A new study conducted by the Diversity Council of Australia found that only one of every three LGBT+ identifying employees in Australia is out to everyone in their workplace.
Consistent with the idea that authenticity in the workplace is essential for employees to reach their full potential, the study found that closeted LGBT+ workers were 45% less likely to be satisfied at work, and were twice as likely to feel downhearted as their openly-LGBT+ peers.
Transgender and gender diverse employees were least likely to be out at work, followed by bisexual employees, while around 80% of gay men and women were out to “everyone or most people” at work.
Dr. Raymond Trau, who led the research, attributes this difference to a likely feeling that gay and lesbian identities would be more easily understood, whereas other gender and sexual orientation diverse groups “are more unknown to people [with] a higher degree of stigmatization.”
The study underscores the need for workplace diversity and education initiatives.
Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald