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“Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job
Interview
Trust, reputation, and credibility carry a ton of weight in most professions. If you’re not dependable and don’t look like you have any integrity, you’ll have an awful time trying to get your job done. Especially if your work requires you to interact with other people throughout the day.
Industry insiders took to an enlightening AskReddit thread to share the biggest red flags that a ‘professional’ is untrustworthy. Scroll down to pick up some of the signs that you shouldn’t blindly trust just any ‘expert,’ no matter how wide their smile.
Meanwhile, Bored Panda reached out to the author of the intriguing thread, u/ShapingTormance, and they were kind enough to share their thoughts about building trust. Check out our full interview with them below!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Never trust a librarian who agrees to ban books.
RELATED:
#3
Don't trust a minister of God that preaches hate.
John Dilligaf 1 month ago
don't trust a preacher who tells you how to vote or a politician that tells you how to pray
It might sound surprisingly like common sense, but in order to do your job well, you need to know what the heck you’re doing. Then again, common sense isn’t all that common.
If you lack the experience, skills, and knowledge base needed to perform well, there’s no real reason for your clients to trust you. All you can do is put in the effort to upskill, improve, and grow as a professional.
Well, either that or pretend that you’re better than you are… until your customers eventually catch on to the lie. Then, your profits and career take a hit. The smarter (not to mention the more ethical and, in the long term, more sustainable) strategy is to strive to be good at what you do and build trust in a genuine way.
As Reader’s Digest points out, untrustworthy individuals often lack integrity. They’re often dishonest, prioritize their gain over honesty, and aren’t accountable.
What’s more, they are manipulative. For instance, they might apologize to you for their bad behavior, but they won’t change their behavior to match.
#4
Don't trust an unvaccinated health care worker.
#5
Don’t trust the scientist who can’t say “I don’t know”. A good scientist knows they don’t know everything.
#6
Don't trust a pastor who wears expensive shoes and watches.
EDIT: of course I'm not saying "don't trust all pastors because all pastors are awful!!!" The point in the original question is about YOUR OWN INDUSTRY.
Since I'm an actual pastor, I thought you might want to know how I determine whether or not someone who claims to be clergy puts me on guard or not - and wearing flashy clothes, watches, shoes, or who drives a luxury car (that's obviously not an cold clunker that they've fixed up) - THOSE are reasons for me, a pastor, to be made wary of other people who claim to be a part of clergy.
For those of you who just don't trust pastors of any kind because of the hurt you may have experienced at the hands of the unscrupulous or the awful representatives of the cloth - I deeply and sincerely apologize for that pain. I, too, wish that had never happened.
On top of that, untrustworthy individuals often don’t trust others, have a history of being unreliable and inconsistent, don’t care about rules, and lack empathy.
“They are like slot machines. They know exactly how much they can get away with, and just when you are about to walk away, they do something wonderful so you will stay,” etiquette expert Jodi R.R. Smith told Reader’s Digest.
Other signs of untrustworthiness include a person’s unwillingness to respect your boundaries, their tendency to dominate the conversation, trying to one-up you, hogging the spotlight, and blaming others instead of accepting responsibility for their actions.
“Trusting your instincts and previous experiences is an important tool for spotting red flags and choosing whom to spend time with. Life is hard enough on its own. It’s important to seek out trustworthy folks who you can consistently rely on for emotional and practical support, who can be honest with you and help reduce your stress,” psychologist Jeff Temple, PhD, explained to Reader’s Digest.
#7
Don’t trust any life coach/consultant who uses “we all have the same 24 hours in a day” as a comeback to the “I don’t have time” excuse.
I absolutely do not have the “same” 24 hours in a day as child free Oprah Winfrey, with her paid staff and zero daily commute.
#9
Famous psychologists that are tv personalities are not famous because they are “the best”. “The best” exists in research and or the clinic.
We were very curious to find out the inspiration behind the thread. The author opened up about their recent experiences. "I think a few things came together to form that question. I started a new job two weeks ago, and was sick both of those weeks. I didn't want to take any time off so early into a new job, so I took medicine, went into the office, and sat at my desk, even if I couldn't get anything done," u/ShapingTormance told Bored Panda.
