Supporting a diverse workforce: What type of support is most meaningful for lesbian and gay employees?

Abstract

AbstractWe examine differences in type of support (i.e., supervisor, coworker, organizational) received by lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) employees and the relationship between type of support and relevant outcomes (job and life satisfaction, outness of sexual orientation). Surveys were administered to 99 LGB individuals, and results indicate that support is best viewed as a multi‐dimensional construct composed of supervisor, coworker, and organizational support for LGB employees. Overall, supervisor support was related to job satisfaction, coworker support was related to life satisfaction, and organizational support for LGB employees was related to outness.Thus, support for LGB employees isrelated to important outcomes. Practical suggestions for increasing organizational support for LGB employees are offered. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.