Employees are expected to follow the basic demeanours and company guidelines concerning professionalism at the workplace. However, employees indulge in various unprofessional behaviors, some of which have been discussed below, along with a sample warning letter for each.
#1 Being unresponsive
This unprofessional behavior is related to an employee not responding promptly and appropriately to a manager, subordinate, colleague, or customer. For instance, the employee may:
- Show that s/he is unaware of the situation that needs a response.
- Do not reply to the letter, email, or phone call.
- Keep delaying timelines or other tasks.
- Keep on delaying the proper required response.
In such a scenario, an employer may issue a warning letter to the employee.
Sample warning letter
Dear Ms. Emily,
This warning letter is being issued to you due to your continuous unresponsiveness in the TOYO project of [XYZ] corporation.
In the last month, [XYZ] has emailed and called you for queries or updates on the project, but you have been very unprofessional in dealing with them. You have not replied to any of their emails properly. We have all the details, and we can see that you have ignored their email or replied with a very general response without addressing the mentioned issue. [XYZ] has informed us about your unprofessionalism, and they are considering returning the project to us.
You know our company policies; we do not tolerate unresponsiveness and unprofessional behavior. Since you have been a good employee since joining us, we are only issuing you a warning letter. However, if such behavior persists, we will have to fire you.
You can contact us at [Contact] if you have any questions.
Regards,
William John.
#2 Blaming
This behavior entails not taking responsibility for the issue or the problem. Employees often try to shoulder off the responsibility by blaming other employees, supervisors, or sometimes even the customers. This behavior often delays the resolution of the problem as the company must investigate the guilty party before resolving the issue. Employees indulge in this behavior to avoid inadequate evaluations; however, they suffer even more once proven guilty.
Sample warning letter
Dear Mr. David,
This is to notify you that we are issuing you a warning letter for your unprofessional behavior in the blame game.
We have received many complaints from your colleagues and manager that whenever an issue arises in your department for which you are responsible, you often try to shoulder off the responsibility and blame any concerned employee. Once, before the CEO, you blamed your manager for the delay in the [XYZ] project completion, for which you were entirely responsible.
Your manager wants to replace you. However, as you have been working with us for many years, we are issuing you this warning letter to give you a chance to improve your behavior. If this blaming behavior does not stop, we must comply with your manager’s request.
We hope to see a change. If you have any questions, contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
Jennifer Steven.
#3 Not keeping promises
It is always advisable to underpromise and overdeliver instead of vice versa. However, many employees commit to different tasks and do not fulfill their commitments and promises. They cannot fulfill their obligations either because they have overpromised or have not observed their commitments. This may affect the company’s customers, profits, effectiveness, and efficiency.
Sample warning letter
Dear Mr. Joe,
This warning letter is to notify you that the company will not tolerate your unprofessional behavior of not keeping your promises and not fulfilling your commitments.
You were recently given the complete charge of the [ABC] project, and you were made responsible for completing all the deadlines on time, as it was a critical project with our old customer. You have missed three deadlines, and many project resources are on hold, costing us money.
You must improve your behavior and deliver on the promises you passionately made about the project. If there are any further delays, we will have to reassign this project to someone else, which may result in the termination of your contract.
You have been with us for five years, and we hope you will continue working with us. We hope to see a change. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at [Contact].
Regards,
William Smith.
#4 Politics
All organizations have some politics, but employers must take corrective action if that becomes a dominant factor. Employees involve themselves in office politics to gain more power, respect, status,
Sample warning letter
Dear Ms. Emily,
This letter is a warning about your involvement in office politics.
We have received numerous employee complaints against you over the last few months. It is good to try to move up the ladder, but that should not entail unprofessionalism and risking other people’s careers. To get a promotion, you have reportedly been involved in politics against Mr. Joe for acquiring his position. Mr. Joe’s manager was on the brink of firing him.
Such unprofessional behavior is not acceptable in our organization. Since joining us, you have been a good employee, so we are issuing you a warning letter only for now. We expect to see a change in you and an apology from you to Mr. Joe. If your behavior does not change, we must take serious action that might lead to your termination.
If you have any questions, you can contact us at X.
Regards,
Jennifer Will.
#5 Being fake
Being fake or pretentious is another unprofessional behavior that employees often indulge in. Some examples of fake acts could be showing that you are working hard, spending extra hours, attending to customers, being nice to the co-workers you hate, being nice to the boss, etc.
