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 Study: Closeted Workers Harm Selves, Employers
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 1, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(San Francisco, California) A survey of gay and
lesbian employees across the U.S. has found that "fears about disclosing a gay identity at work
had an overwhelmingly negative relationship with their career and workplace
experiences and with their psychological well-being."
The study, 'Making the
Invisible Visible: Fear and Disclosure of Sexual Orientation at Work' was based
on a questionnaire of 500 LGB workers and the results appear in The Journal of Applied Psychology.
"These
findings were both striking and disturbing; those who reported more fear of the
negative consequences of full disclosure had less positive job and career
attitudes, received fewer promotions, and reported more physical stress-related
symptoms than those who reported less fear," wrote researchers, Belle Rose Ragins and Romila Singh of the University of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee and John M. Cornwell of Rice University.
For those working in what they perceived as a non-supportive environment, the
costs of non-disclosure were significant, the study concluded.
Workers who feared more negative
consequences to disclosure reported less job satisfaction, organizational
commitment and lower satisfaction with opportunities for promotion and career
commitment.
They also had lower self-esteem in the workplace and
were more likely to change jobs than those
who feared less negative consequences."
"Those who
feared more negative consequences reported more [job] role ambiguity, more role conflict, and less workplace participation than those who feared less
negative consequences,” the report said.
"LGB employees who feared more
negative consequences also reported greater psychological strain than those who
feared less negative consequences." Psychological strain was described as
stress-related symptoms experienced on the job, work-related depression, and
work-related irritation.
The study said that while deciding whether to
come-out is an exceptionally difficult career challenge facing lesbian/gay
employees it typically goes unnoticed by employers.
However, the threats to
employment security are real. There are no laws prohibiting discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation in 31 states, and such discrimination remains
“widespread” in practice.
The researchers pointed to previous studies that indicated that
between 25 and 66 percent of lesbian or gay workers had experienced
discrimination. Of the participants in this study, 37 percent said they had
faced discrimination because others suspected or assumed they were gay or
lesbian. More than 10 percent said they had been physically harassed. More than
22 percent said they had been verbally harassed. Nearly 31 percent said they had
resigned from a job, had been fired from a job or had left a job because of
discrimination.
Robert-Jay Green, executive director of the Rockway
Institute, a national center for LGBT research and public policy affiliated with
Alliant International University said that the new study fits with other research showing that more accepting work
environments are associated with LGBT
employees being healthier and more productive.
"The research also provides some
additional facts concerning the need for public policies protecting against job
discrimination,” said Green.
"Employees who are not afraid of being fired
or held back from promotion because of their same-sex orientations are
psychologically freer to put their full creative energies into work. This, in
turn, saves employers’ time and money. It a win-win for all concerned."
The study was released as the U.S. House of
Representatives prepares to vote on legislation that would ban LGBT workplace
discrimination. (story)
©365Gay.com 2007
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