"When I was talking to a couple of friends about how the new job is going, I said I did this rather than take time off to recover, because I wanted to start off the new job by building trust. So trust was on my mind anyway—specifically, how to build trust right away at a new job," they said.
"Later, I was talking to my mom about her job, and she is very frustrated at work because those around do not often follow through on what they say they are going to do, which creates a low-trust environment. I'd heard the saying 'don't trust a skinny food critic' at some point in the past, so it occurred to me to ask the question in that way."
According to the author, one of the most impactful books they've ever read is 'The Speed of Trust,' by Stephen M.R. Covey. "[It] helped me much better understand the importance of trust in any organization, how trust is lost, how it can be built, and what the cost of living or working in a low-trust environment is. So I'm inclined to apply the lens of trust to work situations anyway, and it just so happened that those life circumstances brought trust to the forefront of my thoughts again," u/ShapingTormance shared.
#10
Don’t trust a wine sales rep that wears heavy cologne/perfume. It messes up your ability to taste samples in sales meetings.
#11
My job seems to get new ones every day recently, not sure why... The most recent is Don’t trust a doctor who recommends women of childbearing age refrain from using Tylenol.
Bored Panda also wanted to get the author's perspective as to why their question resonated with some internet users so strongly. "First, I asked in a lighthearted way. Second, it was a different kind of question from what often gets asked on r/AskReddit. A lot of the questions about relationships and conspiracies get recycled every week in slightly different language, and this is an important question that differs from that. Third, people gave really good answers, which kept others coming back for more. It's a question that gives folks a platform to dispense some bit of wisdom they've learned. I might theorize that it is probably helpful for a principal to have been a teacher, but I wouldn't have known how essential it is."
According to u/ShapingTormance, their favorite answer in the thread was written by user u/Appropriate_Sky_6571: "Don’t trust an agreeable QA."
This really resonated with the author because they work in tech. "I appreciate the truth of that response, but I would not have thought of it myself, which also shows the wisdom of it."
They added that this answer really fit the 'don't trust a skinny food critic' saying. "We usually think of being skinny as an asset, but for a food critic, it's a liability. In the same way, we usually think of being agreeable as an asset, but for someone in QA, it's a liability. That's interesting to me! The answer is also short and snappy, yet recognizably true for many who have worked in tech."
#13
Always let the nurse give you the shot, never the doctor...
#14
Don't trust a restaurant manager who's never waited a table. This includes brewers who open and run brewpubs.
#15
Don’t trust a home care aide/special needs provider who claims to know what causes autism.
John Dilligaf 1 month ago
don't trust a Dept of Health & Human Services secretary who claims to know what causes autism.
From the author's perspective, we live in an era of low trust. "Almost every institution across the board has lost trust at a societal level: churches, the government, universities, sports leagues, big companies, etc."
According to them, based on what they read in Covey's book 'The Speed of Trust,' trust can be broken down into issues of character and issues of competence. "Character itself has to do with integrity and intent, and competence has to do with skill and results. You need those four things in order to establish trust. If your intent is bad, I don't trust you, regardless of how skilled you are and the results you deliver," u/ShapingTormance explained.
"If you're a great guy, with good integrity, and you really intend to help me, and you even have the skills to help, but I know you don't always do what you say you're going to do, then I don't trust you. The book outlines thirteen behaviors you can work on to build trust, that fall into these categories."
#16
Don’t trust a dentist who’s anti-fluoride.
#17
Don't trust a writer who doesn't have a strong opinion about Oxford commas. Preferably, they should have the *right* opinion about them (they are good and everyone should use them) but even if they're wrong you should still trust them to write better than someone who doesn't care either way.
#18
Don’t trust a hiker who says they love nature but leaves trash behind.
WindySwede 1 month ago
Anyone who leaves trash behind?* even in fast food restaurants on the table, would not trust that person either. Nor out the window of a car. Nor anyone refusing to use blinkers, or use the wrongly in an roundabout.. there.. 🙃
We’d like to hear about your work-related experiences, dear Pandas. What industry do you work in? What are the biggest, brightest red flags within your field of expertise that someone isn’t trustworthy at all?
