Exploring Work-Related Needs of Sexual Minority (LGBQ+) Individuals during COVID-19

Background:

COVID-19 has resulted in inequities among sexual and gender minority communities. LGBQ+ people have been disparately impacted by economic problems resulting from COVID-19, compounding preexisting disproportionate amounts of minority stressors among LGBQ+ people. This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on sexual minorities with respect to changes related to work and stress during COVID-19, including whether: LGBQ+ respondents experienced changes to daily work routines significantly different than sexual majority (i.e., heterosexual) respondents, and how stressful those changes were to daily work routines. Overall stress scores were also compared between heterosexual and LGBQ+ respondents.

Methods:

Data were collected from over 1500 people participating in an online workers’ platform for survey research (Amazon’s Mechanical Turk) in mid-April, 2020, three weeks after shelter-in-place began in the US. Individuals who are 18 years of age or older, living in the USA, and English-speaking were eligible for the study. Demographic information was collected, as well as an assessment of COVID-19 stressors. Univariate analysis (descriptive statistics) and bivariate analysis (chi-square, t-tests) are reported. Covid stressor items included questions about stress related to the possibility of infection, social activities, and finances.

Results:

Approximately 1 in every 7 respondents (14.5%; n=321) identified as a sexual minority. Chi-square test for independence indicated a significant association between sexual orientation (heterosexual vs. LGBQ+) and changes to daily work routines, χ2 (1, n = 1527) =4.71, p =.03, phi = .06. 35% of respondents experienced changes to work routines, with heterosexuals more likely to experience changes. An independent-samples t-test compared stress scores for changes in work routines between respondents who identified as straight and LGBQ+, with results approaching significance for a difference in scores for heterosexual (M = 3.36, SD = 1.19) and LGBQ+ (M = 3.65, SD = 1.13; t (992) = -1.93, p = .054, two-tailed), indicating a higher level of stress for LGBQ+ respondents. An independent-samples t-test of total stress scores showed a statistically significant difference in scores for heterosexual respondents (M = 11.21, SD = 3.97) and LGBQ+ respondents (M = 12.03, SD = 3.86; t (1534) = -2.87, p =.004, two-tailed), LGBQ+ respondents experienced significantly more total stress than heterosexual respondents.

Conclusions and Implications:

While heterosexual respondents experienced significantly greater changes to daily work routines than LGBQ+ respondents, LGBQ+ respondents reported greater stress related to changes to work routines and overall stress during the early stages of the pandemic. A deeper analysis of the context of the times is important: LGBQ+ individuals are more likely to work in industries requiring them to remain in the workforce (e.g., service sector, essential services) during the onset of COVID-19, subsequently resulting in less changes in work routines. Greater overall stress scores among LGBQ+ people may indicate other types of stressors (e.g., minority stressors) during this phase of COVID-19. Limitations, such as a lack of generalizability due to sample composition (e.g., lack of gender minority respondents), and implications for practice and policy (e.g., workplace needs, etc.) related to LGBTQ+ communities will be explored, particularly as the impacts of COVID-19 continue.