costs

Small employee thefts and dishonest behaviors can sum up to large amounts and have serious consequences.

For example, according to the Centre for Retail Research, employee theft in the UK retail sector costed £1.305 millions (about $1.82 millions) just in 2019 [61] . In the US, each case of dishonest behavior costed, on average, $1,139.32 to retail organizations in 2019 [62] . Globally, in 2015, employee theft was responsible for 39% of retail shrinkage (defined as the difference between book inventory and the actual physical inventory). See the video below for additional statistics on this.

Training, codes of conduct, anonymous telephone and online notification systems, and moral reminders are interventions that have been found to be effective in reducing unethical behavior at work, and that most retail companies are currently adopting [62] [63] .

Intentionally or unintentionally, we can all end up engaging in unethical behavior at work.

With all the labels used to describe unethical workplace behavior, it can be challenging to know how to act ethically at work and when are we crossing ethical boundaries.

Being aware of what unethical behavior is and how prevalent it is, and understanding the different types and manifestations of unethical behavior, is going to help us maintain or even strengthen our moral compass at work.

As always, we thank you for trusting your time with ManagingLifeAtWork.com. Until next time, keep an eye on the multiple manifestations of unethical behavior at work .

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​Common Sexual Harassment Scenarios at Work

There are many common sexual harassment scenarios that can happen at work. Over a recent three-year period, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 98,411 complaints alleging harassment of any kind and 27,291 specifically alleging sexual harassment. Sexual harassment charges accounted for more than one-third of all charges made to the EEOC during this timeframe. Despite more training and workplace campaigns, workplace sexual harassment continues in every state in America today.

All employees, no matter their location, jobs, positions, backgrounds, or place of employment, need to know what sexual harassment is, its consequences and why it’s unacceptable. Employees should know where they can report sexual harassment and what steps the employer should take when they do. They also need to know the consequences of sexually harassing a coworker in the workplace. Those who are victims have the right to hire a workplace sexual harassment attorney for help.

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Types of Sexual Harassment at Work

Every sexual harassment case is different, making it difficult to recognize when you are a victim. The two main types of sexual harassment are hostile work environment harassment and quid pro quo harassment.

Hostile work environment harassment occurs when someone in the workplace engages in harassing conduct that is pervasive or offensive enough to make the workplace hostile to the victim. If a reasonable person should not tolerate the environment and conduct, it can constitute unlawful harassment.

A more malicious type of workplace sexual harassment is quid pro quo . With this type of sexual harassment, one person feels pressure to perform or tolerate a sexual act or favor to retain their job or receive a promotion. The harasser is someone who has authority over the victim’s job and uses this authority to pressure the victim into sexual conduct.

Sexual harassment can arise in many different scenarios, and we describe some possible situations below. Victims or harassers can be men, women, same-sex employees, contractors, or others involved with your work. If you suspect you experienced any type of sexual harassment, seek a legal consultation immediately.

Examples of Workplace Sexual Harassment

The following are some examples of how sexual harassment can happen at work. If you have a different situation, let an employment lawyer review what happened and advise you of your rights in your specific situation.

Scenario 1: Direct and Hostile Workplace Sexual Harassment

Hilaria works at a clothing factory in San Francisco. Bill, her supervisor, frequently attempts to touch her under pretext. For instance, last week, he tried to touch the upper area of her chest under the guise that he saw a bug. This week, he attempted to hold her waist. Hilaria is uncomfortable with his action, and her factory colleagues mock her for their supervisor’s special attention.

The physical touching by Bill is an unwelcome regular occurrence. The pervasiveness of the touching makes her want to stay home from work. She reported the matter to the owner of the company, who defended the supervisor and took no action to change his behavior. This constitutes a hostile work environment, and she likely has a strong sexual harassment claim.

Scenario 2: Female to Male Sexual Harassment

Marty and Marlene work at the same organization. Marlene can’t stop looking at Marty all day. She really has eyes for him, and everyone can clearly tell. Every time Marty gets up to go to the break room, Marlene gets up and follows him so they can be alone. When alone, she asks probing questions about his personal life and attempts to make plans outside of work with him. Marty isn’t interested in Marlene’s advances at all. Her behavior becomes intolerable for him as he feels Marlene is invading his workspace.

