Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations || Silence Speaks in the Workplace: Uncovering the Experiences of LGBT Employees in Turkey

Today, employees with diverse backgrounds and unique characteristics who are often associated with major sources of change, creativity and innovation (Frohman 1997) may potentially provide invaluable contributions to their organizations. However, they might also be subject to unfair, unequal treatment and discrimina- tory behavior in the workplace due to their minority status. In the given circum- stances, these employees feel compelled to remain silent in the face of various concerns and issues. The notion, conceptualized as “organizational silence” in the literature, is likely to pose a serious challenge to the development of the pluralistic organization that appreciates differences among employees and encourages the expression of multiple ideas and thoughts (Morrison and Milliken 2000).