Abstract
Previous literature describes “coming out of the closet” as an important job career issue that is conducive to personal stress and job effectiveness in business firms. Previous research of human resources and organizational behavior has rarely assessed homosexual employees’ coming out and their job effectiveness. This study aims to complement previous research by proposing and testing a research model of job effectiveness of homosexual workers based on social cognitive theory. In the model, job effectiveness is indirectly affected by disclosure self-efficacy, disclosure outcome expectation, and social support via the mediation of disclosure, stress, and job advancement satisfaction. Empirical tests from a preliminary survey of 319 gay and lesbian adults in Taiwan are conducted herein, their results are presented, and managerial implications and limitations of this study are provided.
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Appendix: Measurement items
Appendix: Measurement items
Job effectiveness (Source: Janssen and Van Yperen 2004)
- JE1:
-
I always complete the duties specified in my job description
- JE2:
-
I meet all the formal performance requirements of the job
- JE3:
-
I fulfill all responsibilities required by my job
- JE4:
-
I never neglect aspects of the job that I am obligated to perform
Relationship stress (Source: Bancroft 1993; Nagurney 2007)
Overall, I have felt stressful in the job, because of my:
- PP1:
-
Relations with close friends
- PP2:
-
Social life
- PP3:
-
Sexual lifestyle
Disclosure (Source: Mohr and Fassinger 2003)
Use the following rating scale to indicate how open you are about your sexual orientation to the people listed below.
- DE1:
-
Heterosexual friends
- DE2:
-
Work peers
- DE3:
-
Work supervisor(s)
Disclosure outcome expectation (Source: Riggs and Knight 1994)
Think about the results of coming out from the closet.
- OE1:
-
If I come out of the closet, I expect to be still well-rewarded for my good work
- OE2:
-
If I come out of the closet, the way to get ahead for me in the firm will not be negatively affected
- OE3:
-
In the firm, such things as salary and promotions are determined by how well a person does his or her job and are not negatively affected by his or her homosexual identity
- OE4:
-
My work evaluations are accurate with or without my coming out of the closet
Social support (Source: Schepers et al. 2008)
- POS1:
-
My supervisor appreciates any extra effort from me
- POS2:
-
My supervisor shows a lot of concern for me
- POS3:
-
My co-workers appreciate any extra effort from me
- POS4:
-
My co-workers show a lot of concern for me
Disclosure self-efficacy (Source: Mosley et al. 2008)
Even if I choose to come out of the closet:
- SE1:
-
I am confident in still maintaining the quality demands of the job
- SE2:
-
I am confident in still correcting the mistakes in my work
- SE3:
-
I am confident in still following all of the safety rules on the job
- SE4:
-
I am confident in still keeping up with the operational pace of my firm
Job advancement satisfaction (Source: Greenhaus et al. 1990)
- CS1:
-
I am satisfied with the job success I have achieved in my career
- CS2:
-
I am satisfied with the progress I have made toward meeting my goals for job advancement
- CS3:
-
I am satisfied with the progress I have made toward meeting my goals for the development of new job skills
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Tsai, YH., Joe, SW., Liu, WT. et al. Modeling job effectiveness in the context of coming out as a sexual minority: a socio-cognitive model. Rev Manag Sci 9, 197–218 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-014-0125-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-014-0125-9