National Survey: How Men Think in the Workplace (for the books For Women Only in the Workplace and The Male Factor)

[survey title=”Survey of How Men Think In the Workplace”]

Survey Data as of: 9/9/2008

Methodology

For a greater understanding of the rigor and therefore the integrity behind this survey, we have provided this easy to read explanation of our Survey Methodology.

If you are a print publication or media representative, and would like to arrange to receive more detail on the methodology of the survey, the demographics of the responders, or cross-tabulation data, please contact us.

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Stop and think for a moment about your view of working life and personal life. Which statement best describes your view? {Choose One Answer}” notes=”* Tallied percentage is believed to be an even more realistic assessment, based on survey-takers answers to ‘real-life scenario’ question. (See Endnotes at conclusion of survey.)”]
[option percent=”58″]Things operate differently at work than they do in your personal life. You can adhere to the same values or personality in each place (for example, being honest, or compassionate), but the expectations and culture of each are simply different, so you adjust to each (raw percentage)[/option]
[option percent=”100″](tailed percentage^*)[/option]
[option percent=”42″]The way work life and personal life operate are not that different, so you can operate pretty much the same in both arenas (raw percentage)[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”When you are considering a work decision, should you change the decision, based on consideration of emotional or personal factors—such as the possibility that someone’s feelings will be hurt if you go a particular direction? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”67″]In general, you can’t really allow your actual decision to be influenced by those factors. You can consider them after the decision is made—such as breaking hard news gently—but using them to change a decision would negatively impact the efficiency and effectiveness of the business[/option]
[option percent=”22″]You can change a decision based on those factors; doing so won’t negatively impact the business[/option]
[option percent=”11″]You should change your decision based on those factors; doing so will improve the effectiveness of the business[/option]
[/question]

[question note=”Wherever a hypothesis was tested but not borne out in the survey, those subjects were dropped from further research for now. Those questions therefore are not included in this presentation of the survey. Any skipped questions are not missing but rather relate to the dropped subjects.”][/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Suppose you’re in the middle of working on something and a colleague comes into your office. She mentions some family problems, and you sense she needs to talk for a while. Regardless of how you actually respond, are you likely to have the following feeling? I should discuss it with her, to show that I care… but privately, I’d really rather not because I fear I’ll get sucked into a personal conversation, and I just don’t have time for that here. {Choose One Answer}” note=”Due to rounding, some totals slightly exceed 100%”]
[option percent=”44″]Yes, I may have that feeling[/option]
[option percent=”35″]No, I’m not likely to have that feeling[/option]
[option percent=”22″]Yes, I am likely to have that feeling[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Now suppose that a work associate approaches you and starts talking about a work issue, but doesn’t first tell you the point of the question or the matter at hand. In general, is it harder to listen and follow what they are saying, if they don’t state the point up front? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”60″]Yes. I do feel like I have to work harder to listen if I don’t know where they are going[/option]
[option percent=”40″]No. I’m generally fine with listening to the story or the details unfold without finding it hard to listen[/option]
[/question]

[question prompt=’Below are several quotes from various successful businessmen about how they privately feel at times. Do you sometimes find yourself instinctively feeling this way? (When answering, please consider how you actually feel, regardless of whether you think it is logical or whether you “should” feel that way.) {Choose One Answer For Each Statement}’ note=”Due to rounding, some totals slightly exceed 100%”]

Question	I feel like this regularly	I feel like this sometimes	I rarely or never feel like this
It all depends on me.	25%	60%	16%
If I have a work success (for example, I land a big deal), I don’t feel like it gives me much breathing room to celebrate and relax. Business is all about what have you done for me lately?	25%	50%	25%
If everyone doesn’t pull together and keep things moving forward every single day, things will break down.	28%	52%	20%
Work feels like a sprint from task to task and goal to goal; even during ‘down times’ I feel a sense of urgency	27%	49%	24%
Whether or not my actual job involves juggling multiple tasks, I feel like a juggler who is trying to keep a dozen balls in the air; if I lose my focus, it will all come crashing down around me.	31%	45%	24%
No matter how successful I get, I still feel a bit like I’m pushing a rock uphill—gravity is still there, working against me. I have to be vigilant or I’ll slip backwards.	27%	48%	25%
I’m not always as confident as I look.	21%	55%	24%
I can be doing great in business, enjoy a challenge, and still at times feel like, okay, I hope I can figure this thing out before someone realizes that I’m not sure what I’m doing!	16%	54%	30%

[/question]

[question note=”Several questions were worded only slightly differently for the female control group and those questions are not included here.
The relevant questions that were substantively different or were only asked of female survey takers (and thus discussed in the book) are appended at the end of this presentation of the survey.”][/question]

