Abstract Book of the 5th World Conference on Media and Communication
Year: 2025
DOI:
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Navigating the Coming Out Process: Psychological, Social and Professional Implications for Managers & Leaders
Danish Shaikh, Dr. Hemangi Bhalerao, Arpan Simon
ABSTRACT:
Coming out as LGBTQIA+ in professional settings is a psychologically, socially, and professionally complex process for LGBTQIA+ employees. This study examines how this process works, to expound on the leadership, organizational culture, and interpersonal dynamics of LGBTQIA+ employees. Psychological safety and professional growth are fostered in transformational leadership, people-centric policies, and a welcoming environment. However, transactional leadership and less people-friendly organizations pose challenges for LGBTQIA+ employees. Gay, bisexual, and transgender employees sometimes suffer great stress and anxiety beforehand when they decide to reveal their sexual and/or gender identity and the possibility of rejection, stagnation of their career, or social ostracism. Hiding one’s identity is more cognitively and emotionally taxing, and reduces work engagement and mental well-being. Participants who had to keep their identities secret reported feelings of isolation and the feeling of constant surveillance. “Before coming out, I was always worried about what others would think, one participant said. It was exhausting pretending to be someone I wasn’t.” However, in inclusive workplaces, stress was reduced and well-being improved after coming out because these workplaces were supportive and empathetic. Leadership was found to be an important factor in influencing disclosure experiences. Key enablers of inclusivity were identified as empathy, vision, and individualized consideration and transformational leaders embodied key roles in creating safe spaces for LGBTQ employees to work. Participating leaders created inclusive workplaces, say participants, where open dialogue toward tackling existing biases and the promotion of allyship was encouraged. “My manager always wanted open dialogue,” one participant said. “He not only supported me when I came out, but as he put it to them, ‘when he heard you guys, he used it as an opportunity to educate the team on certain inclusivity.” However, transactional leadership tended to result in tokenistic diversity practices that did not lead to substantive cultural change, and employees suffered by being excluded. Organizational culture also mattered. LGBTQIA+ individuals who worked in supportive workplaces with clear anti-discrimination policies, effective diversity training, visible LGBTQIA+ leadership, and a sense of safety and belonging were more satisfied in their jobs, teams were stronger and they were more authentic at work. After coming out, one participant said, ‘Our team dynamics improved.’ Because we understood each other better, we all grew closer.” However, the study found that gaps existed in the policy implementation and attitudes in the culture. Participants often said that diversity policies were inconsistently enforced, or that they were treated as a formality. With intersectionality, disclosure got even more complicated, especially for LGBTQIA+ people in male-dominated areas or small conservative regions who faced stigmas imposed by society, on top of norms expected by the industry. Transformative inclusive practices were found to address these challenges. LGBTQIA+-specific initiatives including Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and mentorship helped to build community, showcase inclusive, LGBTQIA+ leaders (advocacy), and provide learning around LGBTQIA+ issues to the broader workforce across the organization. “Our LGBTQIA+ ERG played a huge role in raising awareness,” said one participant. “Leadership supported us and we were actively involved.” The other important factor was visible representation in leadership. Not only did LGBTQIA+ leaders break stereotypes, but they also existed as role models of sorts, proving that discussing one’s sexual identity does not have to stifle one’s career. However, representation is still lacking, especially in traditional industries, and that’s why it’s important to build diverse leadership pipelines and fast-track LGBTQIA+ folks. With disclosure, social dynamics changed significantly as well. In supportive environments, coming out increased trust, cooperation, and understanding with each other, which led to overall greater team cohesion. One participant said: ‘So once my colleagues accepted me, I felt more confident to speak about my ideas, even lead.’ It changed the way I worked.” The reverse was true in less inclusive settings: Disclosure often meant subtle components of exclusion such as being absent from unofficial get-togethers or micro-injuries. Psychologically, disclosure had a dual effect on mental health. Supportive environments reduced stress and well-being, while unsupportive workplaces increased anxiety and depression. These results highlight the importance of developing long-term support as this relief requires coming out, ongoing organizational practice, and leadership engagement to prop it up. Inclusive workplaces were professionally more engaging, authentic, and career-satisfying for participants. Another participant said, “My workplace has been very supportive.” “Because I feel safe to be myself, I’ve been here for over five years and I’ve grown so much.” From this, it would be observed that stagnant systems without inclusion bore no improvement, high turnover, and hindered professional growth. These results highlight the business case for inclusion, as companies that are inclusive retain more, innovate more, and perform better. An organization’s bid for being LGBTQIA+-inclusive must be preceded by the prioritization of transformational leadership development, the creation of tailored policies that related to LGBTQIA+-specific challenges, and the development of accountability mechanisms that encourage the consistent enforcement and evaluation of diversity initiatives, yet still fall short of moving the proverbial needle when it comes creating a truly inclusive environment. Future research should also examine how LGBTQIA+ identities intersect with one another and how they relate to workplace experiences and should utilize longitudinal studies to capture the psychological and professional trajectories of LGBTQIA+ employees. Further insights from the barriers and enablers of inclusivity could therefore be further compared across industries and regions. In addition, there could be research into the effect of leadership styles on psychological safety for employees who are marginalized to help determine best practices. Finally, this work shows that the coming-out process for LGBTQIA+ employees in professional spaces is complex. Supportive leadership, robust policies, and inclusive cultures are not only good for individuals, but they are also good for innovation, trust, and long-term organizational success.
keywords: Coming Out, Psychological Safety, Policies, Leadership, Inclusion