Sexual harassment isn’t just limited to female victims and male harassers. Many people associate sexual harassment with a male employee making advances on a female, but this is not always the case. A victim can be anyone, so never wait to seek legal help even if you feel you are not a traditional victim of harassment.

Scenario 3: Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

Tammy has recently started working as a personal assistant to the managing director, Brett. Near the end of her probation period, Brett asks Tammy out for a drink after work. He then tells her that if she wants a permanent position with the company, she needs to have sex with him. Tammy refuses but knows that if she wants to stay employed at the firm, she must comply with Bretts’s demand. She reports Brett’s inappropriate request to the firm’s human resources department.

Because this constitutes quid pro quo harassment , the employer can be liable even if it did not have an opportunity to stop the conduct.

Scenario 4: Non-Co-Worker Workplace Sexual Harassment

Jackie and Adam meet at a work convention. They don’t work for the same company but collaborate on projects in the same industry. They exchange emails so they can communicate regarding shared assignments. After a few emails, Adam quickly changes the subject from work to compliments. He tells Jackie about how attractive and good-looking she is. She tries to bring the subject back to work-related questions. Still, Adam continues sending Jackie emails daily, professing how in love he is with her.

Jackie informs her supervisor, who then reaches out to Adam’s supervisor to inform him. She tells him that employees should refrain from making inappropriate comments and advances that make another professional uncomfortable, even if they don’t share the same workplace. If the harassment continues and the employer refuses to change Jackie’s collaborative work with her harasser, she can take action for sexual harassment.

Scenario 5: Direct Sexual Harassment

Kendra, a female receptionist, sees Curt, a male local delivery driver, every other day when he delivers packages to her office. She simply does her job by receiving and signing the deliveries, but Curt keeps asking her out and trying to flirt with her. Kendra respectfully declines and politely tells Curt that she isn’t interested. Curt is persistent and proceeds to visit her and brings her gifts and flowers in hopes she will change her mind. However, Kendra remains uninterested.

In this scenario, the receptionist said she wasn’t interested in Curt. The driver’s repeated advances can be sexual harassment if she reports this incident to the human resources department or her supervisor. The HR department or her superior can speak with the driver and explain that his advances are unwelcome and make Kendra feel uncomfortable. If the department takes inadequate action, it violates Kendra’s right to be free of harassment at work.

Scenario 6: General Hostile Workplace Sexual Harassment

A team of unruly employees at work often makes crude or inappropriate statements and jokes that other employees can overhear in the same department. Other employees feel uncomfortable and shaken by the behavior and comments, especially when their banter becomes quite graphic or absolutely inappropriate.

This is an example of a hostile working environment. Though the group did not direct their comments and jokes to other workers or anyone in particular, they still created an uncomfortable workplace for others. By not taking action in this instance, managers and employees can set their businesses up for a lawsuit.

Employers and HR departments need to talk to their employees about this type of behavior or start an individual or group session regarding these actions in the workplace. They should also lay out the consequences of insubordination and the persistence of their conduct.

Scenario 7: Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

Tom, a supervisor, begins to develop feelings for his subordinate, Caroline. Tom suggests a relationship with Caroline and promises work benefits such as a window office, bonuses, and promotions. Caroline isn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with Tom. Still, she worries that her chances of getting a promotion will end if she refuses to reciprocate her superior’s feelings.

This is also quid pro quo sexual harassment. It’s one of the two main types of sexual harassment, which involves an employer asking for unwanted favors from a subordinate as a condition for a promotion or another job benefit.

Everyone in the workplace should know that quid pro quo sexual harassment is unlawful, and they should report it immediately. If this happens to you, you have the right to file a lawsuit.

Scenario 8: Personal Computer Materials

A coworker, Don, checks his personal email at work, and occasionally opens his email and looks at pornographic images and videos. Not everyone in the office notices, but those who do, don’t complain or tell anyone. You observe him doing this regularly and begin to feel uncomfortable when he does this.

