If I make a million dollars, I’ll get knuckle tattoos

Professionalism: The competence or skill expected of a professional.

As a teenager, my first job was as a cashier at a drug store. I remember a portion of the employee handbook talking about the uniform, hair dye, piercings, makeup, tattoos, etc. It struck me as odd and I tried to ask my manager about it. The answer I got was

“it shows respect.”

Not a satisfying answer, but he probably just didn’t want to explain corporate bureaucracy to a high school kid. Growing up that seemed to be the answer that everyone agreed upon, but never thought about critically.

Throughout my time in university there was always a big focus on professionalism. Especially when I was studying pharmacy. How we dress, how we speak, how we present ourselves to the world. In a lecture on professionalism, I challenged my professor by saying

“If I’m bleeding out, why do I care if my doctor has a face tattoo?”

To which he responded

“That may be true for you, and many younger people. But that could be quite shocking for some older people.”

Some improvement over the years, but still not quite the environment I’d want to be in.

When I started working in a startup, I was really glad to see a casual dress code and mentions of accepting dress in accordance with various cultures and religions.

Professionalism, as most of the adults explained it, seemed pretty expensive to someone like me coming from a working class family. You need to wear certain clothes to work, but you need work to be able to afford the clothes. Self expression in how you present yourself is frowned upon (hair colour, tattoos, piercings, etc.). The way you speak, which is indicative of where you come from, could be seen as improper. Thankfully, these views on professionalism are slowly becoming outdated.

Especially in today’s creator economy, the privilege to stand out can help develop a personal brand.

None of these things matter to a person’s ability to perform their job. A suit doesn’t tell me that someone has relevant experience, an eyebrow piercing doesn’t tell me that someone will be hard to work with. Professionalism, by definition is just about what you know and how well you can do your work. The rest is just aesthetics and marketing. Come to work clean, clothed, and comfortable, be considerate of the people you interact with. That’s it.