[question number=”11″ respondents=”602″ prompt=”Imagine you are in a business meeting, and a woman with a great body stands up to give a presentation. She is all business, but she is wearing a suit and blouse that shows off her figure in some way (for example, a low-cut blouse or tight skirt). Which answer below most closely describes the likely impact of that on your ability to concentrate on her presentation? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”14″]I’m instinctively drawn to look at her body, and sneak in peeks when she won’t notice—so I’m missing quite a bit of what she says[/option]
[option percent=”15″]I try to concentrate, but I’m distracted from trying to look at her face and not her body—so I miss some of what she says[/option]
[option percent=”36″]I’m not affected; I can concentrate fully on her presentation[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”When you see a woman dress in a way that shows off her figure, which (if any) of the following thoughts might you have about why she is dressing that way? {Choose One Answer On Each Row}” note=”The answers for each row above were ‘I might think that’ and ‘I would not think that;. This is only the percent of men who answered ‘I might think that way’ for each answer.”]
[option percent=”74″]She wants the men around her to look at her body[/option]
[option percent=”66″]She probably wants to use her curves to sell the deal (or create some business advantage)[/option]
[option percent=”20″]She’s advertising or saying “come and get it”[/option]
[option percent=”70″]She’s conscious of the fact that she’s showing off her body, and she’s doing it on purpose to create an advantage[/option]
[option percent=”39″]She must not understand how she’s being perceived—and it’s not a perception she would want[/option]
[option percent=”67″]She does understand how she’s being perceived—and she doesn’t care[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”551″ prompt=”Thinking about the working women you see during the course of the workweek, how often do you encounter, or see, a woman wearing clothes that you consider distracting for showing off her figure in some way? This includes presumed ‘unintentional’ cases, such as a button-up shirt that isn’t buttoned up as high as usual, and so on. Which choice below comes closest to describing how often you see a woman dressed in that way, in the working environment? {Choose One Answer}” note=”9% of male survey takers said they work with very few women or have a uniform.” base=”Respondents Who Answered The Question – Among men who work with women and do not have a uniform*”]
[option percent=”12″]Every day, multiple times a day[/option]
[option percent=”12″]Once a day, on average[/option]
[option percent=”21″]Several times a week[/option]
[option percent=”13″]Once a week[/option]
[option percent=”13″]Once every few weeks[/option]
[option percent=”6″]Once a month[/option]
[option percent=”23″]Rarely or never[/option]
[/question]

[question number=”17″ respondents=”602″ prompt=”Which statement about trust and respect do you agree with most? If you agree with both, which is most important to you, to be able to instinctively trust and respect someone in the workplace? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”77″]I trust and respect someone most when they are being themselves instead of trying to create a certain persona (for example, trying to come across as a hardened personality, when, in fact, they have a compassionate personality)[/option]
[option percent=”23″]I trust and respect someone the most if they get the job done, period, even if in the process they put on the persona of someone they absolutely are not[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Consider times in your working life when you have seen two co-workers have a work-related conflict and then begin to express annoyance with each other over time. Did you have any of the following perceptions about the situation and those co-workers? {Choose One Answer On Each Row Below}” note=”The answers for each row above were ‘I did think that’ and ‘I did not think that’. This is only the percent of men who answered ‘I did think that’ for each answer.”]
[option percent=”77″]Getting personal in the workplace is not appropriate[/option]
[option percent=”82″]This is wasting time and hurting the organization’s efficiency[/option]
[option percent=”73″]It makes me think they are choosing to not set this aside[/option]
[option percent=”61″]It makes me think that they are incapable of setting this aside[/option]
[option percent=”79″]Handling things this way could limit their professional opportunities[/option]
[option percent=”74″]Whatever else I think about it, I do not want to get dragged in[/option]
[option percent=”19″]It won’t negatively impact the business, so it’s fine if they process things this way[/option]
[option percent=”49″]If people become annoyed with each other, it’s important for them to be able to express it openly, in their own way[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”In the previous situation, what do you think they should have done, from the moment the annoyance began? {Choose One Answer}” note=”Due to rounding, some totals slightly exceed 100%”]
[option percent=”9″]They should have never allowed themselves to have the feelings of annoyance, to begin with[/option]
[option percent=”14″]They should stuff the feelings of annoyance and put it behind them immediately[/option]
[option percent=”74″]They should address the issue directly, and then stop bringing it up or displaying annoyance[/option]
[option percent=”4″]They should express the feelings of annoyance as they have been doing and let it naturally run its course[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Now, this is a sensitive question, but your anonymous input will be helpful. In the type of scenario you recollected for the question at the top of this page, in your experience what is more likely to be the gender of those expressing annoyance? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”49″]It is more likely that both will be women[/option]
[option percent=”29″]It is more likely to be one man and one woman[/option]
[option percent=”22″]It is more likely that both will be men[/option]
[/question]

