Lean on me when you’re not out: interactive effects of coworker support and concealment on transgender employees’ commitment and effort

Abstract

PurposeBased on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti et al., 2001), the authors posited that concealment of one's transgender identity (a demand) would be negatively associated with work effort and commitment and that coworker support (a resource) would be positively related with those outcomes. In addition, the authors tested whether coworker support buffered the demand of maintaining secrecy as predicted by the JD-R model.Design/methodology/approachRelying on survey data from 89 transgender employees, the authors used Hayes' Process Model 1 to test the model.FindingsConcealment was significantly related to both organizational commitment and work effort, but coworker support had no direct effect on either outcome. However, coworker support interacted with concealment, such that there were significant coworker support effects among trans employees who were out to none or some of their coworkers, but no significant effect among those who were out to all of their coworkers.Originality/valueWhile prior studies have examined the importance of coworker support and outness, the authors add to the literature by examining the joint effect of these variables on transgender employees' work experiences. In addition, as prior research has been slow to examine behavioral work outcomes, the authors expand the criterion space by examining the simple and joint effects of outness and support on a previously ignored variable, work effort.