I learned a new concept today: ‘hegemonic narrative’. In plain English, a ‘dominant story’ about why things are the way they are.
Dominant because more or less everyone subscribes to it.
Story because it’s made up.
In fact human history could be said to be one long sequence of hegemonic narratives, each one displacing the previous one, not necessarily for the better. Often benefiting one group of people over others. Beneficiaries therefore have an incentive to keep their story dominant.
They are psychologically useful, because they help us live with contradictions. But they are nevertheless made up.
Much better to try and resolve the contradictions, and create a story that works well for everyone.
The good news is that inside your company at least, you are free to do just that.
For a long, but very interesting article on how such stories work, check out this article: “Explaining the Persistence of Gender Inequality: The Work–family Narrative as a Social Defense against the 24/7 Work Culture“. It’s a fascinating read.