Professionalism as Neocolonialism: Undressing the Legacies of Imperialism

Professionalism, an idea widely presented and accepted as a neutral standard and benchmark for success in the workplace, is in fact one of the many masks that neo-colonialism wears. It implicitly outlines behaviours and expectations that are deemed legitimate and, by default, puts into question the capacity of people who exhibit ways of existing that fall outside of these parameters. But, which cultural frameworks serve as the basis for these ‘benchmarked’ ways? Who do they centre? Most importantly, how have they become implicitly embedded in the psyches of people as ‘the norm’?