Reconsidering the LGBT Climate Inventory: Understanding Support and Hostility for LGBTQ Employees in the Workplace

Workplace climate matters significantly for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or other sexual minority (LGBQ) employees, given that the presence of workplace hostility or support can affect well-being. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Climate Inventory (LGBTCI) is a measure of workplace climate for LGBQ individuals, intended to capture the full range of workplace climate from hostility to support. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence that the recommended scoring approach of the LGBTCI needs to be reconsidered. We used latent class analysis to estimate classes of work-related experiences in our sample of 442 LGBQ employees who completed the LGBTCI. A four-class solution fit the data best. Characteristics of each class were identified and consequently labeled: supportive work climate, tolerant work climate, ambiguous work climate, and hostile work climate. Findings suggest that a more accurate measure of workplace climate would include independent scales for support and hostility.