The Role of Psychological Flexibility in Understanding Coping in Sexual Minority Employees

Jo LloydGoldsmiths’ Institute of Management

StudiesACBS World Conference 13, Berlin, 2015

1

Job demands for sexual minorities• Minority stress theory• Sociocultural stigmatisation of sexual minority

people promotes minority stressors that impact health and wellbeing (Meyer, 2003)

• Formal heterosexist discrimination• Discriminatory policies, and hiring, advancement

and retention procedures

• Informal heterosexist discrimination• Assumptions of heterosexuality, heterosexist

jokes, social exclusion, harassment

2

Coping resources for sexual minorities

• Individual qualities• Locus of control buffered the relationship

between workplace prejudice and stress (Carter II et al., 2013)

• Interpersonal relations• Workplace social support was related to less fear

of sexuality disclosure (Ragins et al., 2007)

• Organisational characteristics• Org efforts to affirm sexual diversity were related

to less experiences of discrimination (Button, 2001)

3

Job demands-resources (JD-R) model

4

Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, (2001)

Health impairment process

Motivational process

JD-R in sexual minority employees

5

We focussed on the health impairment process side of the model

Method• Cross-sectional, online recruitment• Regression analysis and bootstrapping• Criteria: self-identified as having a non-

heterosexual identity, and work in an organisation

• N = 300• Male (n = 118), female (n = 155) and other (n =

27) (incl. transgender, agenda, non-binary etc)• Lesbian (n = 36), gay (n = 66), bisexual (n = 83)

and other (n = 115) (incl. pansexual, queer etc)• Highly educated, majority Caucasian

6

Results: direct and mediation effects

7

Results: moderation and moderated-mediation effects

8

Conclusion• The JD-R model is relevant to the

experiences of sexual minority individuals• Sexual minority individuals with high levels

of PF are better able to cope with job demands specific to their minority status

• ACT for psychological coping skills in sexual minorities?

• ACT for sensitivity training in heterosexuals?

• Limitations of cross-sectional design• Limitations of sample

9

Thanks for Listening & Questions

j.lloyd@gold.ac.uk

10