The Impact of Discriminatory Climate Perceptions on the Composition of Intraorganizational Developmental Networks, Psychosocial Support, and Job and Career Attitudes of Employees with an Invisible Stigma

Abstract

Recent diversity research recognizes that employees’ social identity and perceptions of diversity openness and support shape their career experience and decisions. To build further on this line of work, this study aims to advance an understanding of the impact of discriminatory climate perceptions on the social relationships at work and work‐related attitudes of employees with an invisible stigma. To achieve this purpose and test hypotheses, professional lesbians and gay men were selected as a representative group of the invisible stigmatized population. This study found that perceptions of nondiscriminatory climate toward an individual's invisible stigmatized group is positively related to her/his formation of a similar developmental network, and those who perceived nondiscriminatory climate in their organization are more likely to disclose stigmatized identity and receive higher psychosocial support from their developmental network. Further, psychosocial support was found to be positively related to job and career satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications on workplace stigmatization, developmental network, and workplace diversity are discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.