It seems like I’ve noticed a major uptick over the last several months in manipulative narcissistic micromanaging managers and HR staff who have started throwing this term “unprofessional” around constantly. Like they seem to be willy nilly shotgunning the term from their hips, so to speak, in response to any decision, behavior, or communication they find undesirable from their myopic, selfish, narcissistic perspective of “their” employees being their literal (perpetually cheerful!) slaves.
Maybe bosses/managers/HR staff are trending to using this tactic because they’re all reading about it via the same source and/or via networking? Is this even a recent thing/phenomena or maybe bosses/managers/HR staff have always been using this particular manipulative Machiavellian tactic to control their slaves for practically forever?
Maybe it’s just me and I’m just now noticing this as a specific manipulative tactic by bosses/managers/HR staff to control the narrative of a given employee -which must always be in their immediate self-interest/favor, of course!- because the individual who happens to be my assigned manager tends to shotgun the charge of “unprofessional” in reaction to just about anything I do or say or anything anyone else formally subordinate to her authority at work does or says that isn’t in favor of their striving for micromanagement/absolute control of everything -esp the narrative-, all the time?
The term “profession” and “professional” have quite the history and several layers of nuance, in the first place. Personally, I happen to be formally licensed in several states to practice as a licensed professional in my field. The professional standards of practice and ethics for the particular field I’m licensed and practice in are very specific. I practically have them memorized and I’ve never once even been close to violating these standards or ethics in my daily words and actions. Upholding both the spirit and letter of them has been my highest priority over the course of my daily practice of my profession the past 20 years.
This charge of “unprofessional” by bosses/managers/HR staff seems typically to be used to shame/guilt an employee into subjecting themselves more fully to the slavery (and you’d better be a cheerful slave and be grateful!) which micromanaging employers demand.
Major pet peeve at this point. I’ve begun to counter each of this manager’s shrill charges of “unprofessional” or “unprofessionalism” against me with a formal paper trail of documentation detailing how what I said/did/did not say/do was professional and not “unprofessional”.
How else can I counter such baseless characterizations designed to further their agenda of total/absolute control/enslavement?
Is there an actual definition used by employers/HR/state or fed law as to what “unprofessionalism” actually consists of?
Totally sick and tired of this manager (and others) steering the narrative about me (and others) at work into negative territory with the shrill, seemingly endless accusations that I’m being (and others are being) “unprofessional” just so they can advance their selfish myopic narrative of employees as cheerful slaves.