Zuckerberg Thinks Workplaces Need to ‘Man Up’ − Psych Says That’s Bad for All Employees

“My research, for example, has shown that when men feel pressured to fulfill certain masculine expectations, they can develop fragile masculine identities, which are linked with aggression and anxiety”

FILE - Mark Zuckerberg talks about the Orion AR glasses during the Meta Connect conference on Sept. 25, 2024, in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
FILE - Mark Zuckerberg talks about the Orion AR glasses during the Meta Connect conference on Sept. 25, 2024, in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP
Share
FILE - Mark Zuckerberg talks about the Orion AR glasses during the Meta Connect conference on Sept. 25, 2024, in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
FILE - Mark Zuckerberg talks about the Orion AR glasses during the Meta Connect conference on Sept. 25, 2024, in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP
Zuckerberg Thinks Workplaces Need to ‘Man Up’ − Psych Says That’s Bad for All Employees
Copy

When Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on a Jan. 10, 2025, episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” he lamented that corporate culture had become too “feminine,” suppressing its “masculine energy” and abandoning supposedly valuable traits such as aggression.

The workplace, he concluded, has been “neutered.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, Zuckerberg has also embraced stereotypically masculine pursuits in his personal life. He’s become a mixed martial arts aficionado and has shared his affinity for smoking meats. On his expansive Hawaii compound, he’s even taken up bow-and-arrow pig hunting.

He’s come a long way from the geeky image of his youth.

But is Zuckerberg right? Do workplaces in the U.S. need to embrace a more diesel-fueled, street-fighting, meat-eating mentality?

As a social psychologist who studies masculinity and aggression, I think it’s important to evaluate what the science says about Zuckerbeg’s claims – and to consider what it means for the future of workplace culture in the U.S.

Read the full article on The Conversation.

Plus: the African American Museum of Rhode Island opens this weekend and Andrew Bird plays with the RI Philharmonic
Barrington businessman points to bridge failures and payroll woes as proof Rhode Island needs a reset, entering the race as an independent
Says coastal regulators violated their own rules when they approved scaled-down scallop farm
What does the livelihood of the New England fishing industry have to do with the war in Iran? It turns out, quite a lot
Though Mayor Brett Smiley said he plans to veto the Providence Rent Stabilization Act, city councilors appear to be one vote short of a veto-proof supermajority. Councilor John Goncalves, who has not taken a public position on the legislation, is seeking to delay the vote
Mayor Roberto DaSilva points to school investments, new housing projects, and a post-bridge recovery as key to easing costs and reshaping the city’s future