Masculinity at Work

Aspects of masculinity have implications for organizational dynamics and human relations in the context of gender at work. Those aspects include: relational styles, ways of caring, self-reliance, a worker/provider tradition, risk-taking, group orientation, use of humor, and (in some instances) heroism. First, a description of possible enactments of these aspects of masculinity in the workplace will be presented. Then, in addition to simply describing these aspects of masculinity, a more sophisticated approach will extend the scope and advance the conversation to explore the relationships these aspects of masculinities have to the daily lives of employees in the workplace, including the mismatches, the tensions, and the resistances such as retribution or imposter syndrome. Finally, the chapter concludes with a consideration for how these aspects of masculinity shape organizational workplace climate and behavioral norms in the workplace (i.e., masculinity contest culture), where implications might include behavioral, affective, or somatic responses such as anxiety and stress, aggression, adaptive or maladaptive risk-taking, avoidance of femininity, and so on.