Who or what is a casual professional?

Some office environments are extremely formal, while others are far more relaxed. I’ve worked in both, and what I’ve seen is that one type of person always prevails—the casual professional.

A casual professional never compromises on the fundamentals of professionalism: being on time to everything, accountable for her work, and extremely respectful of her colleagues. However, he/she also understands how to authentically represent who they are as an individual. Successful professionals often end up working long hours, and it’s neither fun nor realistic to only talk about work. You should selectively let your colleagues know a bit more about you–it’ll humanize you and make you more fun to be around.

This may mean telling your co-workers about a non work-related interest (food, sports, and the arts are usually safe), or buying beer for your colleagues at the end of a particularly rough (or awesome!) week.

Please be warned that it can be difficult to strike a good balance, so to make sure you’re on the right side of casual, watch the behaviour of people who are admired at all levels of the organization. If you think they’d do it, go for it.