Are you a pro?
Professionalism is something that has come to have extremely positive connotations in our society. We see this especially in how the adjective ”professional” is used. It is distinguished to be a pro. It has a value in itself. The opposite is also true. ”That's unprofessional”, we often say when we are dissatisfied with how people act in the business world.
I think that what we often mean when we speak about professional behaviour is occupational competence. People with an in-depth knowledge of what they work with, whether finance systems or science, are considered professional. Another common meaning behind what we see as professionalism in everyday speech is when people are able to make a distinction between the private individual and their professional role. When the case handler at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) is friendly but objective, the train inspector treats all passengers equally and remains calm despite the train standing still, I think (and perhaps you do too): how professional he/she is! And by this we mean that we feel we have been treated fairly, impartially and in accordance with the applicable rules.
The question is whether professionalism will have all of these positive associations in the future. Today, what most of us see as the essence of professionalism is being challenged. Professionalism can mean both all of the above and something that is almost the opposite. Being someone that is a master of only certain technologies and who has a very narrow specialisation can be professional. Being professional can also be a matter of being flexible and ”service-minded”, a professional concept which is associated with demand and market rather than knowledge and integrity. To not have a fixed viewpoint based on the individual's knowledge within a field, that is professional.
I feel that we need to save the term professionalism from being completely void of all meaning. Not least because we need a tool for differentiating knowledge-based conduct from other motives such as economics, politics or religion. Having a profession is and remains something more than being able to refer to the quality assurance system.
Ylva Hasselberg, Professor of Economic History