The Importance of Allies and Allied Organizations: Sexual Orientation Disclosure and Concealment at Work

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals must make decisions regarding the extent to which they disclose their sexual orientation to others each time they encounter a new individual. Although researchers have acknowledged potential person-to-person variation in sexual orientation disclosure, we know little as to the effects of individual, group, and organizational characteristics on within-person variation in sexual orientation disclosure decision-making. We also know little of how different types of support relatively predict disclosure. The present study takes a multilevel approach and examines the role of different levels of support (at the individual recipient level, the coworker group level, and the organization level) on sexual orientation disclosure, focusing on LGB working adults. A one-with-many multilevel design accounted for coworker relationships (N = 371) being nested within LGB employees (k = 125). Results showed that disclosure was predicted by the perceived supportiveness of the potential recipient of that information, the most supportive person in the LGB employee's work group, and the organization itself. A relative weight analysis suggests that organizational policies and the most supportive coworker are stronger predictors of disclosure across the coworker group, compared to mean coworker supportiveness.