Masculinity in the Workplace 2018
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The document discusses issues around masculinity in the workplace. It notes that traditional constructs of masculinity make it difficult for men to get support for flexible working or mental health issues. Workplace cultures often reward excessive working hours and portray asking for help as weak. This leads to increased stress, health problems, and dysfunctional work environments. The document argues for adopting a view of "humanity" over "masculinity" and "femininity", focusing on behaviors that demonstrate compassion.
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Masculinity in the Workplace 2018
- 1. MASCULINITY IN THE WORKPLACE #MIW2018 Wifi: HKXGuest
- 2. Hello Daniele Fiandaca Co-founder, Utopia & Token Man Roxanne Hobbs Founder, The Hobbs Consultancy & HeANDShe
- 3. FATHERS IN THE WORKPLACE
- 7. OUR CONSTRUCTS AROUND MASCULINITY CAN MAKE IT HARD FOR MEN TO GET SUPPORT FLEXIBLE WORKING IS SEEN AS A WOMAN’S ISSUE UNCONSCIOUS BIAS MEANS IT’S HARDER FOR MEN TO ’LEAN IN’ AT HOME MEN AND MASCULINITY ARE IN THE NEWS. AND NOT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS THE LOUDEST MEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVIST ARE SEEN AS HAVING AN ANTI- FEMINIST AGENDA STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE OFTEN HIDDEN IN THE WORKPLACE
- 8. Xavier Rees CEO, Havas Lodon Simon Gunning CEO CALM Laura Radcliffe Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour University of Liverpool Sophia Tahakur Spoken Word Poet Catherine Meyer Co-founder Women’s Equality Party Our speakers Bruce Daisley Host Eat Sleep Work Repeat Jordan Stephens Actor & Musician
- 10. Daniele Fiandaca Co-founder Utopia & Token Man Tom Beardshaw Executive Coach Roxanne Hobbs Founder Hobbs Consultancy & #HeAndShe Xavier Rees CEO, Havas Lodon Simon Gunning CEO CALM Nadia Nagamootoo Founder Avenir Consulting Liz Jones CEO B2B Dentsu Aegis Network Our Advisory Board
- 14. • Sex: A person’s physical sexual anatomy including chromosomes and sex organs. • Gender: Characteristics and behaviours a society/ culture associates with males and females – ‘masculinity’ and ‘feminity’ refer to gender. • Masculinities: a set of performances that may be enacted by men and women • Stereotypical Masculine Behaviours: ambitious, aggressive, competitive, dominant, decisive • Stereotypical Feminine Behaviours: empathetic, caring, affectionate, gentle, collaborative • All humans can be, and are, all of these things! • Men & women are victims of gender stereotypes Bem (1993); de Beauvoir (1997) Some Distinctions: Sex vs Gender
- 16. • Organisations are not gender neutral • Separate gendered spheres of life – has this changed? • Norms persist despite physical change • Ideal Worker – someone who puts work first • Family-friendly or Work-life initiatives are not the ‘ideal’ and associated with femininity • Men also penalised for straying from ideal worker norms • ‘Mines bigger than yours’ mentality – who can work the longest hours • These norms & values impact who can achieve in our current organisations Illustration by Nathalie Lees. Source: The Guardian The ‘Ideal’ Worker & Long Working Hours“On Wednesday before I left, I had my appraisal. I was unhappy that they stated “As you have chosen to take SPL, we don’t feel your work is paramount to you” I said “to say that because I have chosen to take shared parental leave is absurd. My wife has taken off 10 Months and I am doing only 6 weeks.” I didn’t a get response. There were also some other swipes in there about, well, you know, ‘We can see who wears the trousers in your family then, ha, ha, ha, ha” “…it was seen as a badge of honour to work long hours and not be at home with your family, so you would get blokes who would boast about the fact that they didn’t go home, stayed away from their wives, and it was almost an in-joke, a culture you felt you had to fit into. It wasn’t necessarily the quality of anyone’s work, just about how much time you would spend avoiding your familial duties. It seemed like something you shouldn’t be proud of, but they were.”
