The pandemic has made it harder for LGBTQ employees to come out at work

Companies have continued to make strides toward creating inclusive and supportive office settings for their queer employees, but that hasn’t necessarily made coming out any easier — especially when faced with a global pandemic.

In a survey of queer employees conducted by job platform Indeed, 67% are already out at work. Of those respondents, 72% came out at work within the past three years and 39% came out since the pandemic. And while nearly a fourth of those workers said the switch to remote work did not affect their ability to come out at work, 67% have said remote culture and social distancing during the pandemic has made it more difficult.

“The separation has curtailed some of the more difficult conversations [employees] want to do in person versus over Zoom,” says Paul Wolfe, head of global HR at Indeed. “It's an interesting perspective to think Zoom has brought us closer, but there's still this physical separation that has stopped the deepening of relationships.”

Wolfe himself came out as gay while working at American Express nearly nearly 20 years ago, before employee inclusion resource groups were a part of company culture the same way they are today, which forced him to create his own.

“It probably was a year into me being there when I realized there were other people like me who were out at work and that it was okay,” he says. “To me, this group of like 15 or 20 people that were also out were people I knew I could be comfortable with.”

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Trouble coming out may be the result of a combination of factors, according to Indeed’s survey. First, remote work doesn’t offer as many opportunities for personal relationships to build among colleagues, and second, some employees might still be unable to reveal their authentic selves in their home environment — something that has been particularly problematic for the LGBTQ individuals who have had to move back in with their parents or family members as a result of the pandemic.

“Oftentimes, people within the community code-switch,” LaFawn Davis, group vice president of Environmental, Social & Governance at Indeed said in a release.

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Code-switching refers to a process that, in this context, describes when an LGBTQ+ individual changes how they speak, act and express themselves between personal and professional spaces.

“It takes so much energy,” Davis said. “So much emotional strength to do that.”

On top of having to navigate WFH-specific issues, pre-pandemic obstacles have been exacerbated by a lack of connection — 40% of LGBTQ workers still worry they could face discrimination from their boss, 27% don’t want to potentially alienate coworkers and 15% worry they could be fired, the survey found.

In order to bridge the gap, employers will need to not only adopt zero-tolerance strategies, but enforce them — because they’re working. Eighty-six percent of LGBTQ employees say harassment and discrimination based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation are taken seriously at their company, according to the survey, and 77% say their company has clearly communicated protocols in place for reporting harassment and discrimination.

“It's all about community and bringing people together to fight for a cause to support each other,” Wolfe says. “It doesn't matter whether I'm gay or straight, it doesn't impact the way I do my job.”