[question number=”23″ respondents=”602″ prompt=”Suppose you are in an important meeting that you know you and your team will need to evaluate afterwards. One of your female colleagues contributes well to the discussion, but also gets quite emotional and upset about some criticism of your team’s project. Which of the following feelings are you most likely to have? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”26″]I fear that her emotion could draw others into it, and make it a more emotional, less productive meeting[/option]
[option percent=”49″]I agree with (1), above, and as a result, feel I would need to filter the emotional stuff out so I can think clearly[/option]
[option percent=”25″]I don’t fear the meeting becoming more emotional; if it did, it wouldn’t impact me at all[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Now, suppose that you are leaving the meeting in which your female colleague was emotional and upset. As you prepare to review the meeting, what thought is most likely to be your first reaction? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”60″]She’s emotional, so unfortunately she’s probably not thinking very clearly right now; it casts a doubt over whether I can trust her judgment of this particular meeting[/option]
[option percent=”40″]She’s emotional, but her ability to think clearly is not impaired by that; I can fully trust her judgment of this particular meeting[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Suppose for the past year you have been part of a 10-person team working on a big project. Everyone contributed well to the end result. During the year, for family reasons, two team members arranged to work from home on Fridays. And during intense deadlines they couldn’t stay at the office late or on weekends with the rest of the team, but made an effort to work from home. All team members were supportive and agreed that those two individuals had great value, even if they couldn’t put in as many hours or be available at the same times. When it comes time to be individually evaluated, compensated and promoted, however, how do you feel about your contribution versus theirs? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”44″]I view it as exactly the same[/option]
[option percent=”36″]I don’t view it as the same. There’s just no substitute for the fact that I was willing to spend more time at the office to get the job done. I should be recognized for that[/option]
[option percent=”20″]I agree with (2), above, and would probably be a bit frustrated or even angry if we were evaluated and compensated exactly the same[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”Now, suppose the two team members who worked a different schedule did, in fact, receive somewhat lower bonuses, and they protest not being equally compensated with the rest of the team. Management explains that they simply didn’t work as many hours as the others, and weren’t always available at the same times, but the two workers tell you and the others that it still wasn’t fair. How is that most likely to impact your view of those two team members, if at all? {Choose One Answer}” note=”Due to rounding, some totals may slightly be less than 100%”]
[option percent=”15″]I’d view them as brave and fighting for their rights[/option]
[option percent=”37″]It wouldn’t impact how I viewed them either way[/option]
[option percent=”31″]I’d be puzzled why they don’t seem to understand that there was a reason for the lesser bonus, and view them as a bit out of touch with reality[/option]
[option percent=”16″] I agree with (3), above, and believe that their complaints about unfair treatment will be viewed more negatively than the disparity in their hours[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”In which of the following areas, if any, do you sometimes feel less than confident, or question how others view you? {Choose All Correct Answers}”]
[option percent=”24″]Whether I’m smart and good at what I do[/option]
[option percent=”28″]Whether I’m expendable[/option]
[option percent=”36″]Whether I will be able to get another good job if this one goes away[/option]
[option percent=”20″]Whether I am likeable[/option]
[option percent=”19″]Whether others view me as successful[/option]
[option percent=”22″]Whether I measure up to my colleagues[/option]
[option percent=”28″]Whether I’m viewed as capable—especially by my boss[/option]
[option percent=”27″]Whether my ideas are being accepted[/option]
[option percent=”29″]Whether I am influential/whether others listen to me[/option]
[option percent=”26″]None of the above; I rarely struggle with confidence in any of these areas[/option]
[/question]

[question number=”29″ respondents=”602″ prompt=”Suppose you’re making a proposal in a group meeting, and a female colleague begins asking you ‘why’ questions (for example, ‘Why did you choose that approach?’ or ‘Why is your project structured that way?’). What is your most likely first, gut-level reaction? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”8″]It feels like she’s questioning my judgment[/option]
[option percent=”38″]It feels like she’s just trying to understand[/option]
[option percent=”12″]Both (above answers)[/option]
[option percent=”42″]Either (above answers), depending on the person[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt=”In your opinion, are there certain things that even skilled and talented women sometimes unintentionally do that undermines their effectiveness with men, simply because they don’t realize how they are being perceived by the men they work with? {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”66″]Yes, I agree with that[/option]
[option percent=”34″]No, I don’t agree with that[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”602″ prompt='”I am not always as confident as I look.” {Choose One Answer}’]
[option percent=”76″]I feel like this regularly/sometimes[/option]
[option percent=”24″]I rarely or never feel like this.[/option]
[/question]

