At Fraser & Hoyt Incentives, we consider ourself the expert in motivating teams and fostering work environments for our clients that reflect their company values and center around their teams’ success. We understand that each business environment is as unique as the employees who occupy them and work diligently to create incentive programs that reflect those distinct qualities.
We believe that creating workplaces where all employees can bring their best and most authentic selves to work is the keystone in having businesses that truly thrive. Employees who can be their genuine selves report being happier with their careers and view both their employers and management teams more favourably than those who remain closeted in the workplace (mckinsey.com), and companies with happy employees outperform their competition by 20% (snacknation.com).
When we think about what motivates, engages, or incentivizes an employee to show up completely to their job each day, it would be too simple to say that dangling a “carrot” before them is the answer. While we know strong incentive programs and workplace recognition culture leads to more successful and engaged teams across the board, we also acknowledge, based on both external and internal research, that a considerable percentage of the North American workforce do not come fully to work as themselves every day, and that can be a serious limitation to overall company achievement and growth.
In the U.S. some 46% of the 2SLGBTQIA+ workforce remain closeted at work to avoid discrimination or making their coworkers uncomfortable. Additionally, 20% of LGBTQ identifying persons reporting discrimination in the hiring process for their sexual or gender identities, with Black and POC (person of colour) LGBTQ identifying employees facing two times the discrimination in the onboarding process compared to their white counterparts. (bestcompaniesaz.com).
Due to the lack of Canadian statistics, in 2019 we conducted our own research and circulated a survey across the country seeking respondents who identified under the 2SLGBTQIA+ umbrella about their own workplace experiences to better understand the Canadian workforce as a whole. Through this research we learned:
- 25% of participants had experienced workplace discrimination for their gender identity.
- 38% of participants had experienced workplace discrimination for their sexual identity.
- 51% of respondents had witnessed discrimination against another employee in their workplace for their gender or sexual identity.
- 32% of respondents have left a workplace due to lack of inclusion or feeling unwelcome.
To help equip you and your team to better understand common 2SLGBTQIA+ workplace challenges, as well as the language and definitions surrounding LGBTQ identifying persons we are providing you the below free resource for download to use, including the findings of our Workplace Sexual and Gender Identity Inclusion Survey. We hope that this information will help you to better understand your own teams and create an even more engaged and inspired work force in 2021 where everyone can show up their most genuine, happy, and engaged selves.
Download Link: