The Endangered Working Male
The Endangered Working Male
Now, we find ourselves plunged in a global recession. As national economies falter, one after another, and the world-wide demand for goods and services dries up, companies cut back on staff and unemployment skyrockets. Who are these people being laid off? They are overwhelmingly male. The bulk of the male job market remains focused in traditionally 'macho' corners of the economy; and these are exactly the corners that are losing jobs at a frightening pace. In a well-publicized article last week, The New York Times reported that fully 82% of the job losses in this current recession have affected male workers.
Here's a quote from that article:
The proportion of women who are working has changed very little since the recession started. But a full 82 percent of the job losses have befallen men, who are heavily represented in distressed industries like manufacturing and construction. Women tend to be employed in areas like education and health care, which are less sensitive to economic ups and downs, and in jobs that allow more time for child care and other domestic work.
Even The New York Times doesn't fully appreciate the impact of shift away from 'macho' work in the workforce. It's not only in "education and health care" (where women predominate) that women are maintaining their employment. The 'feminine' makes up the core of the entire knowledge industry: their networking and interactive skills are now the economic foundation for the Western world. Day by day, 'muscle' and theoretical problem-solving become more and more irrelevant. The Times article seems to assume that, once the recession is over, men will be flooding back into the workforce. To a certain extent that's bound to be true. On the other hand, they'll never return to the preeminence that they once held in the marketplace. Those places have either been eliminated or they're already taken.
We have to face up to the facts that — once the construction workers and machinists have gone back to their jobs — the remaining men in the workforce are going to face more than just re-training. What's going to have to happen is nothing short of re-acculturation. Without a redefinition of what it means to be a man in the 21st Century, a large segment of our workforce will very likely find itself unemployable. I can't foresee that our culture will ever have re-acculturation programs to parallel the job-training programs of the last century. Re-acculturation is a process that's going to have to rely on individual initiative, guided by the foresight of some intellectual visionaries like Dr. Diamond.
There are some people — and I believe that I'm one of them — who believe that this process should be going on right now (before the job market reopens). We're writing about it and putting together programs to assist men who stand at the turning point, facing the prospect of reinventing themselves from the inside out. For example, Marcus Buckingham (of the Gallup organization and author of First, Break All the Rules and Now Discover Your Strengths), in an interview broadcast just last night, suggested that people could use the time during the downturn to reinvent themselves and refocus their energies into more socially-aware outlets (note the focus on social empathy and networking). The handwriting is on the wall. Those who want to thrive in the new economy would do well to take careful note.
The Endangered Working Male - To learn more about this author, visit Les Brown's Website.
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Several years ago, my friend, Dr. Jed Diamond explained how masculine acculturation was creating a huge obstacle for men in the workforce: both young and old. As the world moves from an industrial model to a "post-industrial" (or knowledge-based) economy, the skill sets most in demand evolve away from brute strength (construction and manufacturing) and systems and problem-solving (engineering, etc.) and toward sharing, empathy, and networking. These last are the very skills that have traditionally been beaten out of the males of our western culture. Those men who, in the past, have dared to develop their "feminine" side have paid dearly with their self-esteem (dancers, artists, decorators, florists, etc., etc.). As a result, the driving force behind our economic engine is reflecting the skills that empower it: it's becoming decidedly female.
Now, we find ourselves plunged in a global recession. As national economies falter, one after another, and the world-wide demand for goods and services dries up, companies cut back on staff and unemployment skyrockets. Who are these people being laid off? They are overwhelmingly male. The bulk of the male job market remains focused in traditionally 'macho' corners of the economy; and these are exactly the corners that are losing jobs at a frightening pace. In a well-publicized article last week, The New York Times reported that fully 82% of the job losses in this current recession have affected male workers.
Here's a quote from that article:
The proportion of women who are working has changed very little since the recession started. But a full 82 percent of the job losses have befallen men, who are heavily represented in distressed industries like manufacturing and construction. Women tend to be employed in areas like education and health care, which are less sensitive to economic ups and downs, and in jobs that allow more time for child care and other domestic work.
Even The New York Times doesn't fully appreciate the impact of shift away from 'macho' work in the workforce. It's not only in "education and health care" (where women predominate) that women are maintaining their employment. The 'feminine' makes up the core of the entire knowledge industry: their networking and interactive skills are now the economic foundation for the Western world. Day by day, 'muscle' and theoretical problem-solving become more and more irrelevant. The Times article seems to assume that, once the recession is over, men will be flooding back into the workforce. To a certain extent that's bound to be true. On the other hand, they'll never return to the preeminence that they once held in the marketplace. Those places have either been eliminated or they're already taken.
We have to face up to the facts that — once the construction workers and machinists have gone back to their jobs — the remaining men in the workforce are going to face more than just re-training. What's going to have to happen is nothing short of re-acculturation. Without a redefinition of what it means to be a man in the 21st Century, a large segment of our workforce will very likely find itself unemployable. I can't foresee that our culture will ever have re-acculturation programs to parallel the job-training programs of the last century. Re-acculturation is a process that's going to have to rely on individual initiative, guided by the foresight of some intellectual visionaries like Dr. Diamond.
There are some people — and I believe that I'm one of them — who believe that this process should be going on right now (before the job market reopens). We're writing about it and putting together programs to assist men who stand at the turning point, facing the prospect of reinventing themselves from the inside out. For example, Marcus Buckingham (of the Gallup organization and author of First, Break All the Rules and Now Discover Your Strengths), in an interview broadcast just last night, suggested that people could use the time during the downturn to reinvent themselves and refocus their energies into more socially-aware outlets (note the focus on social empathy and networking). The handwriting is on the wall. Those who want to thrive in the new economy would do well to take careful note.
The Endangered Working Male - To learn more about this author, visit Les Brown's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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