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Why Both Masculine and Feminine Strengths Matter for a Thriving Workplace: A Jungian Perspective
- Dr. MJ Yang
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
In my clinical work, I often hear how workplace culture can deeply affect people's sense of safety and value. Recently, conversations early 2025 about “bringing back masculine energy” in workplaces have caused confusion, frustration, and even pain for many employees.
When leaders highlight aggression as the ideal, those who thrive through collaboration, empathy, or careful reflection can feel invisible or devalued. Men who don’t fit a narrow view of masculinity may feel they need to hide vulnerability, while women, LGBTQ+ employees, and people of color can feel pushed further to the margins.
Jungian psychology offers a lens to understand this. It teaches us that masculine and feminine energies exist in everyone, and both are vital for balance. The problem isn’t masculinity—it’s when one energy dominates and the other is ignored.
Healthy workplaces embrace both energies, creating an environment where everyone can contribute their full strengths.
Both Masculine and Feminine Strengths Matter in Workplace
The recent public focus on "masculine energy" comes at a time when many companies are under immense pressure from budget cuts, layoffs, and accelerated productivity expectations. This rhetoric can unintentionally reinforce a culture where toughness is celebrated over collaboration.
Employees who do not fit this narrow ideal often experience:
Anxiety and stress
Feelings of isolation
Imposter syndrome
The need to mask authentic strengths
Rather than building resilience, emphasizing aggression alone can make workplaces feel unsafe and alienating.
Understanding Inner Masculine and Feminine Energies
According to Jung, masculine (animus) and feminine (anima) energies are psychological functions, not tied to gender. Both exist within each person:
Masculine energy: clarity, structure, direction, drive
Feminine energy: intuition, empathy, relational awareness, integration
A thriving workplace values both. When one dominates, employees’ full potential is often overlooked, which can lead to stress, confusion, and disconnection.
The Power of Balancing Opposites for a Thriving Workplace
Jung suggested that growth comes from holding tension between opposing forces. In the workplace, this means allowing:
Speed and reflection
Clarity and empathy
Direction and collaboration
If we force an either/or mentality, the creative and adaptive potential of teams is lost. Both energies must coexist for innovation, problem-solving, and psychological safety.
The Consequences of Favoring One Energy
When a workplace leans too heavily on one energy—usually assertiveness, speed, or dominance—problems inevitably arise:
Burnout and fatigue
Heightened conflict
Erosion of trust
Employees feeling they cannot show their true selves
Over time, these suppressed qualities often resurface in disruptive ways, affecting morale, retention, and overall organizational health.
Individuation for Organizations: Build Wholeness
Just as individuals grow by integrating different parts of themselves, organizations can do the same. Jung called this process individuation.
A healthy, mature workplace integrates:
Clarity and compassion
Drive and reflection
Performance and care
Organizations that embrace both masculine and feminine energies are more resilient, humane, and sustainable.
Teams function better, people feel valued, and decisions are more thoughtful and ethical.
Sustainable Leadership: Thriving Through Both Strengths
Leadership that balances energies fosters a thriving workplace.
This looks like:
Courage and emotional intelligence
Productivity and creativity
Assertiveness and collaboration
Leaders who integrate these qualities help employees flourish rather than simply survive.
Rebalancing the Workplace for a Thriving Culture
Organizations are invited to reflect on areas where one energy dominates.
Questions to consider:
Are we valuing only certain types of strengths?
Do all team members feel seen and safe to contribute?
How can we intentionally cultivate balance?
By honoring both masculine and feminine energies, workplaces become more resilient, innovative, and human.
Embracing the full spectrum of human strengths benefits individuals, teams, and the organization as a whole, creating spaces where everyone can truly thrive.
