Laboring in Silence

The workplace closet is a fundamental fixture in the working lives of many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ)–identifying employees who do not feel safe for their sexual identity to be known in their place of employment. Previous research draws attention to the processes of identity management that some workers adhere to for ensuring that LGBQ sexual identities remain invisible during work hours. Although the stories of young workers have been largely absent from this field, this qualitative study sheds light on how younger employees (18 to 26 years) negotiate multiple closets within Australian work cultures. In the present study, the author examines the concealing practices of younger people seeking to stay invisible as LGBQ employees across diverse work settings. Findings illustrate how the workplace closet holds varying functions, both strategic and silencing, while providing young people with a protective space from which to assess work relationships and to decide if and how they discuss LGBQ identities at work.