How sad! To think there are so many people who everyday hide who they really are out of fear … It breaks our hearts!
A new study reveals that almost half of the college-educated homosexual Americans working today won’t say that they are gay in the workplace. The study compiled by the Center for Work-Life Policy reveals that many of these individuals chose to live a “double life” – staying in the closet at work while being “out” in their personal lives.
The reasons for this vary, but mostly these people are fearful of their co-workers perception of themselves. However, this “silent minority” in the workplace is doing serious harm to themselves as the study also found that closeted employees are more likely to report job-related stress and isolation. This results in a lack of productivity and job satisfaction and more often than not, people quit their jobs over these feelings.
Wow. You know, as a community we know we’ve come a long way, but to hear this just makes us realize there is still such a long way to go. Not only to policies and political practices need to be changed, but also the stigmas and perceptions themselves. These poor people are afraid of something that should feel perfectly natural to them and perfectly expectable to the rest of the world. It’s a shame we still haven’t gotten to that point yet – but we will!
[Image via WENN.]
-
Categories
