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Coming Out at Work

Coming Out at Work. The Disclosure Dilemma for Gay Men and Lesbians: “Coming Out” at Work is a study by Griffith and Hebl (2002) to examine issues around coming out at one’s job They start with the idea that workplace discrimination is becoming less overt, more subtle

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Coming Out at Work

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  1. Coming Out at Work • The Disclosure Dilemma for Gay Men and Lesbians: “Coming Out” at Work is a study by Griffith and Hebl (2002) to examine issues around coming out at one’s job • They start with the idea that workplace discrimination is becoming less overt, more subtle • Many organizations now include sexual orientation as part of their anti-discrimination policies • There’s very little research about gay people in the workplace

  2. Organizational Supportiveness • Hypothesis 1: If an organization feels safe, • by virtue of the perceptions of the organization being gay-friendly or • by the actual structures of the organization (policies, trainings, special interest groups), • more people will disclose at the organization.

  3. Job Attitudes • Hypothesis 2: Because people who disclose about being gay are happier • Being “out” in general correlates with better psychological adjustment and life satisfaction, and • People who aren’t out have to spend time and energy strategizing how to stay hidden and deal with the distress of being hidden • People who aren’t out don’t get to have honest relationships with coworkers and gain acceptance • Being “out” at work will correlate with increased job satisfaction and decreased job anxiety

  4. Organizational Supportiveness and Job Attitudes • Hypothesis 3: The more an organization is perceived to be supportive, the more job satisfaction/less job anxiety there will be for LGBT employees • Hypothesis 4: The more supportive structures there are at an organization, the more job satisfaction/less job anxiety there will be for LGBT employees

  5. Individual Differences • Hypothesis 5: There are individual differences between gay people that may affect how likely they are to come out at work. • These include: • Centrality of sexual orientation to identity • How important is being gay to my overall identity? • Degree of self-acceptance • How much do I accept myself being gay? • Extent to which one has disclosed to others • How many other people have I come out to?

  6. Individual Differences • Hypothesis 5a: Gay people who are very identified with being gay are more likely to come out at work. • Hypothesis 5b: Gay people who are more accepting of their sexual orientation are more likely to come out at work. • Hypothesis 5c: Gay people who’ve disclosed to more family members and friends are more likely to come out at work.

  7. Reactions of Coworkers • Gay people report hesitancy to disclose information about themselves at work due to fear of rejection/retaliation from coworkers, and will use energy-draining strategies to stay hidden, including: • Self-editing • Divulging fictitious personal details and having to keep track of them • Using neutral pronouns (“they” instead of “he” or “she” when discussing significant others or family) • Avoiding some, or all, coworkers entirely

  8. Reactions of Coworkers • Hypothesis 6: Disclosing vs. job satisfaction and disclosing vs. job anxiety will be mediated by coworkers’ reactions to disclosure.

  9. Findings:Organizational Supportiveness • Hypothesis 1: Partly supported. • Supported: Working in an organization perceived to be supportive was strongly related to being more out at work. • Not supported: The presence of gay-supportive structures (policies) was unrelated to being out at work.

  10. Findings:Organizational Supportiveness • Hypothesis 1: Partly supported. • However, some specific policies did correlate to disclosing more at work (as well as more positive coworker reactions, less perceived discrimination, and less unfair treatment by bosses/supervisors) • These included: • Written nondiscrimination policy • Diversity training that included LGBT issues • Support for LGBT activities • Same-sex partner benefits • Recognized gay/lesbian employee organization

  11. Findings:Job Attitudes • Hypothesis 2: Supported. • Being out at work was related to higher job satisfaction and lower job anxiety.

  12. Findings: Organizational Supportiveness and Job Attitudes • Hypothesis 3: Supported. • Perceived supportiveness meant greater job satisfaction and lower job anxiety for gay employees. • Hypothesis 4: Not supported. • The presence of gay-supportive structures (policies, training, etc.) was not related to job satisfaction or job anxiety, after accounting for perceived support.

  13. Findings:Individual Differences • Hypothesis 5: Various results. • 5a: Not supported • Strong identification with one’s gay identity didn’t necessarily mean coming out more at work. • 5b: Supported • Higher self-acceptance meant greater likelihood of coming out at work. • 5c: Partially supported • Being more out to friends (and slightly, but nonsignificantly, to family) meant a greater likelihood of coming out at work.

  14. Findings: Reactions of Coworkers • Hypothesis 6: Supported. • Disclosure increased job satisfaction/decreased job anxiety when coworkers reactions were supportive, and disclosure decreased job satisfaction/increased job anxiety when coworkers reactions were not supportive.

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