Sample warning letter
Dear Mr. Jones,
This warning letter is being issued to you for your fake behavior at work.
When your manager complained about your performance, we decided to have feedback from your co-workers. Your colleagues reported that you continually work hard and even spend extra hours. Due to these conflicting reviews, we investigated the matter further and discovered that you are just being fake when it comes to working. You are looking at your laptop screen but not working; you spend extra hours but not on office work.
We cannot tolerate this behavior because it affects your performance and the company. If your behavior persists, this warning must be translated into your termination.
Our employees are valuable assets to us, and we expect you to change your behavior and improve your performance.
You can contact us at [Contact] if you have any questions.
Regards,
Jill Watson.
#6 Putting profit ahead of customer needs
Employees often attempt to improve the company’s profits while compromising customer needs to become a valuable employee and earn a good evaluation. This is considered unprofessional because customers get dissatisfied, and ultimately, the company loses them and its long-term profits.
Sample warning letter
Dear Mr. Ross,
This warning letter is being issued to you because of the customer complaint filed against you.
Ms. Emily bought 10 watches from our store on 27th September 20XX. She was in a hurry and did not check all the watches while in the store. Three watches were non-functional when she checked them at home, so she returned the next day to exchange them. She had the receipt and the guarantee card, but you refused to exchange them, saying that she should have checked them at the time of purchase.
Our company values indicate that customers are our top priority; ultimately, only the satisfied customer is the source of profit generation. As an employee, you are required to follow company values strictly, and this type of unprofessional behavior will not be acceptable in the future and might lead to your termination.
We hope to see a change. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at [Contact].
Regards,
John Smith.
#7 Poor communication
Poor communication among employees may be due to poor communication skills or carelessness. When communication is unclear, misunderstandings, issues, and profit losses may occur.
Sample warning letter
Dear Ms. Samantha,
This warning letter is being issued to you because of your poor communication and lack of information transfer in the
As the head of the project, you were required to transfer all the client requirements to your subordinates, which you did not. As a result, the project’s performance suffered immensely, and the clients had many complaints.
You are required to be professional and communicative. This type of behavior would force us to consider your termination.
We hope that you will improve your communication in all work tasks. If you have any questions, please contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
Jill William.
#8 Lying and stealing
This is a common type of unprofessional behavior in which employees lie about work, behavior, things, etc. Some employees even steal from their company or steal company property of various values.
Sample warning letter
Dear Ms. Rachel,
This letter is to warn you against any future stealing of the company’s property.
Your colleagues have reported your stealing habits. Over the last few months, numerous calculators, stationery, company mugs, etc., have been constantly stolen from your department. Upon investigation, you have been proven guilty.
This type of behavior is unacceptable in our organization. You are expected to change this stealing habit and pay the company a $200/—fine by 20 September 20XX. You will be terminated if this stealing does not stop and/or the fine is not paid.
We hope to see a change in you. If you have any questions, please contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
Monica Smith.
#9 Not giving 100%
When an employee is not performing up to the mark or up to his/her potential, the company warns him/her to improve his/her behavior and put in hard work.
Sample warning letter
Dear Mr. David,
We are writing this warning letter to inform you about your poor performance over the last year.
You headed three projects in 20XX, and all three were not up to the mark. As a result, our company has suffered from customer dissatisfaction. This harmful behavior cannot be tolerated. If this persists in 2019 as well, we will be forced to consider your termination.
You have always been an exceptional employee. If we can help you improve your bad performance in any way, let us know at [Contact].
We hope to see a change in your performance over the coming years.
Regards,
Paul Sean.
#10 Thin skin
Companies value their employees, but can only tolerate their emotions and sensitivity to some extent. Some employees are sensitive and often overreact in unfavorable workplace situations.
Sample warning letter
Dear Ms. Emma,
This letter is being issued to you as a warning to control your emotions at the workplace.
On 12th October 20XX, when your manager scolded you for not following the deadlines, you started crying in his office and ran back to your desk. The whole office got involved and became concerned about what had happened. This wasted an hour of workable time and generated many rumors about your manager.
Such episodes have happened before, but we have considered your sensitive personality and not taken action. However, now this has afflicted your manager’s character, which is why we are issuing this warning letter. You must stop this unprofessional behavior and get
We are considerate about our employees’ sensitivities as long as they do not detract from the company and other employees. We hope to see a change in you. If you have any questions, contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
Amelia Will.
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