Here’s How to Bring Feminine Energy into Your Workplace Culture

All humans have within them both masculine and feminine energy.

These are also known as yin and yang or Shiva and Shakti in various cultures.

But, what are these energies exactly? And how do they relate to corporate workplaces and workplace culture as a whole?
 
 

Masculine and Feminine Energy 101

Although getting a complete understanding of masculine and feminine energy is a very wide topic, let’s get an introduction to these.
 

Masculine Energies

Let’s start with some masculine energies. Traditionally, these are:

• Planning/strategy
• Selectiveness/exclusivity
• Strength
• Emotional detachment
• Stoicism
• Guardedness
• Details
• Growth
• Expansion
• Linearity
• Knowledge
• Pragmatism
• Logic
• Moving from point A to point B with focus
• ”Doing”

Feminine Energies

Some traditional feminine energies are:

• Introspection
• Integration
• Connectivity
• Vulnerability
• Wonderment
• Sensitivity
• Contraction
• Holistic thinking
• Non-linearity
• Intuition
• Letting go
• Chaos
• ”Being”

Feminine Energy in Workplace Culture

Masculine and feminine energy are meant to be complementary to each other and not in competition. But, they are usually perceived in competition.

Straight off the bat, which qualities do you see more of in a corporate environment? Which do you see more of in your workplace culture? The answer is probably clear: masculine energy. This could be a result of corporate environments being predominantly male through the decades with a lack of diversity and inclusion.
 

“Wholeness is not achieved by cutting off a portion of one’s being, but by integration of the contraries.” – Carl Jung

 
Fortunately, we see many women in corporate environments nowadays, which is changing workplace culture. However, even if corporate workplaces have opened their doors to females, in many cases the doors are still closed to the integration of feminine energy.

In typical workplace culture, any person – irrespective of their gender or their inherently dominant energy – is always expected to operate mainly in masculine energies. Embodying any feminine energy is seen as a lack of “professionalism” or a sign of weakness.

Workplace culture typically awards masculine energy while punishing feminine energy. This causes employees (again, irrespective of their gender) to suppress their feminine energies. Also, it pressures them to always operate in their masculine “zone.”
 
 

Workplace Culture and “Shadow Energies”

Many times, this social conditioning causes an emotional imbalance and it can manifest in employees in different ways. Some of these are:

• Controlling behaviors
• Extreme competitiveness
• Stress due to the need to control outcomes
• Focus on personal gains via quick routes
• Emotional detachment from employees, considering them as mere “resources”

 
These are not balanced masculine energies. It is an expression of masculine energy in it’s most imbalanced, overflowing, and out-of-whack form. We can call this the “shadow masculine energies.”

Sometimes, this might also manifest in “shadow feminine energies.” Some of these are:

• Victim mentality, feeling prosecuted
• Inability to make decisions with confidence
• Lack of self-esteem
• Manipulative behaviors

 
In order to avoid these “shadow energies” from surfacing, we need to find a balance between the two energies in our workplace culture.
 
 

Here Are 5 Ways to Bring Feminine Energy Into Your Workplace Culture:

How then, can one enmesh feminine energy into the masculine workplace culture and structures? Here are a few ideas.
 

1. Be Authentic and Expressive

This is a tough one. Ever since the day a person enters the workplace, the first thing they are taught is: Let’s keep this strictly business. This translates to: “Please be emotionally detached.”

But is this a valid ask? We spend 8 to 9 hours of our lives every day at work, doing high-pressure tasks, interacting with our colleagues, and so on.
 

The best way to deal with heavy emotions is to express them in a clear, concise way without taking the issue too personally.

 
Then, how can one be completely Zen and emotionally detached while doing the “right thing” all the time? Only a person with extreme self-mastery can be capable of this. And, let’s not kid ourselves – we aren’t there yet. Instead, this turns employees into robots who only work, but don’t feel.

When we don’t express emotions, it can cause them to become repressed. Then, they might come out in an explosive way at a later time.

The best way to deal with heavy emotions is to express them in a clear, concise way without taking the issue too personally. Don’t let bad emotions fester. Always keeping the communication channels open. If expressed properly, emotions can bring teams and colleagues closer and develop deep bonds of team spirit and friendship.
 

2. Be Vulnerable

Were you given a task that feels too difficult to handle? Is the deadline just too unrealistic to be met? If so, don’t hesitate to say “no.”

It’s recommended to put on a brave front even when feeling vulnerable inside: the “fake it ’til you make it” mentality. But, to do it all the time takes a toll on a person’s mental and physical health levels. Everyone needs some time to recuperate from stressful situations.

So, feel free to say “no.” Feel free to explain to your boss or teammates that a particular project or deadline has you feeling overwhelmed. Feel free to ask for help. It is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength and shows belief in others, a feeling of oneness. This is one of the core feminine energies.
 

3. Be Creative and Chaotic

Is everything done only in a particular, meticulous way in your workplace? Do people get reprimanded if they try to do things in a different and creative way? If the answers to these questions are yes, then it indicates that masculine energy dominates your workplace culture.

Find your chance and try to introduce something new to shake things up a little bit. If going big in disruption is not possible, find a small gap somewhere. Maybe propose a week every quarter in which people can work on creative, personal projects or learn a new work-related skill that they want to acquire.

A planned/provisioned time to do something creative is a perfect combination of how the masculine energy (planning) can work with the feminine energy (creativity) to bring out innovations.
 

4. See the Bigger Picture

Masculine energy is notorious for being super focussed, detail-oriented, and somewhat controlling and perfectionistic. It can get stuck in the details.

When this is the case, one can make use of feminine energy to get a bigger, web-like, connect-the-dots, eagle eye view of the situation. We can start moving forward without getting bogged down by the details.

This includes having faith and moving forward, even when some details along the way are unclear. It practices giving up of control (which the masculine energy struggles with). But, maybe with the bigger picture in mind, the need for control can be let go.
 

5. Express Compassion

It’s all good to be cutthroat, logical, and stoic in boardrooms and meetings. But once out of these meetings, feel free to drop down to your heart when interacting in the office.

Offer a co-worker an empathetic ear if they are having a bad day, even if you have some tasks to finish up. Be a light for someone in their gloomy day.
 
 

Feminine Energy in Workplace Culture: The Takeaway

With steady adaptation of these ideas, we all will be able to express feminine energies in the workplace in a more acceptable way. This will lead to more wholesome and welcoming work environments – where everyone feels completely comfortable being who they truly are.

According to yogic principles, to attain a higher state of consciousness, every human has to balance their masculine and feminine energies within themselves.

Here’s to hoping that we can create an environment in which everyone is more balanced, accepting, and whole within.

Need some more help awakening your feminine energy? Use these 10 Yoga Poses to Awaken Your Inner Goddess and Harness Your Feminine Energy

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