Why “Professionalism” Should Be Specific

Why this matters

Be more professional is common feedback, but it is often too vague to act on.

For neurodivergent employees, vague feedback can create anxiety and overcorrection because the actual behavior is unclear.

Better feedback

Instead of saying, “Be more professional,” name the situation, behavior, and desired next action.

For example: “In client emails, use a greeting, answer the question directly, and avoid internal shorthand.”

Ask which work requirement is affected

When someone receives a broad label, they may change harmless parts of their style and still miss the actual concern. Ask for an example and the effect on the work. Was a customer missing information, was a deadline unclear, or did a remark cross a respectful-conduct boundary? Those are different problems and need different responses.

Show an alternative that can be used

For example, replace “your updates are not polished” with “start the update with the decision needed, then list the two risks and your recommendation.” Share a short example, allow questions, and agree when to review the next update. Check that the expectation is relevant to the role and applied consistently. Eye contact, sociability, or similarity to a manager should not become unstated substitutes for the quality of someone's work.