In these circumstances, you can advise the person to refrain from looking at inappropriate pictures or videos while at work. If he does not stop and continues to expose you to what he is viewing, you should report it to your employer immediately. If your employer does not take action, you may file a sexual harassment claim, even if the conduct was not directed toward you.

Scenario 9: Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

Harper is a young team leader at an advertising firm. One evening, Harper decides to stay after work with her manager, Steven, to work on an important team presentation. Steven offers to buy Harper dinner and later gives her a ride back home since her vehicle is in the shop.

After dinner, Steven cleverly tells Harper that he would love nothing more than to spend the night with her. Harper politely but firmly turns down his request and takes an Uber home. The next evening, Steven tries his luck again, but once again, Harper refuses to give in to his advances. Upon Harper’s refusal, Steven becomes rather angry. He threatens to tell everyone in the office that she made passes at him and threatens her job.

Steven’s threat to Harper that if she doesn’t accept his request for a sexual favor, he’ll ruin her reputation at the office constitutes another example of quid pro quo sexual harassment. Steven’s actions involve sexual advances, an ultimatum, and can hurt Harper’s career. The employer can be liable for his harassment in this context.

Scenario 10: Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

Sandy works as a domestic helper at the Morris residence. Most days, Ms. Morris leaves home very early in the morning for work. Therefore, Sandy often works in the company of an older family member. Sandy finds that the older man repetitively smirks at her in a lewd manner and walks around the house in nothing but his underwear, making her very uncomfortable.

One day while she was working, he tried to fondle her breast. When she told him that she planned to report his actions to Ms. Morris, he threatened to accuse her of theft, telling her that he would ensure she lost her job there.

In this scenario, the older male household member also commits quid pro quo sexual harassment by threatening Sandy to keep silent about the unwelcome sexual advances if she wants to maintain her employment. It’s also a good example of how sexual harassment does not have to occur in a formal office setting but can happen in any work environment.

Do You Face Workplace Sexual Harassment? Hire a Workplace Sexual Harassment Attorney Today

Sexual harassment in the workplace, no matter what kind or how it occurs, is never okay. Suppose you experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. In that case, reach out to an experienced sexual harassment attorney immediately.

Your attorney can assess the situation and help you determine your next best steps. Sometimes, that involves working with your employer’s human resources department, and sometimes filing a complaint in court.

If you face workplace sexual harassment, reach out for legal help today. Your employment law attorney can help you take action to hold your harasser accountable for what they did to you.

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What are the effects of inappropriate personal presentation in the workplace?

Table of Contents

• 1 What are the effects of inappropriate personal presentation in the workplace?
• 2 What is the impact of good presentation?
• 3 What is the effect of inappropriate behaviour to your Organisation and colleagues?
• 4 What is the benefit of oral presentation?
• 5 What is an impact presentation?
• 6 What are the problems of presentations?
• 7 What happens if you make an unprofessional appearance at work?
• 8 Why are presentation skills important in the workplace?

However, employees displaying inappropriate behavior can affect the workplace negatively. If employers fail to address and correct bad workplace behavior, negative consequences such as poor morale, employee stress, damage to reputation, and employee turnover might occur.

What is the importance of oral presentation in the workplace?

Significance. An oral presentation in the workplace is an employee’s chance to show off the work she has been doing, and prove her value to the company. Whether an employee is presenting to a department or company-wide, it is important to gear the presentation toward the audience.

What is the impact of good presentation?

If you have effective presentation skills, this means you are good at communicating. By speaking clearly, and getting your ideas and message across to people well, there will be less miscommunication in your life. This means less stress and happier relationships!

What are common causes of ineffective presentation?

Common Reasons for Ineffective Presentations

• Not engaging the audience in the beginning of the presentation.
• Poorly organized information (no order or logic) or lack of clear purpose.
• Poorly designed presentation materials (poor color contrast, background design, font size or type, etc.)

