Center for Work-Life Policy Study: “The Power of Out” (July 2011)
A new study by the Center for Work-Life Policy, featured in the July/August issue of the Harvard Business Review, quantifies the loss to individuals and to a company’s bottom line when employers fail to create a workplace hospitable to their LGBT employees. The data, based on a survey of 2,952 respondents, show the consequences when LGBT employees are forced to keep their lives and loved ones a secret from colleagues. Among the findings:
- 48 percent of LGBT survey respondents reported being closeted at work. Staying in the closet has huge consequences. Those who are out flourish at work, while those who are in the closet languish or leave.
- LGBT employees who are not out are 40 percent less likely to trust their employer than those who are out.
- Employees who remain closeted and isolated are 73 percent more likely to leave their companies within the next three years.