On the flip side, what are some subtle or overt signs that a professional actually knows what they’re doing and talking about? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
#19
A teacher who isn't interested in learning new things.
Marnie 1 month ago
I met so many of these, and my sister was one. She was a good and sweet person. But she had zero intellectual curiosity. Straight A student all the way through her master's. Never once read a non-fiction book just out of curiosity. Stopped reading fiction by middle school. I had to explain to her once that things in non-fiction books were just things that curious people had figured out and written down. She sort of thought the knowledge just came from the ether. It's like it never occurred to her that someone could be curious and find out something new on their own. She became a teacher, because she loved kids (a good reason) and loved school. My impression was that she wasn't a great teacher. She had no idea what it meant to struggle to learn. It all came so easy to her. But she tried hard and really cared about her students.
#20
Don’t trust an IT person who hasn’t caused an organization wide outage at least once, if more than 5, also don’t trust them.
#21
Don’t trust a writer who doesn’t read.
#24
Don't trust a 22 year old management consultant.
#25
Don’t trust any “professional” artist who likes AI.
#26
Don't trust a teacher who doesn't read books.
#27
A salesman who says his product does everything you're asking it to do exactly as you are asking for it is lying.
#28
Never trust a therapist who hasn't been to therapy... extensively. .
Upstaged75 1 month ago
Every Shrink I've ever had seems completely crazy themselves. 😂My current one is just VERY weird.
#30
Don’t trust a parenting support professional whose adult kids don’t speak to them.
#31
Don’t trust the stylist in the salon that has the best hair.
(Another stylist did it.).
#32
Don’t trust a mechanical engineer who ignores his technicians.
I tell all my junior engineers the same thing.
“The guy working on the line building the thing you designed will absolutely end up knowing more about it than you do”.
#33
Don't trust an education consultant or curriculum writer or admin that never had any classroom experience.
#34
If he's got an ipad and a white button down shirt, he's not there to fix your equipment, he's there to try to sell you new equipment.
#35
Don’t trust some “dog trainer” guy who only works with Malinois and thinks flashy heeling makes him a good trainer.
Show me what you can do with a beagle, a bloodhound, or a Saluki, and then we can talk.
#36
I know someone who got a job as a “career advisor” at the local university. Up until then, the only jobs she had ever had were a part-time retail gig at the mall for and some college internships.
#37
Don’t trust anyone in education who stopped teaching before covid. Oh, you want to tell me what to do in this classroom when your last cohort of students was in 2018? No thank you, babe. You have no idea what we’re dealing with here in the trenches.
#39
Don't trust a physicist with a neat haircut and a suit .
Jihana 1 month ago
I met a lot of physicists at work, hell, even my brother is one. And I REALLY wanted to say that that's not true, but then I thought about it, and those who were really put together were the ones who royally screwed me over. So, yeah, there's that. And also f you, Martina and Jacob!
#40
If a paramedic shows up with their uniform ironed, pants cuffed, and a whole trauma kit on their belt, they are brand new and are still waiting to get their medic cert in the mail. If they're leaving out the window smoking a cigarette, then toss an empty can of white monster back into the truck as they're getting out, and look like they just rolled out of bed, you're getting the guy with 20 years of experience that can figure out what's wrong with the patient approximately 6 seconds after entering your home.
#41
A nurse with a perfect manicure.
Kathy Brooke 1 month ago
No nurse should have long nails or any sort of polish or varnish on them for reasons of infection control. Same goes for flashy rings.
#42
Don’t buy wine with a large enough marketing budget to advertise on billboards or TV.
Harry Gondalf 1 month ago
As an ex-wīno I can testify this is true. If the label on the bottle calls its product a 'chablis' or 'bordeau', it's just flavored alcohol water, loaded with preservatives. The content must be at least 50% fermented grape juice to be called 'wine.'
#45
I do not trust a software engineer that was not bullied in high school. Yes I can tell. .
Marnie 1 month ago
This one is a thinker for me. I was not bullied, or at least I thought I wasn't. I was so oblivious that it wasn't until I was in my late 30s looking back before I realized how much my Mom was annoyed by me, that I was teased in school, that people would actually insult me subtly to my face. I was unfazed. If we're talking actual bullying, not just teasing, I was not bullied. I think I could not have avoided noticing that.