What is the effect of inappropriate behaviour to your Organisation and colleagues?

Allowing inappropriate behaviour to go unchecked will result in colleagues feeling uncomfortable and potentially at risk, which leaves companies open to losing valuable members of staff. Staff absence as a result of workplace bullying or sick leave for mental-health reasons will also strongly impact businesses.

What are the negative effects of poor personal presentation?

Side effects of poor personal hygiene

• pubic lice.
• athlete’s foot.

What is the benefit of oral presentation?

Effective oral presentation helps in saving efforts, time and money for listeners as well as the speaker. It can be used for conveying confidential information to a selected group of individuals which ultimately improves the level of communication & exchange of information.

What are the three main purposes of oral presentations?

There are three general purposes that all speeches fall into: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain.

What is an impact presentation?

Impact Presenting is a method of public speaking which helps minimize anxiety, formulate your message, and deliver a presentation with impact that gets you the results you are looking for.

How do you make an impact on a presentation?

10 Powerful ways to open a presentation with impact

• Make a bold claim.
• Invite them to ‘Imagine’
• Present a striking fact or statistic.
• Ask a question.
• Tell a story or anecdote.
• Use an aphorism or proverb.
• Make it mysterious.
• Introduce an analogy or metaphor.

What are the problems of presentations?

28 Common Presentation Mistakes. Which are you making?

• Starting poorly. Make sure to start your presentations with impact.
• Failing to address the audience’s concerns.
• Boring your audience.
• Failing to engage emotionally.
• Using too much jargon.
• Being too wordy or rambling.
• Going over your allotted time.
• Lack of focus.

What constraints may affect a presentation?

Candidates should identify constraints that might affect their presentation including for example, copyright licenses for content, nature of their audience, available hardware, implications of making the presentation available to others in terms of file formats, sizes of files.

What happens if you make an unprofessional appearance at work?

What makes a presentation look unprofessional?

Why are presentation skills important in the workplace?

What makes a good presentation a bad presentation?

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The Impact of Inappropriate Conduct in the Workplace

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Signs of Unsatisfied Employees

How to deal with stubborn employees, how to work with negativity.

• How to Deal With Unprofessional Employees
• How to Manage Staff in a Small Business Office

As a small business owner, you know the importance of hiring good people. Unfortunately, employees sometimes behave inappropriately. While nobody is perfect, and even excellent workers have bad days, inappropriate office behavior can take its toll on your workforce and your business. Preventing and addressing bad behavior should be workplace priorities.

">Examples of Inappropriate Conduct

Poor workplace behavior can take several forms. Here are some common examples of bad behavior that can negatively affect your business:

Harassment and bullying : Harassment and bullying remain difficult problems in many workplaces. These are patterns of behavior that humiliate and intimidate others. While many incidences of harassment and bullying involve written or verbal aggression, bullies may also use physical and sexual violence, or threats of either, against victims.

Demonstrating bias : Many people feel uncomfortable when a coworker overshares details of their personal or professional lives. Issues such as sexual behavior, indulgence in drugs or alcohol or conflicts with supervisors are best addressed with one's friends, family or a therapist.

Oversharing : Many people feel uncomfortable when a coworker overshares details of their personal or professional lives. Issues such as sexual behavior, indulgence in drugs or alcohol or conflicts with supervisors are best addressed with one's friends, family or a therapist.

Gossiping : Sharing negative, and often untrue or incomplete, information about colleagues or company management can create tension and distrust in a workplace.

Being non-productive : Employees who are uncommunicative, regularly missed deadlines or fail to complete assigned work will, over time, harm your business with their inattention and laziness.

Consequences of Poor Conduct 

Failure to address and correct bad behavior in the workplace can harm your business in many ways:

Poor morale : Even the most conscientious of employees will become discouraged by a colleague's continued bad behavior. After all, why should a good worker bother arriving early or staying late to complete a project when the person sitting next to them never adheres to deadlines?

