During Pride Month and Beyond: Set Your LGBTQ+ Employees Free to Do Great Work
We’re closing in on July 1, which means Pride Month is drawing to an end, but that doesn’t mean the united work of achieving and promoting equality for the LGBTQ+ community is over or that the celebration of diversity can’t continue. In fact, building a culture of inclusion in your workplace relies on your organization’s ongoing, daily commitment to ensuring a safe and inspiring place of work for your LGBTQ+ employees and colleagues.
Two BambooHR Employees Discuss Inclusion in the Workplace
Today, BambooHR shines the spotlight on two LGBTQ+ BambooHR employees. Watch the video below and listen to TaCara and Steve share what a culture of workplace inclusion means to them, why it matters, and how colleagues and managers have the power to either stifle or accelerate individual and organizational growth.
How Can You Make a Difference at Your Organization?
The Power of a Thousand Daily Touch Points
TaCara and Steve remind us that every interaction with our coworkers and mentors counts toward building a culture in which everyone can thrive. And workplaces the world over can do better—much better.
In a recent study, Boston Consulting Group found that 75 percent of LGBTQ+ employees reported experiencing negative day-to-day interactions in the past year related to their LGBTQ+ identity, with 41 percent calling these negative interactions a routine occurrence. BCG calls these day-to-day interactions with colleagues, direct managers, and leadership the “1,000 daily touch points.” That’s 1,000 daily opportunities to inspire—productivity, loyalty, engagement—or demotivate the very people an organization depends on for success.
What can positive daily touch points do for your employees?
BCG’s study revealed that LGBTQ+ employees who were safely out at work felt 1.5 times more empowered in their roles and 1.5 times more free to take creative risks than those who were not out. Compare that to the cost of negative touch points: employees are 40 percent less productive and 13 times more likely to take their talent elsewhere if they don’t feel safe and supported by their colleagues, managers, and leadership.
Top talent seeks out workplaces in which they can thrive and individual growth compounds into organizational success. Set your LGBTQ+ employees free to do great work by building a culture of inclusion that encourages employees to bring their whole, authentic selves to work, welcomes new and varied perspectives, and fosters an atmosphere of mutual growth.
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Rebekah Cuevas is obsessed with empowering the “human” in human resources. As a next-gen, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ author and editor with over a decade of B2C, B2B, and creative writing experience, she connects HR pros to impactful HR solutions through research-driven narrative with a special interest in promoting DEI initiatives that build stronger, safer, and more profitable workplaces for all.
