When working at a workplace, employees are expected to follow the basic demeanors and company guidelines with respect to professionalism. 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 type of unprofessional behavior is related to an employee not giving a timely and appropriate response to a manager, subordinate, colleague or the customer. For instance, the employee may:
- Show that s/he is unaware of the situation that needs a response.
- Not reply to the letter, email or phone call.
- Keep on delaying the 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 clearly see that either you have ignored their email or have replied with a very general response without addressing the mentioned issue. [XYZ] has informed us about your unprofessionalism and they are thinking to take back the project from us.
You clearly know of our company policies and you know that we do not tolerate such unresponsiveness and unprofessional behavior. You have been our good employee since you joined us so we are currently only issuing you a warning letter. However, if such behavior persists, we would have to fire you.
If you have any questions, you can contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
William John.
2. Blaming
This behavior entails not taking the 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 results in delaying of the problem resolution as the company must investigate the guilty before resolving the issue. Employees indulge in this kind of behavior to avoid bad evaluations, however, once proven guilty, they suffer even more.
Sample warning letter
Dear Mr. David,
This is to notify you that we are issuing you a warning letter for your unprofessional behavior of blame game.
We have received many complaints from your colleagues and manager that whenever some issue arises in your department for which you are responsible, you often try to shoulder off the responsibility and blame any concerned employee. Once, in front of the CEO, you even 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 would not stop, we would have to comply with the request of your manager.
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 under-promise and over-deliver instead of the otherwise. However, many employees often commit to different tasks and do not fulfil their commitments and promises. They are not able to fulfil either because they have over-promised or they simply did not observe their commitments. This may affect the company’s customers, profits or the overall effectiveness and efficiency.
Sample warning letter
Dear Mr. Joe,
This warning letter is to notify you that your unprofessional behavior of not keeping your promises and not fulfilling your commitments would not be tolerated by the company.
You were recently given the complete charge of [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 are required to improve your behavior and deliver promises that you passionately made about the project. In case of any further delays, we would have to reassign this project to someone else and it may result in the
You have been with us for five years and we want you to continue working with us. We hope to see a change. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
William Smith.
4. Politics
All the organizations have a pinch of politics going on but if that becomes a dominant factor, employers must take corrective action. Employees involve themselves in office politics for gaining more power, respect, status,
Sample warning letter
Dear Ms. Emily,
This letter is being issued to you as a warning for your involvement in office politics.
We have received numerous complaints from various employees 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 been reportedly involved in politics against Mr. Joe for acquiring his position. Mr. Joe’s manager was at the brink of firing him.
Such unprofessional behavior is not acceptable in our organization. You have been our good employee since you joined us which is why 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 would not change, we certainly would have to take some serious action that might lead to your termination.
If you have any questions, you can contact us at xxx.
Regards,
Jennifer Will.
5. Being fake
Being fake or pretentious is another unprofessional behavior in which employees often indulge in. Some examples of the fake acts could be showing that you are working hard, spending extra hours, attending 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 a feedback from your co-workers. Your colleagues reported that you always work hard and even spend extra hours at work. Due to these conflicting reviews, we investigated the matter further and got to know that you are just being fake when it comes to working. You are looking at your laptop screen but not working, you are spending extra hours but not for the office work.
We cannot tolerate this behavior especially because it is affecting your performance as well as the company. If your behavior would persist, this warning would have to be translated into your termination.
For us, our employees are valuable assets and we expect you to bring a change in your behavior as well as improve your performance.
If you have any questions, you can contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
Jill Watson.
6. Putting profit ahead of customer needs
To become a valuable employee and earn a good evaluation, employees often attempt to improve the company profits while compromising on
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, 2018. She was in a hurry and did not check all the watches, while being in the store. Three of the watches were non-functional when she checked them at home and came back the next day to exchange them. She had the receipt and the guarantee card but you simply refused to exchange them saying that she should have checked them at the time of purchase.
Our company values clearly indicate that for us, customers are the top priority as 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 executed by you will not be acceptable in the future and might lead to your termination.
We hope to see a change. If you have any questions, you can contact us at [Contact].
Regards,
John Smith.
7. Poor communication
Poor communication on the part of employees may occur either due to their poor communication skills or carelessness/carefreeness. When the communication is not clear, many misunderstandings, issues and loss of profits 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
Being 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 performance of the project suffered immensely and the clients have 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 would improve your communication in all the work tasks. If you have any questions, feel free to 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 variable values.
Sample warning letter
Dear Ms. Rachel,
This letter is to warn you against any future stealing of the company property.
Your colleagues have reported your stealing habits. Since 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 a fine of $200/- to the company till 20th September 2019. If this stealing would not stop and/or the fine would not be paid, you will be terminated.
We hope to see a change in you. For any questions, you can 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 to improve his 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 2018 and all three were not up to the mark. As a result, our company has suffered in terms of customer dissatisfaction. This harmful behavior cannot be tolerated. If this persists in 2019 as well, we would be forced to consider your termination.
You have always been an exceptional employee. If we can help you in any way to improve your bad performance, 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 tolerate their emotions and sensitivity to some extent only. Some employees have a sensitive nature 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 2018, 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 got concerned about what had happened. This not only wasted an hour of workable time but generated many rumors about your manager as well.
Such episodes have happened even before but we have considered your sensitive personality and not taken any 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 until they are not detrimental to 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.