Employee stress: Stress is already a problem for many people, and a toxic work environment only makes things worse. Victims of the office bully, as well as bystanders, often report physical symptoms resulting from the constant threat of aggression. Over time, you may find that your workforce becomes less healthy, which can lead to high absenteeism and lower productivity.

Damage to reputation : Industry colleagues will perceive you as a poor leader, unable to hire and manage your team. Potential customers and clients may opt to work with your competitors. You may also find it difficult to hire good workers who have more job options and prefer to work in a healthier environment.

Employee turnover : A 2017 study showed that the departure of an employee costs a company 33% of that worker's salary. That's a lot of money. When good workers leave your company for a healthier workplace, you'll have to find a way to complete their job tasks until you can hire and train a replacement.

Addressing Inappropriate Office Behavior

It is critical that business owners implement processes that make it easy for supervisors, managers and employees themselves to address inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Managers and supervisors should be trained to appropriately counsel workers on their behavior and, when necessary, take disciplinary action.

If behavior issues have become a serious issue within your business, you may benefit from seeking outside help. A management consultant may be able to provide insight into your company culture and make recommendations for improving the way your team works together.

Preventing Inappropriate Behavior at Work

Of course, preventing inappropriate behavior is always preferable to having to remedy it after the fact. There are some ways that you can avoid having to deal with behavior issues within your company:

Hire carefully : Look beyond resumes and try to get to know your new hires. When possible, check references and do online searches to get a better idea of the kind of person you'll be hiring.

Offer a referral bonus : Your current employees may be able to recommend former colleagues, as well as friends, to fill roles within your company. Offer a referral bonus while emphasizing that any referral should be a good fit for your company and its culture.

Offer onboarding : Many companies ignore the importance of equality onboarding process. Onboarding not only prepares a new hire for his or her job role, but also provides an opportunity to clarify your expectations regarding employee behavior.

Be transparent : If you and your management team have a reputation for honesty and accountability, workers may be less likely to spread rumors or attempt to undermine other workers as a competitive strategy. Gossip and backbiting within an office often have roots in a lack of transparency at the management and leadership levels. When possible, share information about your business with employees and be aware of worker concerns.

Provide support : Some bad worker behavior could be avoided if workers felt more comfortable discussing issues with their supervisors. For example, a worker who has become less productive may be dealing with a family or personal crisis. Encouraging workers to speak with their supervisors before a health or personal issue impacts job performance benefits both worker and workplace.

• USAToday.com: 5 common unprofessional workplace behaviors
• Forbes.com: Companies Need To Know The Dollar Cost Of Employee Turnover
• HRDive.com: Study: Turnover costs employers $15,000 per worker

Lainie Petersen is a full-time freelance writer living in Chicago. She has written on part-time, full-time and freelance employment for a variety of online and offline publications. She holds a master's degree in library and information science from Dominican University.

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Career Advice

Consequences for bad professional appearance in the workplace, how can inappropriate attire in the workplace affect women.

You may look great in your seductively short skirt, strapless shirt or pair of adorable flip-flops, but that doesn't mean you should wear any of them to work. Your boss, clients and co-workers judge you by the way you look, so wearing inappropriate attire to the office can have serious professional consequences. If you're a manager, you may need to create a dress code for your office and have a talk with employees who don't abide by it.

Disrespect and Distraction

It's fine to wear your comfy t-shirts, slippers and pajama pants when you're off the clock, but donning these things at work may lead to disrespect from your colleagues. Your co-workers and boss might think you're clueless, for example. Co-workers might make jokes about your inappropriate attire or avoid you as much as possible. Your fellow workers will also have trouble taking you and your ideas seriously. Your attention-grabbing cocktail dress might be perfect for a night on the town, but at work, it's too distracting for your co-workers. If co-workers are staring at you in the dress, they are paying less attention to customers or projects. That will cost your company money, and your boss probably won't be too happy about it.

Lost Opportunities

If you or your co-workers regularly meet with clients and customers, dressing inappropriately may result in lost opportunities and sales. Customers make judgments about you as soon as they see you, and if you don't have a professional appearance, they might take their business elsewhere. Clients have a hard time trusting a poorly dressed person. If you wear a fuzzy, neon-pink sweater to meet a client, for example, he might think you're incapable of working with him professionally.

