Creating psychological safety at work for the LGBTQ+ community

Pride Month is a time for organizations everywhere to act with intention and create meaningful change that will last beyond that one month of celebration. Given how challenging the current situation is for the LGBTQ+ people around the world, we aim to continue our wholehearted support of our employees and their families who are a part of the community.

Four tips for creating a psychologically safe workplace

At Ceridian, we strive toward creating a psychologically safe workplace. Psychological safety refers to the belief that you’re able to take risks, make mistakes, share concerns or opposing viewpoints, and ask questions without punishment or retaliation. If you feel safe enough to share your innermost thoughts and identity with your coworkers, you are experiencing psychological safety. But how do you go about creating this workspace security, especially when it comes to people sharing their gender identity with others?
 

1. Acknowledge that employees are covering and code switching. Covering is the act of hiding part of your identity, especially at work, to avoid drawing attention to yourself. Code switching describes how a member of an underrepresented minority adjusts their language, behavior, or appearance to fit into the dominant culture. This Pride Month, think critically about how and why LGBTQ+ employees feel the need to cover or code switch at your organization and what you can do to create a more inclusive company culture.
2. Factor in intersectionality. Intersectionality addresses the fact that people don’t belong to one simple category. A person can’t be solely reduced to their gender or their race or their religion—they’re all those things and more together. Factor intersectionality into your conversations this Pride Month and challenge employees to broaden their understanding of one another.
3. Combat pervasive stereotypes. Stereotypes are hurtful, and they can lead to widespread mischaracterizations of people at your organization. HR leaders must work to publicly acknowledge the most present and prominent stereotypes that degrade coworker relationships. During Pride Month, call out any stereotypes related to gender identity and share how they’re impacting the LGBTQ+ employees at your organization. Another way to support the LGBTQ+ community include hosting a town hall where you address any stereotypes related to gender identity and educate your workforce.
4. Encourage people to have conversations on their own terms. Confronting coworkers with questions related to something like their gender identity or sexual orientation makes them feel called out and uncomfortable. Nobody wants to feel forced into very personal discussions. Encourage employees to have conversations about Pride Month, the LGBTQ+ community, and personal gender identity on their own terms. While it’s important to have these conversations, they should never be rigid and forced.

2023 Pride Month at Ceridian

At Ceridian, we call our employee resource groups YOUnity groups. And the CeridianPRIDE YOUnity group has been busy preparing to celebrate and commemorate Pride Month 2023. The CeridianPRIDE events create opportunities for the LGBTQ+ employee community to come together and help educate allies on how to provide support throughout the year. Here’s an overview of our Pride-focused activities this June:
 

• Seminar on the current climate for LGBTQ+ workers in the world. In our upcoming seminar, “A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide,” the Human Rights Campaign will be sharing with employees about the prevalence of LGBTQ+ workers feeling pressure to hide their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and the cost of that to individuals and employers.
• Seminar on the Two-Spirit community. In another upcoming seminar, “To the Beat of My Own Drum: Two-Spirit Identity,” employees will be exploring the background and historical significance of two-spirit people and learning about the importance of advocating for gender diversity.
• Seminar on LGBTQ+ refugees lead by Rainbow Railroad. Our third Pride Month seminar, “Rainbow Railroad: LGBTQI+ Refugees & The Global Landscape,” will discuss the intersection of the global refugee crisis and the ongoing persecution of the LGBTQ+ community around the world.

Here at Ceridian, we are proud to support and stand alongside our LGBTQ+ coworkers and their families.