COS Tragedy Creates Need to Connect with Your Employees

In the wake of yet another tragic attack on the LGBTQ+ community, as a business owner and/or employer, you may be asking yourself –how can I provide support to my employee?

Now let’s back up for one minute and provide a bit more context. 

Did you know that Gen Z is the most LGBTQ+ generation to date? While most surveys put Millennials and Gen X, as identifying as LGBTQ+ at about 10 and 12% respectively, Gen Z blows that statistic out of the water.  Surveys tell us that Gen Z is identifying as “not strictly heterosexual” at a rate that ranges from 24% to as high as 33%.

This means that many members of the primary workforce in the US are parents of LGBTQ+ youth.  And they are struggling right now.  Being a parent is hard enough given the increase in school shootings and other violent acts that target our young people. Add a child whose marginalization is compounded, and you have a whole other set of problems.  Parents of LGBTQ+ youth struggle to walk the line of encouraging their children to be true to themselves, while also being safe in a homophobic and transphobic society that is getting increasingly more violent against them.  

Your employees are parents who want to celebrate their child’s authenticity and encourage the joy that comes in dropping the need to seek validation from others, but your employees also have to acknowledge the risk their children take on while doing so.  As this past weekend has shown us, our children’s lives are at risk.

This is a burden that’s hard to leave at home, to not bring it to work with us. How do you show up to work on Monday morning, ready to tackle the week’s projects, when your weekend was spent holding your daughter’s hand as she awaited news of her friend’s survival?  How do you stay late working on a big project when you know your son is at a vigil for Trans Day of Remembrance at a local community center?  

How do you turn off your parent-brain so you can work? 

Now, being present at work while parenting teenagers is not a new struggle.  Many of us that are parents have wondered how to ride the roller coaster of teen lives while simultaneously navigating the sea of office politics. But parents of LGBTQ+ youth, who number in the millions in today’s workforce, are experiencing a unique struggle specifically at work. 

Your employees may not be sure who is a safe person at work with whom they can discuss their parenting struggles.  If companies have not created a safe space to discuss LGBTQ+ issues, employees are often in the dark about who their allies are at work.  

Who will listen with empathy and not judge their parenting?  

Who will understand when their eyes fill with tears as a co-worker goes on an anti-LGBTQ+ tirade?  

Who is a safe person to confide in at work about the fear they may have for their child??

While many companies will issue a blanket statement of support for the LGBTQ+ community, there is something small but so impactful companies can do for their employees.  Reach out to the parents and loved ones of LGBTQ+ youth with compassion and understanding.  Ask how they’re doing.   Start the conversation.

You don’t have to solve anything for them.  They’re not asking their employer to bring about world peace.  But it means the world to know that you see them, they and their children matter, and you’re not ignoring the violence.

Don’t know who they are?  That’s ok.  A show of support does not have to be directed at any certain individual, rather an example of allyship could be as simple as a statement like: “We know that several members of our ACME Corporation are parents and loved ones of LGBTQ+ youth and community members.  We can only imagine what you are experiencing this week. We see your struggle and offer our love and support.  If you need a safe space to talk, (insert mental health support protocol).” 

We all just want to know we’re not alone.  Parents of LGBTQ+ youth want the same thing for themselves that they want for their kids –to be valued and not be judged by the people we see every day.

For more simple ways to increase your allyship, book a 20-minute consultation here to discuss ways we can help build out a culture of inclusivity and allyship in your company.