For several decades now, women are represented almost equally with
men, and enjoy equal opportunities at workplaces. According to
Forbes’ article on the 8
blind spots between sexes at work, the varying characteristics
between the two genders may cause many of the problems at work.
However, little did you know that these gender differences play an
influential role in the workplace. Let us elaborate on the five
type of common differences between the two genders at the
workplace.
1. Attention Span
It is natural for a woman to multitask as compared to men,
especially in stressful situations. Women find it difficult to
understand and believe that a man is unable to do the same. When a
man is under stress, he tends to develop tunnel vision and fails to
provide attention to his surroundings. In such situations, women
may find it offensive and take it personally.
Research shows that 80% of women prefer to ask questions even when
they know the answer. They feel that questions can stimulate an
exchange of ideas and help arrive at a common consensus. Due to the
lack of attention span, 72% of men feel that women ask too many
questions. Research states that these questions could actually help
to generate better outcomes and improve communication among the
team members.
2. Emotions
Men and women have different way of handling their emotions.
Research shows that men are as emotional as women but they tend to
hide their feelings more. Men only reveal their feelings when they
are under great pressure, as they usually seek space and solitude.
Most men prefer to shut down and re energize internally, rather
than talking out their problems. If they do talk out, they will
seek comfort in close buddies.
In contrast, women tend to express and share their emotions to
anyone freely, including strangers. Women prefer heart to heart
talk, or rant out to release their inner tension. The other party
could be anybody, as long as the party is willing to listen,
empathize and support them.
3. Communication Style
Generally, men are results oriented and have a tendency to focus on
what is critical. They frequently prioritize and sequence their
work to achieve the goals. On the other hand, women are process
focused, and are motivated by the effort going into the process of
attaining goals. Women are conscientious workers and need to have
all factors considered before executing. This gender intelligence
difference has brought several conflicts in workplaces where women
feel like their wishes are ignored by men, who only have thoughts
on getting work done.
On another aspect of communication style, 79% of men feel that they
need to be careful and indirect when dealing with women, especially
with critical feedback. There are two common types of women in the
workplace - one who gets emotional easily and one who is assertive.
Emotional women get affected easily and may cry in office or
performance reviews.
Men have also mentioned that they have troubles dealing with both
emotional and assertive types, which may create a barrier in
transparent communication. These men mentioned that they are afraid
of being straight with women, for fear of offending them. 82% of
women say they would prefer receiving direct feedback from
men.
4. Insensitivity
Both men and women may not be as sensitive to each others’ needs
and feelings. 68% of men agree with the 72% of women who said that
men are not as sensitive as women to surroundings, situations and
feelings. Men are more goal-oriented and traditional, and tend to
prefer being be more isolated when making decisions at
work.
Researches have shown that women are also poor in reading men’s
behaviour accurately and responding sensitively. On the other
hand, women like to express their feelings, and have a high level
of curiosity and empathy. Women prefer getting engaged in decision
processes. This may caused misunderstanding as 82% of women feel
excluded in conversations or workplaces in general. Yet, 92% of men
think otherwise. It’s time for both parties to start understanding
how both parties’ brain work and start
accommodating!
5. Team Playership
It seems that men and women have different preferences on getting
acknowledged and appreciated as part of a team. A man would feel
much more appreciated when he’s singled out to do a task, as
opposed to a woman who prefers to be acknowledged as part of a team
that completed the task. It seems that for men, teamwork is similar
to playing a competitive sport.
For men, performance is important. Men contribute by supporting the
leader, playing his position well, and supporting the leader
efficiently. When they succeed, they naturally point inward and
attribute it to their own skills. When they fail, they point
outward and blame external factors for causing the
failure.
Women enjoy interacting with other colleagues by sharing ideas,
listening, working together, and provide assistance whenever
possible. They point outward when they succeed, and give credits to
their team members and external surroundings. When they fail, women
tend to blame themselves for the mishap caused.
Since men and women are wired differently, is it still possible to
establish good work relationships? It is,
and here are some tips from the PanelPlace Team that may help to
make things better!
Male employees should acknowledge your female colleagues feelings,
encourage her while laying out what you expect of her in the
future. As for females, give the gentlemen some space and time to
sort his thoughts out. He will definitely tell you his thoughts if
he wants to - no point digging!
Men should try to view work as not only a place to deliver
outstanding results but also to connect with the other players. As
for women, they should approach men at right timings. Both parties
should try to put the shortcomings of the other party to good
use.
To illustrate, women can view men as a role model to become more
motivated and be emotionally stronger. Men can learn from women to
be more people oriented and be less self-absorbed. Workplace should
not be seen as a competitive environment, but a place for people to
build work relationships and deliver great results at the same
time.
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