#46
Writing advice YouTube channels featuring authors who have self published one book and/or never had a screenplay produced.
Nothing wrong with self publishing per se, but so many of the self described “writing gurus” create a fake publishing company complete with a website and logo and additional fake authors and fake books to give themselves credit.
They then proceed to give either very basic advice, or actively bad advice, then pitch their special, extremely expensive one-on-one coaching sessions.
#47
Don't trust or at least be careful of personal injury attorneys who excessively advertise. I personally know two PI attorneys who blast their ads everywhere but are less than competent.
#48
Don’t trust an HR person who seems to know A LOT about the company and the people in it. If YOU know that they know a lot, it’s bc they’re telling you stuff you shouldn’t be told. They aren’t discreet. And won’t be discreet when they know something about you.
Dr Jimmy 03 1 month ago
Let's make this simpler: HR is not your friend. Source: I'm former HR, emphasis on "former."
#49
Been working with a lot of acting, singing, and dance teachers in the last 3 years and this is a hard one I've learned that I don't think most theatre students recognize.
**Don't trust a performing arts teacher who cares more about how your performance makes *you* feel than how it makes your *audience* feel.**
This one is tough because you should feel good about your performance and how your teacher teaches you, but at the end of the day you have to actually be learning how to connect with an audience. But teaching that is hard and measuring it is ambiguous, but making a student feel good and powerful? That's relatively easy, and if they can keep selling *that* the student can keep coming indefinitely, blissfully ignorant of their lack of progress. And that's kinda optimal for making this "teacher" the most money.
Harry Gondalf 1 month ago
I wonder if the best way to find a PI attorney is to ask an attorney who specializes in something else? Ask a divorce, criminal, insurance, or real estate lawyer?
#50
The more bands they’ve been in, the more likely they’re the problem
Since this took off some I’ll explain:
Most musicians have been in many projects, but with professionals…
If their resume is all short stints or single tours, 🚩.
Uncle Panda 1 month ago
Or they're a session musician who plays with everybody who comes to the studio.
#51
From a client perspective; don't trust a tattooer with no tattoos.
From a tattooer/employee perspective; don't trust a shop owner who doesn't tattoo.
StrangeOne 1 month ago
I don't like this idea that a tattoo artist has to have tattoos. There are various reasons a tattoo artist doesn't/can't have tattoos, including medical issues, allergies to ink, just don't want onr on themselves. They could also be too indecisive of what they want done, and want to give it a very long thought. Doesn't mean they're "in it for the money". They could just really like the artistry and creativity and be good at it. I'd be more interested in their proven work than what they have on their body.
#52
Don't trust an accountant who's terrible with their own money.
Dr Jimmy 03 1 month ago
Again...I'm in full agreement, but a spendthrift accountant is probably going to be good at hiding it. Unless, you catch them at the end of their proverbial rope.
#54
Don't trust a wedding photographer who uses a camera with only one SD card slot.
#55
Priests. A person that has never been married, giving lectures and advice on how to make a marriage work
Being married to God does not count, father!
Jan Rosier 1 month ago
Seen this argument earlier, and although I am not particularly religious, I donot really agree. In the same thinking, an oncologist who has never had cancer should not be trusted either, for instance.
#59
Don't trust a litigator who promises you literally anything. Every answer should be "it depends.".
#60
Professional grade gear is never advertised as "pro".
#61
In the funeral industry it’s don’t hire the goths. There are times when you’re left with little choice and there are even some goths that turn out to be professional and good at their jobs but trust me, we see those Betty Page bangs coming a mile away.
Michael Largey 1 month ago
The gothest person I've ever met was a student of mine who wanted to train to be a cosmetician at a mortuary. I advided her to take business classes as well, so she'd have tools for moving up. She did and now runs the place.
#62
Don't trust anyone in fashion whose pants and/or bra doesn't fit. If they can't handle the basics of fit they won't make you or your clients look good. That's my old job.
I work with intelligently disabled adults now. Don't trust anyone who is overly enthusiastic to spend time alone with a client and emotionally involved in an inappropriate way. Also anyone who lacks empathy or has a short temper.
