Summary: Employee silence, the withholding of work‐related ideas, questions, or concerns from someone who could effect change, has been proposed to hamper individual and collective learning as well as the detection of errors and unethical behaviors in many areas of the world. To facilitate cross‐cultural research, we validated an instrument measuring four employee silence motives (i.e., silence based on fear, resignation, prosocial, and selfish motives) in 21 languages. Across 33 countries (N = 8,222) representing diverse cultural clusters, the instrument shows good psychometric properties (i.e., internal reliabilities, factor structure, and measurement invariance). Results further revealed similarities and differences in the prevalence of silence motives between countries, but did not necessarily support cultural stereotypes. To explore the role of culture for silence, we examined relationships of silence motives with the societal practices cultural dimensions from the GLOBE Program. We found relationships between silence motives and power distance, institutional collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance. Overall, the findings suggest that relationships between silence and cultural dimensions are more complex than commonly assumed. We discuss the explanatory power of nations as (cultural) units of analysis, our social scientific approach, the predictive value of cultural dimensions, and opportunities to extend silence research geographically, methodologically, and conceptually.

In recent years, work-related stress has grown exponentially and the negative impact that this condition has on people’s health is considerable. The effects of work-related stress can be distinguished in those that affect workers (e.g., depression and anxiety) and those that affect the company (e.g., absenteeism and productivity). It is possible to distinguish two types of prevention interventions. Individual interventions aim at promoting coping and individual resilience strategies with the aim of modifying cognitive assessments of the potential stressor, thus reducing its negative impact on health. Mindfulness techniques have been found to be effective stress management tools that are also useful in dealing with stressful events in the workplace. Organizational interventions modify the risk factors connected to the context and content of the work. It was found that a restorative workplace (i.e., with natural elements) reduces stress and fatigue, improving work performance. Furthermore, practicing mindfulness in nature helps to improve the feeling of wellbeing and to relieve stress. In this paper, we review the role of mindfulness-based practices and of contact with nature in coping with stressful situations at work, and we propose a model of coping with work-related stress by using mindfulness in nature-based practices.

Although discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation is prohibited by law in many countries, negative prejudices against Lesbian and Gay (LG) people, as a stigmatized minority, might be internalized by co-workers, being a source of a modern and subtle form of discrimination. Results from 39 in-depth semi-structured interviews with LG employees show that they are victims of workplace incivility which is manifested through jokes, use of language, stereotypes, and intrusive behaviors. Such acts are barely recognizable as a form of discrimination, due to the absence of any reference to sexual orientation, and for this reason it is more difficult to act against them at an organizational level. This is the first study that demonstrates how workplace incivility toward LG employees can be an expression of a subtle form of discrimination. It shows that discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation has not disappeared; it has simply changed its manifestations. Contributions and implications of the study are discussed from a theoretical and a practical perspective.

This scoping review systematizes the evidence available to date on the manifestations of heteronormativity in the workplace. The reviewed literature shows that, at an organizational level, heteronormativity is reproduced in the configuration of space, organizational policies, and the monitoring of their accomplishment by leaders. At an interpersonal level, employees interact with others based on heterosexual presumptions, they reward what is aligned with heteronormativity, and censor what is not. Finally, individuals acting of their own volition may perform their gender in ways that strengthen the presumption of heterosexuality and communicate heteronormativity alignment. This review offers suggestions for future research in the field of heteronormativity in the workplace and includes theoretical and practical implications for the creation of inclusive organizations.

The review explores key issues associated with discrimination and hostility faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people at work and organizational responses to it. Starting from a description of the main challenges facing LGBT workers’ identity management, the review examines manifestations of negative attitudes towards gender and sexual minority groups, highlighting processes of subtle discrimination and exclusion. It presents and critiques dominant organizational responses to LGBT stigmatization, highlighting the need for holistic, intersectional approaches, and pointing out issues requiring further research.

Discrimination is a complex phenomenon with adverse consequences at personal and organisational levels. Past studies have demonstrated that workers who are victims of discrimination might show less job satisfaction, less organisational commitment and worse levels of health and productivity. Although most research has focused on the effects of discrimination on victims, less is known about the extent to which discrimination produces consequences on workers who perceive the existence of a discriminatory work environment. The goal of this article is to analyse the consequences of the perception of a discriminatory work environment on employees’ health. The importance of this relationship is studied taking into account the mediating effect of job satisfaction. In order to reach this goal a cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 1633 Italian workers (male= 826, female= 764), employed in private and public sectors, and in different hierarchical positions. Results suggest that the perception of a discriminatory work environment is negatively associated with employees’ health. This relationship is partially mediated by job satisfaction (R²= .17). This study demonstrates that perceiving a discriminatory work environment might have a negative impact on workers’ health. A higher level of job satisfaction might buffer this effect. These findings have several practical implications. On the one hand, Human Resource Managers need to intervene in order to recognise and diminish implicit biases, creating a healthy and inclusive environment (e.g. through training, diversity policies, etc.). On the other hand, promoting job satisfaction (e.g. providing mechanisms of voice) might help workers to preserve their well-being, coping with the negative effects of a discriminatory work environment. Keywords: Discriminatory work environment, Job satisfaction, Employees’ health, Human Resource Management, Italian workers, Workplace, Work-related stress, Occupational medicine