Abstract
Until now, research into the causes and impacts of handling one’s homosexuality at work has mostly taken into account contextual conditions. A systematic view of individual differences, however, has been neglected. In order to develop a deeper understanding of the handling of one’s own sexual identity in the workplace with regard to the dimensions of attitude and behavior, this chapter allows quantitative statements about the relationship between self-representation as a personality disposition and the degree of openness towards one’s own sexual identity. In addition, it also addresses the influence of open-mindedness on one’s individual psychological mental stress, based on experiences of discrimination in various situations. Using an event sampling diary method, individual data from 277 German lesbian and gay participants was collected over several points in time. The data collection took place from mid-June until mid-September 2014. The findings show that a highly protective self-representation results in a less open attitude, while a mostly acquisitive self-representation involves a stronger sense of openness. Furthermore, a protective self-representation does not only affect attitude, but also results in more reserved behavior. Multi-level analyses also find that openness on the level of behavior with regards to one’s gay or lesbian sexual identity involves less psychological stress. This negative correlation was further reinforced depending on the level of perceived discrimination. These findings expand the former context-oriented discourse regarding the handling of one’s sexual identity in workplace settings by adding a personality psychology based perspective. This opens up several connecting points for further investigations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The term sexual identity is used in the article instead of sexual orientation, because it goes beyond the mere direction of desire and indicates a person's self-understanding.
References
Arkin, R. M. (1981). Self presentation styles. In J. T. Tedeschi (Ed.), Impression management theory and social psychological research (pp. 311–333). New York: Academic Press.
Barclay, J. M., & Scott, L. J. (2006). Transsexuals and workplace diversity—A case of “change” management. Personnel Review, 35(4), 487–502.
Barker, M., & Langdridge, D. (2008). Bisexuality: Working with a silenced sexuality. Feminism & Psychology, 18(3), 389–394.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychology research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.
Barreto, M., Ellemers, N., & Banal, S. (2006). Working under cover: Performance-related self-confidence among members of contextually devalued groups who try to pass. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36(3), 337–352.
Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 579–616.
Bolger, N., & Schilling, E. A. (1991). Personality and the problems of everyday life: The role of neuroticism in exposure and reactivity to daily stressors. Journal of Personality, 59(3), 355–386.
Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbusch, S. W. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Buba, H. P., & Vaskovics, L. A. (2001). Benachteiligung gleichgeschlechtlich orientierter Personen und Paare. Cologne: Bundesanzeiger.
Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin. (2014). Psychische Belastung und Beanspruchung im Berufsleben: Erkennen–Gestalten. http://www.baua.de/cae/servlet/contentblob/673898/publicationFile/ . Accessed 15 Sept 2014.
Chrobot-Mason, D., Button, S. B., & Declimenti, J. D. (2001). Sexual identity management strategies: An exploration of antecedents and consequences. Sex Roles, 45, 321–336.
Clair, A. C., Beatty, E. J., & Maclean, T. L. (2005). Out of sight but not out of mind: Managing invisible social identities in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 78–95.
Degele, N. (2008). Gender/queer studies. Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink.
Derlega, V. J., Metts, S., Petronio, S., & Margulis, S. T. (1993). Self-disclosure. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Deutsche Aids Hilfe. (2004). Schwule Männer und Aids: Risikomanagement in Zeiten der sozialen Normalisierung einer Infektionskrankheit. AIDSForum DAH, 48.
Dunckel, H. (1999). Handbuch psychologischer Arbeitsanalyseverfahren. Zürich: vdf Hochschulverlag.
Ellis, A. L. (1996). Sexual identity issues in the workplace: Past and present. In A. L. Ellis & E. D. Riggle (Eds.), Sexual identity on the job: Issues and services. New York: Haworth Press.
Ellis, A. L., & Riggle, E. D. (1995). The relation on job satisfaction and degree of openness about one’s sexual orientation for lesbians and gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 30(2), 75–85.
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Frohn, D. (2007). “Out im Office?!” Sexuelle Identität, (Anti)Diskriminierung und Diversity am Arbeitsplatz (funded by the ministry of generations, family, women and integration in North Rhine-Westphalia). Cologne: Schwules Netzwerk (Hrsg.).
Frohn, D. (2013). Subjektive Theorien von lesbischen, schwulen und bisexuellen bzw. transidenten Beschäftigten zum Umgang mit ihrer sexuellen bzw. Geschlechtsidentität im Kontext ihrer beruflichen Tätigkeit—eine explorative qualitative Studie. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung, 14(3), Art. 6.
Frohn, D. (2014a). Homosexualität in Arbeit und Wirtschaft. In F. Mildenberger, J. Evans, R. Lautmann, & J. Pastötter (Eds.), Was ist Homosexualität? (pp. 477–511). Hamburg: Männerschwarm.
Frohn, D. (2014b). Die Arbeitssituation von LSBT*-Beschäftigten. Reanalyse einer Online- Befragung unter differenzieller Perspektive. Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung, 27, 328–351.
Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Goffman, E. (2001). Stigma. Über Techniken der Bewältigung beschädigter Identität. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408–420.
Henning, J. (2005). Neurotizismus. In H. Weber & T. Rammsayer (Eds.), Handbuch der Persönlichkeitspsychologie und Differentiellen Psychologie (pp. 251–256). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Hofman, D. A., & Gavin, M. B. (1998). Centering decisions in hierarchical linear models: Implications for research in organizations. Journal of Management, 24(5), 623–641.
