Improper behaviour is acting in a way that violates established rules, ethics, social norms, or decency, meaning it's unsuitable for the circumstances, incorrect, or against what's considered right, often involving actions like dishonesty, disrespect, significant mismanagement, or breaches of trust, especially in professional or public settings. It ranges from minor impoliteness (bad manners) to serious misconduct (corruption, abuse) and is context-dependent, with legal/official definitions covering corrupt or anti-democratic conduct.
indecorous, improper, unseemly, unbecoming, indelicate mean not conforming to what is accepted as right, fitting, or in good taste. indecorous suggests a violation of accepted standards of good manners. indecorous behavior.
Inappropriate behavior means conduct that is unwarranted and is reasonably interpreted to be demeaning or offensive. Persistent, repeated inappropriate behavior can become a form of harassment and thereby become disruptive, and subject to treatment as “disruptive behavior.” View Source. Based on 14 documents.
Inappropriate behaviour for the purposes of this Policy means bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct and victimisation.
Improper conduct includes corrupt conduct, misconduct, unsatisfactory conduct and anti-democratic conduct.
7 common forms of workplace misconduct
Basic rules
Check what behaviour is unacceptable
Many words that scare human resources fall into clear categories: Legal and sensitive terms: “harassment,” “discrimination,” “lawsuit,” “retaliation.” These words trigger legal and compliance concerns because they suggest unresolved, serious workplace issues.
Unacceptable behavior examples can include physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, manipulation, control, lying, cheating, disrespecting boundaries, ignoring or invalidating feelings, belittling or demeaning, and refusing to take responsibility for one's actions.
Types of workplace unacceptable behaviour
Is unwanted or unwelcome behaviour that a reasonable person, having regard to all the circumstances, would consider offensive, insulting, humiliating or intimidating. There does not have to be an intention to offend or harass for harassment to occur.
If someone feels that the behaviour of others violates their dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, then it may be considered harassment, even if the other person didn't intend their behaviour to have this effect*.
10 Different Behaviours of Concern
Examples of ODD behaviors include:
The phrase "behave improperly" means to act in a way that is not appropriate, correct, or ethical according to established standards or rules. It suggests a deviation from expected or acceptable conduct.
The 5 Most Common HR Nightmares & How to Avoid Them
The biggest red flags at work often center around toxic leadership, poor communication, and a high-turnover culture, signaling deep issues like micromanagement, lack of transparency, burnout, and disrespect, where problems are normalized and employee well-being is ignored in favor of short-term gains. Key indicators include managers who don't support staff, excessive gossip, broken promises, constant negativity, and environments where speaking up feels unsafe or pointless, often leading to high employee churn.
Examples of toxic behaviours can vary and may include workplace bullying, harassment, micromanagement, lack of communication, discrimination, favouritism, or lack of accountability.
Here are five red flags you're in a toxic situation you may need to address.
(ʌnprəfɛʃənəl ) adjective. If you use unprofessional to describe someone's behavior at work, you are criticizing them for not behaving according to the standards that are expected of a person in their profession. [disapproval]
People taking advantage of others- physically, emotionally or mentally in the form of bullying, discrimination, harassment or any other kind of abusive behaviour. Unreasonable demands on myself or others. Ghosting or being late with no reason, explanation or note to say so. Lying, gaslighting or similar.
By law (Employment Rights Act 1996), the following are potential reasons to dismiss someone fairly: misconduct – when the employee has done something that's inappropriate or not acceptable. capability – when the employee is not able to do the job or does not have the right qualifications.
Instead of just citing someone as being grumpy or a cynic, be specific. Take the time to constructively describe both the physical and verbal behaviors. Tie the “whining” to its impact on performance, work environment, and/or relationships with co-workers or clients.
10 Examples of Unethical Behavior