Sexual Harassment

You may be feeling confident about your body and the way you look, but you shouldn't show too much skin to people at work. Too-short skirts, sheer clothing and shirts that expose your midriff can attract the kind of attention you don't want at the office. Co-workers might think your provocative clothing is an invitation to flirt with you or ask you out on dates. Even if this attention doesn't bother you, it can be distracting and a drain on your productivity. Occasionally, a colleague's flirting may veer into the realm of sexual harassment, creating an uncomfortable -- and possibly dangerous -- situation for you.

Talking to Inappropriately Dressed Co-Workers

If you're a manager and your employees aren't dressing professionally, consider implementing an office dress code. Specify the types of clothing that both men and women cannot wear, and give suggestions for what is appropriate. Clearly state the consequences for ignoring the dress code. Even with a dress code, some employees may continue to dress inappropriately. If you must speak to them, take each employee into your office alone to talk privately. Remind the employee that the company policy forbids dressing the way she does, if applicable. Tell her why her appearance is inappropriate for the office. If she begins dressing professionally after this conversation, praise her for the effort.

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• USA Today: How NOT to Dress for Work
• Wise HR Partnerships: 10 Things to Remember When Talking to Employees About Inappropriate Dress
• Today Money: Too Much Skin Showing? Time to Create a Dress Code
• Salisbury University: How to Dress Professionally
• Marie Claire: Power Dressing

Melissa King began writing in 2001. She spent three years writing for her local newspaper, "The Colt," writing editorials, news stories, product reviews and entertainment pieces. She is also the owner and operator of Howbert Freelance Writing. King holds an Associate of Arts in communications from Tarrant County College.

Inappropriate Workplace Behavior

Inappropriate workplace behavior refers to a kind of behavior that is inappropriate, offensive, or a form of harassment. Activities such as sexual misbehavior, malicious complaints, and so on fall under this category. An inappropriate workplace behavior not only affects the productivity of an employee but also degrades his professional expectations. 

According to a poll conducted by NPR and Ipsos on workplace behavior, 1130 American adults have complaints or objections regarding the work environment. These objections to protests include:

• Talking or spreading rumors about a person's personal life
• Deliberate touching, leaning or cornering an employee
• Unprofessional conduct while communicating
• Male commenting on a female employee or vice versa
• Discussing or asking an employee about their sexual preferences or about their past
• Jealousy of superiority in terms of rank. Thus giving birth to rude conversations.

However, while most people view all of the above-said behaviors as inappropriate in the workplace, they have witnessed them regularly. About 51% of the men aged 18 to 34 considered talking about some sexual life or personal history inappropriate. Also, 72 to 88 percent of the employees, including men and women, regarded unprofessional conduct like "girl, babe, sweetie or honey" as inappropriate.

The Most Common Types of Inappropriate Workplace Behavior

All members of the workforce are affected by inappropriate workplace behavior. There is psychological harassment of victims, and the offender makes inconsistent decisions. As they realize their errors, they may feel a growing sense of guilt, which could affect both employees. However, the most common inappropriate behaviors witnessed by employees are:

1. Sexual Misconduct

If an employee is mistreated regarding his sexual life or appearance, such behaviors fall under this category. Sexual misconduct includes both sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace. Examples of sexual harassment may include:

• Any form of sexually explicit jeering or taunting, repetitive and unwanted requests for sex or to go on dates.
• Leering or staring at a person sexually or deliberately standing too close to someone.
• It does not stop there, but other forms of sexual harassment, such as showing others pornographic or sexually explicit materials such as posters or screen savers and then threatening them with inappropriate action, are also on the rise.
• In addition, the accuser uses a wide range of techniques, including sending sexually explicit emails, text messages, and social networking site advances. 
• Making sexually explicit promises or threats in exchange for something else of value.
• Other examples of sexual misconduct include invasive questions or remarks about a person's sexual activities.