Hofmann, R. (2012). “Das ist doch reine Privatsache!?” Warum die unterschiedliche sexuelle Orientierung von Menschen immer eine Rolle in Unternehmen bzw. Organisationen spielt. AMA info, 232/233, 1–6.
International Organization for Standardization. (2014). ISO 10075: 1991(en). https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:10075:ed-1:v1:en. Accessed 15 Sept 2014.
Klein, K. J., & Kozlowski, S. W. (2000). From micro to meso: Critical steps in conceptualizing and conducting multilevel research. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 211–236.
Knoll, C., Edinger, M., & Reisbeck, G. (1997). Grenzgänge. Schwule und Lesben in der Arbeitswelt. München: Profil.
Köllen, T. (2010). Bemerkenswerte Vielfalt: Homosexualität und Diversity Management. Betriebswirtschaftliche und sozialpsychologische Aspekte der Diversity-Dimension “sexuelle Orientierung”. München: Rainer Hampp.
Köllen, T. (2012). Privatsache und unerheblich für Unternehmen? Der Stand der Personalforschung zur sexuellen Orientierung. Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, 26(2), 143–166.
Köllen, T. (2015). The impact of demographic factors on the way lesbian and gay employees manage their sexual orientation at work: An intersectional perspective. Management Research Review, 38(9), 992–1015.
Laux, L., & Renner, K. H. (2002). Self-Monitoring und Authentizität: Die verkannten Selbstdarsteller. Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnostische Psychologie, 23(2), 129–148.
Losert, A. (2010). Die Dimension sexuelle Orientierung im Kontext von (Anti-) Diskriminierung, Diversity und betrieblicher Gesundheitspolitik. In B. Badura, H. Schröder, J. Klose, & K. Macco (Eds.), Fehlzeiten-report 2010 (pp. 235–242). Heidelberg: Springer.
Maas, J. (1996). Männliche Homosexualität in Organisationen: Argumente für eine überfällige Auseinandersetzung mit einem tabuisierten Thema. Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, 96(2), 107–134.
Maas, J. (1999). Identität und Stigma-Managament von homosexuellen Führungskräften. Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäts.
MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 83–104.
Mohr, G., Rigotti, T., & Müller, A. (2005). Irritation—ein Instrument zur Erfassung psychischer Beanspruchung im Arbeitskontext. Skalen- und Itemparameter aus 15 Studien. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie, 49(1), 44–48.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2012). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.
Nohe, C., Michel, A., & Sonntag, K. (2014). Family-work conflict and job performance: A diary study of boundary conditions and mechanisms. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 339–357.
Ohly, S., Sonnentag, S., Niessen, C., & Zapf, D. (2010). Diary studies in organizational research: An introduction and some practical recommendations. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 9(2), 79–93.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.
Powers, B., & Ellis, A. L. (1995). A manager’s guide to sexual orientation in the workplace. New York: Routledge.
Reis, H. T., & Gable, S. L. (2000). Event-sampling and other methods for studying everyday experience. In H. T. Reis & C. M. Judd (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in social and personality psychology (pp. 190–222). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Rosario, M., Hunter, J., Maguen, S., Gwadz, M., & Smith, R. (2001). The coming-out process and its adaptational and health-related associations among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths: Stipulation and exploration of a model. American Journal of Community Psychology, 29(1), 133–160.
Rosenstiel, L., Walter, M., & Rüttinger, B. (2005). Organisationspsychologie. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Snijders, T. A., & Bosker, R. J. (1999). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sullivan, G., & Losberg, W. (2003). A study of sampling in research in the field of lesbian and gay studies. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 15(1/2), 147–162.
Tuider, E., & Tietz, L. (2003). Queer Theory verständlich—Kritik der Identitätspolitik. In M. C. Steffens & M. Ise (Eds.), Jahrbuch Lesben—Schwule—Psychologie (pp. 155–168). Lengerich: Papst.
Völklinger Kreis e.V. (2011). Diversity Management in Deutschland 2011. Eine empirische Studie des Völklinger Kreis e.V.. Berlin: Eigen.
Watzlawik, M., & Heine, N. (2009). Sexuelle Orientierung: Weg vom Denken in Schubladen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Wieland-Eckelmann, R., Straßmannshausen, A., Rose, M., & Schwarz, R. (1999). Synthetische Beanspruchungs- und Arbeitsanalyse (SYNBA-GA). In H. Dunckel (Ed.), Handbuch psychologischer Arbeitsanalyseverfahren (pp. 421–464). Zürich: vdf Hochschulverlag.
Wolfe, R., Lennox, R., & Cutler, B. (1986). Getting along and getting ahead: Empirical support for a theory of protective and acquisitive self-presentation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 256–361.
Wrenn, S. M. (1988). Labor relations: Gay rights and workplace discrimination. Personnel Journal, 10, 91–101.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Meinhold, F., Frohn, D. (2016). Daily Work Out?!: The Relationship Between Self-Representation, Degree of Openness About One’s Gay or Lesbian Identity, and Psychological Stress in the Workplace. In: Köllen, T. (eds) Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29623-4_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29623-4_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-29621-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-29623-4
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)