The Explainer: 4 Signs That Masculinity Contests Are Holding Back Your Company

For example, extreme hours are a badge of honor.
(Animated by Francesca Cattaneo)

Recent exposés have revealed seemingly dysfunctional workplaces rife with misconduct, bullying, and sexual harassment. Why do companies get caught up in illegal behavior, harassment, and toxic leadership? Research identifies an underlying cause: what we call a “masculinity contest culture.” This kind of culture endorses winner-take-all competition, where winners demonstrate stereotypically masculine traits such as emotional toughness, physical stamina, and ruthlessness. It produces organizational dysfunction, as employees become hyper competitive to win.

Four masculine norms, which together define masculinity contest culture, emerged as highly correlated with each other and with organizational dysfunction:

“Show no weakness”: a workplace that demands swaggering confidence, never admitting doubt or mistakes, and suppressing any tender or vulnerable emotions (“no sissy stuff”).
“Strength and stamina”: a workplace that prizes strong or athletic people (even in white collar work) or those who show off their endurance (e.g., by working extreme hours).
“Put work first”: a workplace where nothing outside the organization (e.g., family) can interfere with work, where taking a break or a leave represents an impermissible lack of commitment.
“Dog eat dog”: a workplace filled with ruthless competition, where “winners” (the most masculine) focus on defeating “losers” (the less masculine), and no one is trusted.

When masculinity contest cultures become “the way business gets done,” both organizations and the people within them suffer. Your organization may have a masculinity contest culture if, for example, expressing doubt is forbidden, “jocks” are preferred even though athleticism is irrelevant to job tasks, extreme hours are viewed as a badge of honor, or coworkers are treated as competitors rather than colleagues. Solving the problem requires meaningful commitment to culture change — to creating a work environment in which mission takes precedence over masculinity.

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[ashwingurbuxani]

Masculinity has nothing to do with the ideas described in this video. Such a shame because the core solutions presented at the end are valid and useful. If only the producers of this video were mature enough to separate their political and gender identity views from their own work, we would be solving REAL problems of toxic workplace environments.

Solution: Replace the word masculinity with workplace toxicity, and the video is wayy more useful.

[chocochipcookie]

Bravo on calling this out, and providing solutions. Some "masculine" traits encouraged by culture can turn toxic. Countering them and building better is a stronger means forward that builds your team, yourself, and your family.

[yosomolo]

What if its a woman who does all the 4 signs? Will it be called Femininity Contest?

[jbevolve]

When are you going to make a video called : 4 Signs That Femininity Contests Are Holding Back Your Company??

[stephenkrawczyk]

2 strength and stamina. if it aint steel it aint real!

[Jabranalibabry]

A core part of masculinity is brotherhood. This was quite biased.

[stephenison]

Not sure if the word "masculinity" is helpful. Otherwise this video nails it. Seductive it might be, as a management/culture strategy, to manage like a horse race where you own all the horses, but the price is high in net profit, satisfaction, retention, transfer of knowledge and so on. Not to mention, when I'm nearly dead, I'll be embarrassed to admit I worked at a place like that. (because I did.)

[narjisshussonbattah]

This video well describe what many women feel in french companies even at high levels, It is based on the idea that the work place has been developped without women respectul to men rules. Innovation culture needs a more balance workplace. How HBR called it, is not the issue, the focus is on the need to change.

[stephenkrawczyk]

masculinity contest culture? where do i sign up? lol

[ati]

Harvard is now fem-splaining masculinity.

[pelademocraciareal]

So important video! Some men can't understand any cultural criticism, even when it comes to help ourselves.
Thanks Harvard!

[sirisaksirisak]

Venus & Mars both come together in work place like in motor show or sales booth Venus has much important role to up sales target.

[thomasdeshayes]

When you work in a very competitive environment (market finance, big law firms...) you cannot say "I don't put my job firt", "I don't want to work late". there are thousands of young juniors willing to work 80h/w to replace you. What a silly video...