[question prompt=”Please provide an example of something that even a skilled woman might unintentionally do that undermines her effectiveness or perception with men.” note=”The men’s verbatim answers to this question, from both the professional survey and the follow-up survey, can be found here.”][/question]

[question number=”33″ prompt=”Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to women in the workplace, what is the one most important thing you would say to them?” note=”The men’s verbatim answers to this question, from both the professional survey and the follow-up survey, can be found here.”][/question]

[question number=”8″ respondents=”100″ prompt=”How often would you say that you wear work outfits that emphasize or allow sight of your figure? This would include, for example, as low-cut shirt that shows some cleavage or a tight skirt. Only women answered this question. {Choose One Answer}”]
[option percent=”4″]I wear those frequently[/option]
[option percent=”22″]I wear those sometimes[/option]
[option percent=”38″]I wear those rarely[/option]
[option percent=”36″]I never wear those[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”64″ prompt=”When you wear those outfits, which (if any) of the following thoughts might be going through your mind? {Choose One Answer For Each Row}” note=”The answers for each row above were ‘I might think that’ and ‘I would not think that’. This is only the percent of women who answered ‘I might think that way’ for each answer.” base=’Those who answered: “that there are times they wear such outfits” – Women’ note=”The answers for each row above were ‘I might think that’ and ‘I would not think that’. This is only the percent of women who answered ‘I might think that way’ for each answer.”]
[option percent=”91″]I enjoy feeling good about how I look.[/option]
[option percent=”34″]I want those around me to notice my figure.[/option]
[option percent=”23″]I want the men around me to look at my body.[/option]
[option percent=”17″]I am frankly hoping to create some business advantage; for example, to sell the deal I’m pitching.[/option]
[option percent=”23″]I am advertising or saying “come and get it.”[/option]
[option percent=”16″]I am conscious of the fact that I am showing off my body, and am doing it on purpose to create an advantage.[/option]
[option percent=”89″]My outfit isn’t about trying to show off my figure at all; I’m just trying to look good and am wearing what is in style.[/option]
[/question]

[question respondents=”100″ prompt=”Imagine you are in a business meeting, and a woman stands up to give a presentation. She is all business, but she is wearing a suit and blouse that emphasizes her figure in some way (for example, a low-cut blouse or tight skirt). Which answer below most closely describes the likely impact of that (if any) on your ability to concentrate on her presentation? {Choose One Answer}” base=”Respondents who answered the question – Women”]
[option percent=”69″]This isn’t something that affects me; I can concentrate fully on her presentation[/option]
[option percent=”29″]I am somewhat distracted by what she’s wearing—so I miss some of what she says[/option]
[option percent=”2″]I am very distracted by what she’s wearing—so I’m missing quite a bit of what she says[/option]
[/question]

[question number=”20″ respondents=”602″ prompt=”Now, this is a sensitive question, but your anonymous input will be helpful. In the type of scenario you recollected for the question at the top of this page, in your experience what is more likely to be the gender of those expressing annoyance? {Choose One Answer}” base=”Respondents who answered the question – Control group of women”]
[option percent=”73″]It is more likely that both will be women[/option]
[option percent=”20″]It is more likely to be one man and one woman[/option]
[option percent=”7″]It is more likely that both will be men[/option]
[/question]

[/survey]

Endnotes

Question 1

The tallied answer represents an estimate of men who actually did or didn’t expect different behavior in the workplace, based on their answer(s) to several later questions about more “real life” scenarios. (Experience has found that both men and women at times have difficulty understanding their real answer to a purely conceptual question such as Q1, and that providing examples and real life scenarios often helps get at the issue a different way.) The tallied answer is comprised of those who gave one or more of the following answers on the survey: (1) on Q1 (the original question noted here); (1) on Q2; (1) or (2) on Q4; (1) Q18.1, Q18.2, or Q18.5; (2) on Q18.7; (1) on Q23 or Q23.

This tallied answer isn’t a perfect comparison, since the questions were not able to compare a man’s response to a “personal” situation at work to that of a similar situation in his personal life. However, those answer choices would commonly be the opposite of those considered appropriate in a personal setting (such as not considering another person’s feelings when making a decision that affected them). Thus, while the comparison isn’t perfect, the tallied answer is likely to be a somewhat more realistic representation of how a man actually feels about whether the work and personal worlds function differently.