Young white men feel the need to ‘walk on eggshells' and censor themselves at work — here's why

It looks like the workplace is the new minefield — and young white men say they're walking on eggshells.
Nearly two in three white men aged 18 to 29 — around 12 million guys — feel the need to keep their mouths shut at work, too afraid to speak freely for fear of being canceled, called out, or canned, according to a new J.L. Partners poll commissioned for the podcast, 'White Men Can't Work!'
And they're not just staying quiet — they're losing out. About 6 million say they've missed a promotion or other opportunity because of their race and gender, or so they think.
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'Millions of men are walking around on eggshells at work, too scared to speak freely — whilst knowing that being male can now be a disaster for your career,' said Tim Samuels, the BBC and National Geographic documentarian behind the new five-part series investigating what happens when 'woke culture' meets the workplace.
3 Close to 12 million young white guys are zipping it on the job — too scared to speak their minds without getting canceled, called out or canned, a new poll says.
Vasyl – stock.adobe.com
He added, 'The scale of discrimination, self-censorship and anxiety is staggering.'
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Across all age groups, 43% of white men — about 41 million — say they're biting their tongues on the job. Another 25 million claim they've lost out on gigs or advancement due to being white and male.
Samuels' series dives into the impact of radical DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs sweeping corporate America — and what he claims is a growing epidemic of reverse discrimination.
''White Men Can't Work!' has spoken to guys who've been sacked literally just for being men, or pushed out over crazy micro-aggressions such as talking about the male and female ends of cables,' Samuels said.
'James,' a teacher, says HR made the company's stance crystal clear: 'The Head of HR at the school, standing in the middle of the office, said loud and proud: 'One thing is for sure, we're not having another man be the new head.''
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3 White men say they're muzzled at work — with 41 million biting their tongues and 25 million claiming they've been passed over just for being, well, white and male.
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And 'Mark,' in finance, says, 'I have been rejected for being considered for job roles because the client has expressly asked for all-female lists… It's no surprise so many men take their lives in their 40s and 50s.'
Clinical psychologist Dr. Carole Sherwood weighed in, 'We are definitely living through a groupthink crisis… We'll look at it with a lot of sorrow because there are a lot of people taking their lives because they've been shamed and ostracised and that is wrong.'
As per the poll, some women apparently agree that the pendulum has swung too far. A female firefighter said white men are 'definitely getting overlooked' for new hires.
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Sally, a miner, also notably said, 'We just wanted a chance and to not be groped at work. And it feels like the preferential treatment pendulum has swung a little bit too far to the other side.'
Professor Alex Edmans of London Business School compared the DEI craze to 'the tech, tulip [and] South China Sea bubbles,' saying it's all 'not backed up by real fundamentals and evidence.'
In similar news, as previously reported by The Post, as Paramount dukes it out with President Donald Trump in court, the media giant quietly cut a check to make another lawsuit disappear — one over alleged anti-white, anti-straight bias.
3 They're not just zipping their lips — they're getting zipped out of promotions, too. Around 6 million say being white and male cost them a shot at moving up.
Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com
Former 'SEAL Team' script coordinator Brian Beneker slapped Paramount Global, CBS Entertainment, and CBS Studios with a lawsuit in 2024, claiming he was repeatedly passed over for promotions because he's a straight, white guy.
According to America First Legal, which represented Beneker, the case ended in a hush-hush settlement after Paramount started tiptoeing away from its once-bold DEI agenda — a move AFL senior counsel Nick Barry called 'satisfactory.'

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