#64
Not my industry, but don't trust a restaurant in a port city that says they don't have a rat problem.
If they're denying its existence it means they aren't dealing with it, and it means they absolutely do have a rat problem.
#65
Don’t trust hospital administrator who never worked clinically.
#66
Never trust a cook that holds their knife with their pointer finger out.
#67
Don’t trust a lawyer who has esquire in their signature block.
#68
Never trust an IT Security Analyst who doesn’t have prior Systems or Network Administrator experience.
#69
Don't trust a mechanic with a brand new car.
#71
Don't trust a nurse who has "never made a medication error". They are either lying or they haven't routinely administered medications.
Michael Largey 1 month ago
Or they didn't know they had made a medication error and so are probably continuing to do so.
#72
My late uncle was a freight conductor for 50 years. He said never trust a railroad engineer that doesn’t drink coffee.
#73
Don't trust a teacher with a clear desktop.
#75
A banker with debt. Most places will do a credit check and not hire someone with poor credit as they think they’re more likely to be tempted to steal funds.. however, I’ve worked with a handful that are absolutely terrible with their own money and really should not be giving financial advice to others.
#76
Don't trust rock the Dwayne Johnson's hair products when he has no hair.
#77
Don’t trust a security personnel who won’t stop talking.
#78
I say this as someone you shouldn't have trusted early in my career:
Don't trust a software team member who isn't willing to pay for his own product.
I used to work at a consumer software company and everyone loved the free swag but wouldn't pay for the product ourselves. Our product suffered because of it.
#79
Dont trust a plumber who bites his nails.
#81
I have brown hair that I color frequently.
I hate when I go to blonde hairdressers, because they always want me to lighten my hair. I now consistently go to brunette hair dressers.
#82
I was a swim instructor. In my personal experience, divers are not good instructors. I don't mean that they can't teach, I mean that they don't teach things correctly when they're training people for swim team. I knew some great divers, but most of them could only get you the basics of swimming and not skills necessary for swim team.
#83
Don't trust someone in tech that can't administer their own machine.
I understand there are different specialties but a complete lack of understanding of the thing they work in front of for 8 hours a day tells me that they have a fatal lack of intuition and curiosity that I feel the field requires.
Stephanie Did It 1 month ago (edited)
Working in IT, I had some great managers who also mentored their teams. Then a new one came on board, who clearly had no IT experience whatsoever. He looked and acted like a jumped-up security guard, micro managed our time and bullied the women on our team. Guess what? He was a jumped-up security guard from our parking garage whose mid-management wife wrangled him a position indoors.
#84
Don't trust a manager who has never done every other position in FOH. I've met so many managers who had never hosted and it shows.
#85
Audio engineer - there's a lot of people that make YouTube videos about mixing and have strong opinions. If you don't like how their stuff sounds, disregard their advice.
#86
Don't trust a game reviewer with an active insta.
Usually means they are an influencer not a reviewer and may not give objective reviews in the best case and demand active tribute in the worst.
#87
Don’t trust a CIO that doesn’t have a computer in their office.
#88
Don't trust a Door Dasher to know how long it takes to make orders.
I'm so sick of hearing "it's just one sandwich" when we're making hundreds. I don't know or care that DD sent you to pick up a meal as soon as it was ordered. Orders go into a queue. We make them in that order. We don't work for you.
What do you think ?
86ccg75nrq 1 month ago (edited)
Don’t trust a democratically elected president/party, who destroys democracy and refuses to serve all people (not only the ones who voted for him/her/them).
Sam Trudeau 1 month ago
Here's mine: Don't trust someone on the internet for medical advice. They may have "MD" in their Quora credentials, but you never really know. Also, with politicians, the ability to handle criticism is what counts, not how often they get criticism.
86ccg75nrq 1 month ago (edited)
Don’t trust a democratically elected president/party, who destroys democracy and refuses to serve all people (not only the ones who voted for him/her/them).
Sam Trudeau 1 month ago
Here's mine: Don't trust someone on the internet for medical advice. They may have "MD" in their Quora credentials, but you never really know. Also, with politicians, the ability to handle criticism is what counts, not how often they get criticism.
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