Comparing the relationship of workplace bullying and PTSD in bisexual versus monosexual workers.

What is it about?

We investigated the experience of workplace bullying and associated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for bisexual workers compared to monosexual workers (gay men and lesbians and heterosexuals) workers. The workplace experiences of sexual minorities are poorly understood; especially those identifying as bisexual.

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Photo by Dee @ Copper and Wild on Unsplash

Photo by Dee @ Copper and Wild on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Approximately 6 percent of American adults identify as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender; Gallup, 2021), representing a significant proportion of U.S. workplaces. However, most research collapses lesbian, gay, and bisexual samples into a single “sexual minority” category that may overlook important differences in their workplace experiences. Especially worth noting is that bisexuals have been described as “an invisible demographic” within the LGB community as they often report being less accepted in both the heterosexual AND sexual sexual minority communities. As a result, bisexuals often fail to disclose their sexual orientation which leads to greater stress and poorer mental health outcomes. We found that bisexuals reported being bullied more often than gay or lesbian workers; but not heterosexual workers. However, bisexuals overall reported higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to being bullied at work. Since the costs of workplace bullying are high in terms of mental and physical health issues, better understanding the unique experiences of different segments of the workforce can help organizations to address the problems more effectively.

Perspectives