Homophobia at work is, unfortunately, all too common
The recent article on homophobia issues in the workplace (“Coming out still bad for a career,” June 19) paints a picture of one company where an employee, Jorge, faced a truly toxic work environment.
This could be similar to toxic workplaces where many employees, even managers, are hostile toward women, particular ethnic groups or religious minorities. But there is a special intensity about homophobia as described in the article.
Unfortunately this type of ignorance and derision toward gays and lesbians is still quite common in schools, sports, television programs, movies and even some kinds of music — in other words, throughout daily life. So it’s hardly surprising that it spreads into places where people go to work.
What is especially troubling in the article is the point that Jorge’s manager “not only tolerated the talk, he would sometimes join in.” We also learn that the HR department, in another city, “seemed a distant entity, offering Jorge no protection and no recourse.”
In this instance, the employee recognized the odds stacked against his working out a tolerable situation. He quit and, happily, found a job at a company where his colleagues are respectful and supportive and where he can contribute productively to business results.
But HR practitioners should take note: letting this kind of negative, homophobic behaviour continue is fraught with risks. Not only are employee retention, morale and performance sacrificed, but there is also the high cost (financial, reputation and trust) entailed in having to respond to any legal or human rights complaints related to the kind of discrimination and harassment suffered by Jorge.
Moreover, line managers are equally at risk. The manager at Jorge’s first employer not only condoned, but actually participated in the harassment. Supervisors and managers are held responsible, both in legal and credibility terms, for such behaviour within their scope of supervision or even within their broader awareness of the workplace.
Tremendous progress has been made in overall social understanding and respect toward sexual minorities. Legal protection based on sexual orientation has been codified in provincial and federal human rights and harassment legislation. Economic equity has been advanced with the recognition of same-sex relationships and entitlements to employment and pension benefits.
Public opinion surveys consistently show a large and growing majority of Canadians support equality of opportunity, respectful treatment and fairness based on sexual orientation. This augurs well for ordinary workplaces where Jorge’s type of ordeal won’t occur as frequently, and all these factors will help overcome the broader theme of the article, namely that “coming out” is still often “bad for a career.”
However, as the article demonstrates, there is still a long way to go. Incompetent management and oversight like this is a time bomb waiting to explode at the electrical distribution company described in the article.
HR professionals need to take proactive steps to ensure their workplaces, large and small, are free of homophobic behaviours that poison the work climate and undermine performance not only for lesbian or gay employees, but for all other employees who size up the company’s level of respect and decency as an indicator of whether it’s a place where they want to work.
Ray Brillinger
Ray Brillinger Consulting Inc.
Toronto
This could be similar to toxic workplaces where many employees, even managers, are hostile toward women, particular ethnic groups or religious minorities. But there is a special intensity about homophobia as described in the article.
Unfortunately this type of ignorance and derision toward gays and lesbians is still quite common in schools, sports, television programs, movies and even some kinds of music — in other words, throughout daily life. So it’s hardly surprising that it spreads into places where people go to work.
What is especially troubling in the article is the point that Jorge’s manager “not only tolerated the talk, he would sometimes join in.” We also learn that the HR department, in another city, “seemed a distant entity, offering Jorge no protection and no recourse.”
In this instance, the employee recognized the odds stacked against his working out a tolerable situation. He quit and, happily, found a job at a company where his colleagues are respectful and supportive and where he can contribute productively to business results.
But HR practitioners should take note: letting this kind of negative, homophobic behaviour continue is fraught with risks. Not only are employee retention, morale and performance sacrificed, but there is also the high cost (financial, reputation and trust) entailed in having to respond to any legal or human rights complaints related to the kind of discrimination and harassment suffered by Jorge.
Moreover, line managers are equally at risk. The manager at Jorge’s first employer not only condoned, but actually participated in the harassment. Supervisors and managers are held responsible, both in legal and credibility terms, for such behaviour within their scope of supervision or even within their broader awareness of the workplace.
Tremendous progress has been made in overall social understanding and respect toward sexual minorities. Legal protection based on sexual orientation has been codified in provincial and federal human rights and harassment legislation. Economic equity has been advanced with the recognition of same-sex relationships and entitlements to employment and pension benefits.
Public opinion surveys consistently show a large and growing majority of Canadians support equality of opportunity, respectful treatment and fairness based on sexual orientation. This augurs well for ordinary workplaces where Jorge’s type of ordeal won’t occur as frequently, and all these factors will help overcome the broader theme of the article, namely that “coming out” is still often “bad for a career.”
However, as the article demonstrates, there is still a long way to go. Incompetent management and oversight like this is a time bomb waiting to explode at the electrical distribution company described in the article.
HR professionals need to take proactive steps to ensure their workplaces, large and small, are free of homophobic behaviours that poison the work climate and undermine performance not only for lesbian or gay employees, but for all other employees who size up the company’s level of respect and decency as an indicator of whether it’s a place where they want to work.
Ray Brillinger
Ray Brillinger Consulting Inc.
Toronto
