Half of LGBTQ employees worry their identity could hurt their career

A new study concluded that LGBTQ workers are worried that coming out at work may hurt their career, CBS News reported.

The study, released by the employment website Glassdoor on Thursday, surveyed LGBTQ members of the workforce "in advance of Pride Month in June," said CBS News. It found that about 4 in 10 of those surveyed were not fully "out" at work. Almost half of the survey participants felt that their career prospects, including their ability to get a promotion or their security against being fired, would be weakened by their being out in the workplace.

LGBTQ people aren't legally protected against workplace discrimination in 26 states, Glassdoor added, and many of the survey's respondents felt that their employers should make up for that lack of protection by having more openly LGBTQ-friendly workplace policies. They want "policies that show support for their community, such as extending the same benefits to LGBTQ workers as to straight employees, like parental leave," said Scott Dobroski, senior director of communications at Glassdoor.

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Being "out" at the workplace has been shown in earlier studies to have a positive effect on LGBTQ employees' productivity and morale, so these findings are a "wake-up call," Dobroski said. Read more at CBS News.