Supporting LGBTQ+ Workers’ Mental Health

The LGBTQ+ community is endlessly diverse and intersectional in nature, but many members share a unifying experience of being othered, particularly in workplace settings. Unsurprisingly, Mind Share Partners’ 2021 Mental Health at Work Report in partnership with Qualtrics and ServiceNow found that LGBTQ+ workers were more likely to experience mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and burnout and to say that their work or work environment had a negative impact on their mental health. But the narrative around LGBTQ+ workplace mental health is not defined only by hardship. In that same study, LGBTQ+ workers were more likely to feel comfortable talking about their mental health at work, more likely to have talked about their mental health to someone at work in the past month, and more likely to see mental health as a diversity, equity, and inclusion issue, compared to non-LGBTQ+ workers. Despite the challenges they face, LGBTQ+ workers are well positioned to lead their workplaces as champions for mental health — not only for the LGBTQ+ community but for the organization overall. The authors provide a starting framework that includes tangible actions both big and small, proactive and reactive, that company leaders can employ to support LGBTQ+ mental health at work.