Drilling in the Gulf:Risk, Safety, and the Culture of

Masculinity

Robin J. ElyNCRW

Corporate Circle Advisory BoardNew York, NY

January 11, 2012

[Back then] the field foremen were kind of like a pack of lions. The guy that was in charge was the one who could basically out-perform and out-shout and out-intimidate all the others. So those people went to the top, over other people's bodies in some cases. Intimidation was the name of the game. . . . They decided who the driller was by fighting. If the job came open, the one that was left standing was the driller. It was that rowdy. But it’s not like that at all now. I mean we don't even horseplay like we used to. There's no physical practical jokes anymore. Most stuff now is just good-natured joking.

Off-shore Installation Manager

Less proving, less bravado . . .

Men did not repudiate traditionally masculine characteristics; simply not focused on proving them. “We know what we’re doing, but we don’t need to prove

ourselves, [whereas] guys [in other places] lift their leg and pee on everything.”

--Mechanic

Men did not abdicate power, but expressed it with less bravado. “I started working offshore when I was 17. Back then, there

was much more profanity, much more posturing. If you didn't posture yourself in a position of power, then you set yourself up for ridicule. But over the years . . . people have learned that you don't have to present yourself in that fashion to gain power. You don't have to use profanity to make a statement that carries power.”

--Production Operator

Less Gender-Stereotypic Conceptions of Self

Being a man doesn’t mean: “I want to kick someone’s ass” “being macho or arrogant” “needing to beat someone up”

“A man is a man when he can think like a woman . . . being sensitive, compassionate, in touch with my feelings, knowing when to laugh and when to cry.”

“I don’t want to be a superhero out here . . . But that doesn’t mean I’m not a man.”

There’s room for both the softer side and the other one. But the change was very hard. [We had to be taught] how to be more lovey-dovey and more friendly with each other and to get in touch with the more tender side of each other type of thing. And all of us just laughed at first. It was like, man, this is never going to work, you know? But now you can really tell the difference. Even though we kid around and joke around with each other, there's no malice in it. We are a very different group now than we were when we first got together—kinder, gentler people.

Production Operator

Who are these “kinder, gentler” guys and where did they come from???!!

Our Question

20 Years of Research on Men Doing Dangerous Work

82 studies – 90% contain vivid descriptions of men asserting conventional masculinity (e.g., fire, police, military, oil fields, coal mines, manufacturing plants, construction sites, farming, fishing, prof sports)

Images of invulnerability loomed large. “Tough men farm.” “It takes balls to play rugby.” “You got to be tough and take risks; it takes a real man to work in a steel mill.”

To be seen as manly/competent, men worked hard to appear: Tough, strong, e.g., likening weaker men to women: “girls, pussies, weenies, and

wimps.” Confident, infallible, e.g., refusing to reveal doubt, mistakes, lack of knowledge. Stoic, detached, e.g., declaring, “We laugh in the face of death.”

Not just dirty, dangerous work

“Rambo litigators” – trial attorneys celebrated for their extreme confidence, forcefulness, and ability to take command of a courtroom

Pit traders –survival-of-the-fittest competition; pride in role as risk-takers in the pursuit of financial profit

“Successful” managers – cultivate images of themselves as confident, in control, and emotionally detached

How does this image manifest in your company?

Costs of Masculinity

Undermines performance Encourages excessive risk-taking Unacknowledged errors recur and escalate Covering up errors/lack of knowledge precludes learning

Marginalizes women

Alienates men from their feelings and others

What are the costs in your company?

Impact of Organizational Culture

Organizational culture: The informal work practices, norms, policies, rituals, stories, and symbols that shape employees’ actions and perspectives as they go about their day-to-day work.

Collectivistic goals front and center Definitions of competence tied to bona fide task

requirements rather than to conventional masculine traits

A learning orientation toward work

Collectivistic Goals

Ensuring coworkers’ safety Building a sense of community Creating value for customers and

shareholders by advancing the company’s mission

. . . replaced the goal of proving masculinity

Collectivistic Goals vs. Masculine Image Goals

Collectivistic goals (vs. masculine image goals) – contribute to the well-being of the whole rather than garnering acceptance or admiration for the self.

Satisfy basic human need for relatedness.

Inherently more rewarding to pursue than image goals. Associated with > satisfaction, self-esteem; < anxiety, depression.

Worth risking masculine image in order to accomplish them.

“When we need to get to the root cause of a problem or to troubleshoot something, we talk freely to each other rather than worrying about what he thinks of me.”

--Mechanic

Collectivistic Goal - Safety

Clear goals: “No one gets hurt.” “Every drop as fast as possible.” “Not a penny more than it takes.”

Anyone can “shut in” the platform.

“I guess it’s that we all have a common goal out here which is to keep it as safe and healthy as possible for everybody. And we all understand what the priorities are, and we set goals, and we’ve got targets to meet. And we all sit down and discuss how we are going to do it, and make it happen. I think you have to keep the production goal in perspective. It’s out there, but by no means do we jeopardize our integrity with what we are trying to do here.”

--Deck Operator

Definitions of Competence Aligned with Task Requirements

Norms about valued qualities

No longer “the biggest, baddest roughnecks,” but “mission-driven” people who “care about their fellow workers,” are “good listeners,” and “thoughtful. . . It doesn't necessarily have to do with knowledge. They're not worried about how fast they can get something done, they take the time to learn.”

--Cross-section of workers

Norms and practices that communicated clear, work-related rationale for expressing vulnerability

A Learning Orientation toward Work

Handling of mistakes and inexperience, e.g.:

Root cause analysis systematized learning approach

Millionaire Club – acceptance of fallibility

What would it take to create these conditions in your company???

Collectivistic (vs. masculine image) goals front and center

Definitions of competence tied to bona fide task requirements rather than to conventional masculine traits

A learning (vs. performance) orientation toward work