Elon Musk's Aggressive Stance On Employee Relations Will Harm Women More Than Men- Here's Why Musk, an alleged innovator, trendsetter and visionary, is seemingly steamrolling hard-fought workplace ethics. With that comes repercussions. And analytically, this is a tragedy for women globally.
By Emma Burdett •
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Elon Musk's public message to Twitter employees after his recent takeover of the company has been (very) loud and (very) clear.
His mandate says that they are to continue working long hours at high intensity, or, simply, leave. Thousands were laid off immediately with a quarter of the global headcount staying, and sharing hardcore imagery of themselves sleeping on the office floor, whilst working through the demanded updates.
Amongst many questionable, seemingly ill-thought-out hurriedly publicized updates from human resources (HR), employees were made to sign confidentiality agreements that would allow Musk carte blanche on employee rights as their opportunity to voice concerns is stifled.
Historically, a respected leader for his visionary innovation, Musk values high productivity at all cost. His recent actions are without question impulsive and volatile, commanding inflexible working hours, amongst other unreasonable demands with an attitude of "take it or leave it."
Musk's recent takeover and subsequent public drama has led to new user sign-ups to Twitter being at an all-time high. This sends a message that this leadership style is effective, and that it gets business results. Whilst employers have a responsibility for the overall mental well-being (including promotion of a work/life balance) of their employees, all companies have a responsibility to shareholders to become more profitable.
But what about the people? Historically, many women have faced challenges in the workspace due to outdated talent management structures and patriarchal leadership. The logic stems from the "Think leader, think man" school of thought- that the prototype of a leader is strong, assertive, takes charge, and is all about the mission. Has this now translated to, "Think leader, think Musk"?
Of course, this is 2022, and we have become used to the normalization of hustle culture- not only that, it's glamourization, fetishism even, ironically against a backdrop of furthering gender equality, human rights in general, and, of course, simply being kind.
As the world seemingly wakes up to gender equality and fair and equal rights for women, Musk, as a public figure, is setting a new precedent, amongst a new world order that is in acceptance of the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected women in the workforce more significantly than men.
Technology has provided us with the ability to work 24/7, and it has also promoted round-the-clock working. How then, after the revolution in remote working that the pandemic accelerated by decades, do we still have stigmatization surrounding flexible working hours? Working mothers need to have flexibility in order to maintain the balance of work and parenthood. This basic human need is still viewed negatively for women, and undermines their advancement.
The Musk mantra of long hours offers zero flexibility. If companies believe and follow his approach, we are seriously undoing years of effort globally to support and assist women at work, and whilst it isn't positive for menfolk either, the harsh fact is that women suffer more here- the data is clear.
Inflexible, autonomous work environments are not practical for women, nor conducive to modern life. Driving a 24/7 work culture harms productivity in the long run. Overall, the knock-on effect with this type of workplace culture means that women become blocked from the talent pool all together.
Gender equality research, especially at the leadership level, shows that equal representation of men and women leads to not only higher innovation and creativity, but also to higher profits. The work culture Musk advocates for is thus bad news for all, but for women- it sets us back decades.
In my work, I speak to many women on a weekly basis, and the overarching theme of our conversations is the desire for "more." If there is one thing the COVID-19 crisis forced us to do, it was to stop. Taking stock, trapped in our homes for weeks on end, disconnected from humanity, our colleagues, and the world. Some crumbled with the isolation, some thrived. However, what this unplanned catastrophe taught all of us was reflection.
After being forced off the daily hamster wheel of routine and living life on repeat, many of us pondered: what's it all about anyway? "The Great Resignation," as well as the trend of "quiet quitting," was a demonstration of people wanting more. Many became fed up with corporate life, outdated talent management systems, inflexibility, and not enough traction to build inclusivity in the workplace.
Companies were -and are- slowly beginning to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues granted, but more from a place of force, rather than genuinely wanting change. Companies woke up to the realization that too much talent was throwing in the towel. 85% of potential employees from the Gen Z age group demand to know a company's DEI policy when seeking work. Changes, although slow, were starting to filter through.
Musk, an alleged innovator, trendsetter and visionary, is seemingly steamrolling hard-fought workplace ethics. With that comes repercussions. And analytically, this is a tragedy for women globally. Leaders and visionaries have a responsibility to set a standard for how it's done. They are influential, they are role models, and they influence behaviors.
Companies have been beginning to create change. They are starting to review policies around flexible work hours, instilling key performance indicators and metrics to ensure fair and equal pay and opportunities for both men and women.
But it must be noted that 85% of CEOs globally are men. Let's hope they are not looking at Musk to replicate his outdated, inflexible leadership style. The harm to women specifically in the workplace is immeasurable.
