If Meryl Streep Were Mel Streep
Men who get angry in the workplace are well thought of while women who express anger at work are demeaned. So concludes Victoria Brescoll, a postdoctoral scholar at Yale, after a recent study. This is based on the responses of men and women who viewed a variety of videos depicting workplace behavior. A scenario involving a sad woman came in second on the esteem scale. Supposedly there was not much difference between men and women concerning their reaction to anger the work place.
Now, I come back to the interesting reactions I’ve observed to Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wares Prada. Miranda Priestly. She is a character who is very passionate about her work to the point that she instills that passion in those who work around her with what a Sargeant of mine called “Command emphasis.” Many, men and women, have been put off by this aggressive behavior. I wonder if they would have been as put off if the character was a man instead of a woman? If you experience and cultural bent is for a nurturing mother and a stern father then you may have trouble with angry women.
Regardless, Ms. Brescoll’s study indicates that there is still a positive place for an angry reaction in the work place. Flying off the handle over every little thing will get you nowhere, but the judicious application of righteous indignation will apparently work for men.
In your small business you better have enough passion to get angry about those associates who do not share that passion.
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POSTED IN: Mindset, Starting Up, Work
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