Employee voice has been largely examined as a universal concept in unionized and non‐unionized settings, with insufficient attention to diversity of workers (Rank, 2009). As invisible minorities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) employees provide a valuable focal point from which to examine employee voice mechanisms. Positing that GLBT employees are often silenced by what is perceived as “normal” in work organizations, this paper identifies some of the negative consequences of this silencing and proposes ways in which the voices of GLBT employees and other invisible minorities can be heard. With its relevance to policies and practices in other organizations, the “Don't ask; don't tell” policy of the U.S. military is used as a lens through which to analyze voice, silence, and GLBT employees in other organizations. Heterosexist environments can foster organizational climates of silence, where the feeling that speaking up is futile or dangerous is widespread among employees. Specific recommendations are provided for HR managers to facilitate the expression of voice for GLBT employees in today's increasingly diverse organizations. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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The aim of this study is to develop a scale appropriate to the working conditions of the service industry in Turkey to measure the phenomenon of "emotional labor. " It is hoped that the study that constitutes the stages of building an item pool, content validity, application, construct validity and calculation of the reliability of scale will contribute to researchers working on emotional labor. As a result of the applications and analysis conducted based on this study an emotional labor scale that consists of three dimensions--surface acting, suppression, deep acting--is achieved.

PurposeIn this study, the aim is to put emphasis on a specific discrimination area that is evaluated both as a disability and a diversity dimension. Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) disease should be considered beyond the scope of health as a social issue. However, the main purpose of the study is to determine the influence of information levels on HIV/AIDS on attitudes and views towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in work life. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to assess this influence by means of a pilot study. Additionally, one of the basic assumptions of the study is that career and identity developments of PLHIV will be positive as a result of the increase in knowledge amongst human resource (HR) managers and career counselors about HIV and PLHIV.Design/methodology/approachDisinformation about HIV/AIDS may cause stigmatization and discrimination. Thus, this paper seeks to indicate the effects and results of the discrimination and tries to create awareness. Consequently, discrimination against PLHIV in work life is emphasized in the study in parallel with the information levels related to the disease. Additionally, survey technique is used on the sample of HR employees and managers who are members of The Association of HR Managers (PERYON).FindingsThe paper finds that 50 percent of the respondents stated that it was right to request a HIV test whereas 36 percent of them declared that it was not right. The respondents' information level about the transmission of HIV was evaluated as medium or high. Respondents mostly think that HIV is not a punishment to people for their misbehaviors, and that sufferers should not be ashamed of themselves; PLHIV are not guilty and do not have marginal life styles. They also showed sensitivity towards the right for treatment and protection of the human rights of PLHIV. The majority of respondents stated that they could work in the same workplace with PLHIV and also that they did not associate HIV with homosexuals.Research limitations/implicationsAs a limitation, there is a possibility that social desirability had an effect on some of the respondents' answers. Second, the respondents have never met PLHIV in their workplaces. Because of these limitations it was not possible to get answers regarding discriminative behaviors in the workplace towards PLHIV in terms of HR functions. Thus, it is suggested that a study on PLHIV or people who work with PLHIV should be conducted. Additionally, the study could be replicated with different and larger samples.Originality/valueA contribution to increasing awareness and the cautions against discrimination towards HIV/AIDS is one of the values of this study. Another distinctive characteristic of this study is the investigation of this issue from the context of an emerging country, Turkey.

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