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Does professional citizenship resonate with you?

Lizzie O'Brien

So, you think you’re a professional? And most of us do. Think we’re professionals. We get to work on time, roll up our sleeves, coach colleagues, advise the business, fight fires; balancing the needs of workers and organisations at the same time. And we go home. To our friends and loved ones, to the gym, to the pub, to the cinema.

But if we’re professionals, do our responsibilities start and end with our day job? Do we have a duty to use our unique skills to help others? How can we go beyond our roles while balancing our work, family and other busy life commitments? These ideas sit at the heart of professional citizenship, which is described by the University of Minnesota as 'an identity: seeing oneself first as a citizen with special expertise working alongside other citizens with their own special expertise in order to solve community problems that require everyone’s effort.’

So, what do you think? How can we be better professional citizens? And should we be? Does the concept resonate with you? Please share your thoughts - the good, the bad and the ugly!

Parents
  • Thank you all for sharing your varied and interesting views on this subject. We are currently testing the concept of professional citizenship and are particularly looking for the views of those with whom is does not resonate! We would therefore love it if you could spare the time to talk to us a little more about the subject, as we are looking to pull together a diverse range of opinions on the topic.

    Please do contact me, Fiona Scott, at f.scott@cipd.co.uk
Reply
  • Thank you all for sharing your varied and interesting views on this subject. We are currently testing the concept of professional citizenship and are particularly looking for the views of those with whom is does not resonate! We would therefore love it if you could spare the time to talk to us a little more about the subject, as we are looking to pull together a diverse range of opinions on the topic.

    Please do contact me, Fiona Scott, at f.scott@cipd.co.uk
Children
  • in reply to Fiona
    Hi Fiona, This is a very interesting subject and one which I can see resonates with all of us. As a HR professional of long-standing, I have now stopped telling people in social situations what I do - because every time I go to a party or wedding etc. if I answer that I am a People Manager -people ask "Is that HR?" and when I answer yes they always say "I would like to talk to you about something later on if you don`t mind?". What can I say? I reply yes of course. They find me wherever I am - usually whilst I`m just about to start on my delicious dinner in the middle of a conversation with an old friend I have n`t seen for ages and they start regaling me about the problems they are having with their manager or their workplace. And every time I feel sorry and either tell them what they should do or I give them my number so that they can call me. I have done this for many years and free of charge. One person even had the gall to tell me "I asked my lawyer but he wants £1,500 to fill in my ET1 but you will do it for me for free". I have found that my good works outside the workplace have impacted on my wellbeing. After all I deal with complex ER issues 50 hours per week, week in and week out, so going to a party over the weekend helps me unwind etc. Eventually any professional work outside the workplace or business can lead to burnout and I have to think about my health in this world of never switching off. After all do we ask a lawyer or a barrister to give us advice for free when they are not in their work setting. You will find that if we are professionals we have to take a leaf out of the lawyers page and behave professionally. That does not mean that I don`t help friends and family anyway with free advice - we all give back freely of our time and expertise - because that`s who we are. But the question is - if we are professionals - what are the boundaries. If our advice and time is so cheap - do we deserve to be called professionals?