2. Bullying

Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone causes another person injury or discomfort repeatedly. There are several forms of bullying that can be physical, verbal, or more subtle. The following are examples of workplace bullying:

• Publicizing rumors and false information about another person's personal or professional life
• Disclosing confidential or private information that is essential to an employee's performance.
• Language or remarks that are abusive, insulting, or otherwise offensive
• Discouraging an employee from participating in work-related activities.
• Setting unrealistic deadlines or changing them frequently
• Unfounded complaints or criticism about the employee

3. Undiversified Environment

Discrimination against a person based on their personal characteristics is illegal. Regardless of the reason, it is unlawful to treat someone less favorably than others. This includes how they are treated in the workplace, in connection with a job application, or even after leaving their job position. Some most common practices include:

• Because of their disability, someone may be mocked, teased, or harassed.
• Paying someone more minor (or not at all) because of their race, culture, or religion.
• Not hiring someone because of their age.
• Discrimination between gender and many more.
• Inappropriately making fun of a person's ethnicity by emailing or using social media.

4. Inappropriate behavior

An organization and its employees can suffer significant consequences if their behavior is inconsistent with basic professional and collegial expectations. This can also increase an organization's potential legal liability. 

Teamwork and civility in the workplace lead to high morale, productivity, and customer service, boosting profitability. Unfortunately, this is not always when workers engage in inappropriate or disruptive behavior. Some most common practices include:

• Raising voice during a meeting or acting aggressively when working with other people.
• Consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs can lead to inappropriate behavior.
• Inappropriate classroom or meeting behavior, such as yelling, talking over or interrupting others, monopolizing talks, or making unreasonable demands.
• Unreasonable or excessive demands on a person's time, space, or attention
• Inappropriate use of equipment or supplies.

How Do You Manage Inappropriate Workplace Behaviors?

An excellent place to start is introductory training in conflict resolution and people management. Supporting your managers with the resources they need to succeed can give them the self-assurance they need when dealing with challenging personnel. Also, workplace personality testing modules can be used by some businesses to help their employees identify that they may have various working styles and distinct tendencies in how they interact with one another. 

When these scenarios develop, be extremely precise about who to contact and what to document. A proactive approach to coaching employees about inappropriate behavior can often prevent situations that escalate to a hostile work environment and illegal harassment.

• Effective Communication

Maintain a clear understanding among employees about what is and isn't acceptable behavior in the workplace. It is possible to prevent a scenario by simply stating one's expectations upfront in many cases. In addition, employees should be allowed to confront their management without fear of repercussions if they notice inappropriate behavior. Finally, consider educating your employees on how to go about bringing up improper conduct.

• Collaborative Activities

A better working relationship can be achieved by encouraging meaningful collaborative activities. Workplace personality testing modules are used by some businesses to help their employees identify that they may have various working styles and distinct tendencies in how they interact with one another. One of the best ways to ease tense situations is to realize that one's own style and tendencies are just as valid as those of someone else's opposite.

• Open Minded Management

The best managers will begin to pay close attention to what's happening when unacceptable behaviors emerge, rather than just turning away from problems they'd prefer to ignore.

Workers may be less likely to spread rumors or undermine their coworkers if the company's management team has a reputation for honesty and accountability. 

• Diversified Environment

Often, gossip and backbiting in the workplace stem from a lack of openness in management. Share company information with your staff if possible, and pay attention to their problems.

Employers are prohibited from making employment decisions based on an employee's protected class status, but basing decisions on performance helps avoid the appearance of a breach of these regulations. 

When an employee believes they are being discriminated against or harassed, focusing on performance helps retain the emphasis on the genuine employment issues at hand, keeps the employer compliant, and shows respect for employees and coworkers and their rights in the workplace.

Final Words

Efforts are not limited to the physical and psychological threats present in the workplace. An employee's inappropriate behavior can negatively affect a coworker's emotional and physical health. Defining undesirable workplace behavior is essential before you can feel comfortable confronting it. When dealing with and preventing unprofessional behavior at work, prevention generally surpasses treatment.

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