Hey Girls! Let’s "Ruin the Workplace" by... Making It Safer for Everyone.

Dr. Sarah DeGue
2 days ago
3 min read

If you were online last week, you probably saw The New York Times op-ed asking the deeply scientific question of our age: “Did Women Ruin the Workplace?”

“The pathology in our institutions known as wokeness is distinctively feminine and feminized … in a very literal sense, our institutions have gone woke because there are more women in them than there used to be.” —The New York Times Op-Ed, 11/6/2025

If “ruin” looks like making the workplace safer, healthier, and more functional for literally everyone? Then yes, girls—let’s absolutely ruin it.

The Plot Twist Nobody Ordered

The op-ed’s central thesis boiled down to something like: “Institutions are falling apart because women and "liberal feminism" made them too… safe? Inclusive? Accountable?”

Which is adorable. Because nothing says “we understand workplace dynamics” like blaming the people who were locked out of it for most of human history.

Meanwhile, women—along with many others who’ve been marginalized at work—are like:

A Quick Reality Check

Let’s take a tour of the alleged “ruin”:

Safer reporting systems → apparently destabilizing.
Work-life balance → chaos, apparently.
Harassment not being tolerated → catastrophic for… someone.
Basic fairness → the horror.

If this is “ruin,” then please, hand me a crowbar.

What’s Actually Ruining Workplaces

Since we study harmful norms and environments all day, allow us to offer some alternative headline options the NYT might consider next time:

“Did Overwork and Burnout Ruin the Workplace?”
“Did ‘Always On’ Culture Ruin the Workplace?”
“Did Tolerating Toxic Behavior Because ‘He’s Just Like That’ Ruin the Workplace?”

Or my personal favorite:

“Did We Forget That Healthy Workplaces Are Good for Everyone?”

Because what research (and frankly, common sense) keeps showing is that people thrive in environments that are fair, safe, predictable, and respectful—and that includes men, women, and everyone else who has to survive another meeting that could have been an email.

So What’s Actually Going On?

Whenever safety, equity, or accountability finally catch up to a workplace, some folks don’t see progress—they see threat.

Because if you built your professional comfort around:

not being questioned,
never being held accountable,
or benefiting from rules no one else agreed to,

…then yes, modern workplaces probably feel “ruined.”

What We Should Really Be Talking About

At Violence Prevention Solutions | EVOLVE Violence Prevention, we think about prevention everywhere—schools, communities, and yes, workplaces. Unsafe or inequitable environments don’t just harm morale. They can fuel stress, conflict, and even violence.

Creating environments where people feel valued and respected isn’t just “nice.”

It’s evidence-based prevention.

It’s good management.

It’s LITERALLY the least we can do.

Turns out, the same ingredients that prevent violence in communities and schools—clear expectations, protective environments, healthy norms—are the same ones that make workplaces run better.

Imagine that.

The “Ruined” Future We Want

If “ruining the workplace” means making it:

safer,
healthier,
more equitable,
more functional,
less violent,
and less exhausting for everyone…

then please, sign us up for demolition.

Let’s bring in the wrecking ball of research, empathy, and basic human dignity.

Let’s ruin the workplace into something we all deserve.

If making workplaces safer, healthier, and more effective is “ruining” them, EVOLVE Violence Prevention is happily in the demolition business.

We partner with organizations to replace harmful norms with evidence-based strategies that actually work.

Ready to ruin things in the best possible way? Let’s evolve.