Microaggression experiences in the workplace among Greek LGB social workers

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the workplace discrimination LGB social workers experience in Greece. All participants reported an array of microaggressions, committed mostly by colleagues. Microaggressions are subtle forms of discrimination, intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile or derogatory messages. Participants employed a variety of coping strategies: remaining passive, confronting the enactor of the microaggression and being self-protective. Their cognitive reactions ranged from accepting microaggressions as a part of LGB person’s life to empowering themselves and talking back to perpetrators or even coming out if they had been in the closet. Implications for anti-discrimination workplace policies and social work are discussed.