Interpersonal Antecedents to Selective Disclosure of Lesbian and Gay Identities at Work

Julian M Rengers,Rafael P M Wittek,Sabine Otten,Liesbet Heyse

doi:10.17645/si.v9i4.4591

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) employees’ sexual identitymay be considered a concealable stigmatised identity. Disclosing it to others at work could potentially lead to discrimination and rejection, hence threatening their inclusion. Therefore, they may hide their sexual identity instead, which may then come at the cost of, e.g., guilt for not living authentically. However, disclosure is a continuum—rather than a dichotomy—meaning that LGB workers may decide to disclose selectively, i.e., telling some, but not all co‐workers. Most literature on disclosure focuses on the interplay between intrapersonal (e.g., psychological) and contextual (e.g., organisational) characteristics, thereby somewhat overlooking the role of interpersonal (e.g., relational) characteristics. In this article, we present findings from semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews with nine Dutch lesbian and gay employees, conducted in early 2020, to gain a better understanding of interpersonal antecedents to disclosure decisions at work. Through our thematic analysis, we find that LGB workers may adopt a proactive or reactive approach to disclosure, which relates to the salience of their sexual identity at work (high/low) and their concern for anticipated acceptance. Other themes facilitating disclosure include an affective dimension, being in a relationship, and associating with the employee resource group. We demonstrate the importance of studying disclosure at the interpersonal level and reflect on how our findings relate to literature on disclosure, authenticity, belonging, and social inclusion of LGB individuals at work.

Highlights

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) employees, whose sex‐ ual identity can be considered a concealable stigma‐ tised identity (Jones & King, 2014), run an increased risk of being discriminated against, harassed, or socially excluded at work compared to their heterosexual co‐workers (Webster et al, 2018)
Even if selective disclosure is common in practice, perhaps more so than full concealment or full disclosure, it is often not studied in detail empirically
We ask: How do interpersonal characteristics play a role in LGB employees’ selective sexual identity disclosure decisions across social relation‐ ships with different colleagues? We argue that it is neces‐ sary to go beyond prevailing explanations predominantly focusing on the interplay between intrapersonal and con‐ textual characteristics

Summary

Introduction

Gay, and bisexual (LGB) employees, whose sex‐ ual identity can be considered a concealable stigma‐ tised identity (Jones & King, 2014), run an increased risk of being discriminated against, harassed, or socially excluded at work compared to their heterosexual co‐workers (Webster et al, 2018). Disclosure decisions are situated on a contin‐ uum, ranging from full concealment to full disclosure (Berkley et al, 2019) Along this continuum, LGB employ‐ ees have a range of behavioural strategies at their dis‐ posal (e.g., “fabrication,” “signalling,” “normalising”; see Clair et al, 2005); they may selectively disclose their sex‐ ual identity and may differ concerning how “out” they are to different people at work (Legate et al, 2012). Even if selective disclosure is common in practice (see Griffith & Hebl, 2002), perhaps more so than full concealment or full disclosure, it is often not studied in detail empirically

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