Workplace Wellbeing of LGBT Individuals: Impact on Sustainability

Research on psychological wellbeing is gradually increasing, especially with the current rate of employee diversity. Individuals belonging to varied ethnic groups and sexual orientations engage themselves at the organizational level toward working on a prescribed unified goal. This, however, sometimes, leaves space for turbulence, given that individuals are prone to subjectivity. This is especially true for LGBT employees. According to a recently conducted survey, the ‘Deloitte Global 2023 LGBT Inclusion @ Work’, it was found that 52% of ethnic minority groups prefer changing employers in favor of more inclusive ones. 43% of LGBT individuals feel comfortable working with anyone at the workplace, but others anticipate plausible judgment from their coworkers and supervisors. The LGBT members fear that they will be treated differently (39%) and that their sexual orientation will drastically deteriorate their professional growth and development (26%). This shows that despite the progressive transformation of the world, there remains debris of stereotypical attitudes towards individuals possessing a different sexual orientation. Previous literature has portrayed a telescopic view of the problems faced by certain ethnic minority groups, including LGBT individuals, though limited to specific geographical locations. However, there lacks a systematic understanding of the challenges faced specifically by LGBT individuals at a global level. This poses as the utmost necessity as it helps in the comprehension of the situation from different perspectives and helps derive solutions that appeal to and hold validity to a wider spectrum of the targeted population. This chapter aims to examine the present status of the wellbeing of LGBT individuals in the workplace and identify future trends in the area. This paper also aimed to provide strategies for promoting inclusion and wellbeing of LGBT members in the workplace. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to understand the current status of workplace wellbeing of LGBT members and how the same would continue. PRISMA framework was adopted in conducting the systematic literature review. Data was collected from databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Emerald, and Springer. This study found 48 studies that were only focused on the current status of the workplace wellbeing of LGBT employees. The review assisted in the development of key themes, including current trends in implementing workplace wellbeing of LGBT employees, challenges faced by LGBT employees, and its long-term ramifications. The study encompasses the literature directly highlighting the psychological wellbeing experienced by LGBT members in the workplace. This will help future researchers draft appropriate and diverse interventions to support LGBT individuals in the workplace and accelerate the scope for greater workplace inclusion across the globe. Moreover, the strategies proposed in the present paper may be tested empirically for its validity and may be used by organizations and policymakers to improve the workplace wellbeing of LGBT members.