- 17. Being a Hero: Showing no Weakness • The mythic figuration of the Hero – an unattainable ideal & key masculinity narrative • Hide weakness/vulnerabilities/feelings, emphasise unemotional/stoicism • Reluctance to ask for help/ seek support • Competitive, individualism associated with being a hero runs counter to collaboration, learning & development “…telling me that when he had his second child, he got to the hospital drunk and slept outside on the chairs while his wife gave birth and he laughed about it. He would say, ‘I don’t know what’s going on with men of this day and age’ and all that type of thing.” “I was drinking far too much at home. I remember one weekend, my wife asked me to go to the recycling bin, and she said, ‘Do you realise, this is what you’ve drunk this weekend?’ You know, there were 4 or 5 bottles of wine from Friday through Sunday. And that was a fear of not wanting to go back to work on a, on a Monday….as a bloke, you know, in terms of my own standing and positioning, I’m reluctant to tell anyone how I’m feeling”
- 18. It’s Just Banter: Identity threats & ‘Othering’ • Masculinity is hard to prove and easily lost = repeated need to affirm masculinity • Identity threats & self-doubt • ‘Othering’ – distancing self from others who don’t fit, to reaffirm that you do • Often via abuse disguised as banter • Reduced organisational diversity & a miserable work environment From the film “Head of Enemies" / press materials “At first, he started calling me intern, instead of using my name. I hated that. He’d always go, ‘Intern, catch!’ And then, he’d throw this ball towards me, and I don’t have very good hand-eye coordination, so I can’t really catch, not very well anyway. So I’d miss it and he’d go ‘Go and get it.’ And I’d be like, ‘No.’ And he’d go ‘go and get it’. And he’d keep hounding me until got up and went and got it. He was always belittling me.” “Another comment she made when we were going up the stairs, and she was sort of, mimicking my movements, like it was a little skip up the stairs, very sort of like effeminately. You know, little digs like that, to make you feel conscious of how I was, and how I was behaving.”
- 19. Masculinity in the Workplace: The Problems In Summary…
- 20. Masculinity in the Workplace: The Problems • Clear correlation between ‘Masculinity Contest Cultures’ and organisational dysfunction in terms of (Glick et al, 2018): • Increased bullying & harassment • Toxic leadership • Negative attitudes to work • Increased burnout & stress • Decreased personal health & well-being • Increased turnover intentions = A miserable, counterproductive work environment & huge Organisational costs via staff turnover, lawsuits and decreased innovation. Extensive research evidencing these problems - for some examples see: https://tinyurl.com/ y8kl2ztp
- 22. Works cited & Further Resources For more information& additional resources visit: https://tinyurl.com/ y8kl2ztp • Bem, S. L., (1993) The Lenses of Gender: transforming the debate on sexual inequality. (New Haven: Yale University Press) • de Beauvoir, S. (1997) The Second Sex. London: Vintage. • Boon, K. A. (2005). Heroes, metanarratives, and the paradox of masculinity in contemporary western culture. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 13(3), 301-312. • Glick, P., Berdahl, J. L., & Alonso, N. M. (2018). Development and validation of the masculinity contest culture scale. Journal of Social Issues, 74(3), 449-476. • Radcliffe, L. S., & Cassell, C. (2015). Flexible working, work–family conflict, and maternal gatekeeping: The daily experiences of dual-earner couples. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(4), 835-855. • Stovell, C., Collinson, D. L., Gatrell, C., & Radcliffe, L. (2017). Rethinking work-life balance and well-being: the perspectives of fathers. In Routledge Companion To Well-Being At Work: Routledge, London
- 23. Xavier Rees CEO, Havas London Simon Gunning CEO CALM Catherine Meyer Co-founder Women’s Equality Party Our panel Bruce Daisley Host Eat Sleep Work Repeat @brucedaisley @catherine_mayer @SimonGunning @xavierrees
- 25. Xavier Rees CEO, Havas London Simon Gunning CEO CALM Catherine Meyer Co-founder Women’s Equality Party Our panel Bruce Daisley Host Eat Sleep Work Repeat @brucedaisley @catherine_mayer @SimonGunning @xavierrees
- 30. Hack = To cut or chop with repeated and irregular blows Wikipedia
- 33. That’s Me That Is
- 34. ``` YOUR TURN
- 35. What are you trying to hack?
- 37. Share your hacks
- 38. 5 things you can do
- 39. 1. Increase paternity leave
- 40. 2. Train up mental health first aiders
- 41. 3. Have active conversations with men around flexible working
- 42. 4. Run A Hacking Workshop
- 43. 5. Train leaders to be vulnerable with Daring to Lead
- 45. Closing Remarks
- 46. “I think adaptability is the key to our masculine future.. emotions and feelings can be changed. I think that men need to look inside themselves, become more aware of their feelings and start adapting.” Grayson Perry
- 47. “In order to emancipate women, you need to liberate men.”
- 50. THANKS
- 52. Xavier Rees CEO, Havas Lodon Simon Gunning CEO CALM Laura Radcliffe Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour University of Liverpool Sophia Tahakur Spoken Word Poet Catherine Meyer Co-founder Women’s Equality Party Our speakers Bruce Daisley Host Eat Sleep Work Repeat Jordan Stephens Actor & Musician
- 53. THANKS
- 54. Appendix - Workshops available from The Hobbs Consultancy & Utopia
- 55. The Daring Way™