It is evident that LGBTQIA+ people are at higher risk of mental health difficulties which is worsened by discrimination and poor work relationships. The theory of employee engagement suggests that work engagement can be facilitated through positive psychological experiences of meaningfulness, availability, and safety at work, which is expected to also promote wellbeing. This study expands on this understanding by examining how these positive psychological conditions can relate to work engagement and positively affect the overall mental health of LGBTQIA+ employees daily. Data was collected from a diverse group of Australian LGBTQIA+ employees (N = 27) over five consecutive days (N = 135 observations). Results from mediation analysis demonstrated that psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability fostered work engagement among LGBTQIA+ employees and improved their overall mental health through work engagement. Psychological safety decreased anxiety among LGBTQIA+ employees when the workplace climate was supportive. Thus, it was determined that psychological meaningfulness, availability and safety are important not only for employees to engage, but also the mental health of LGBTQIA+ employees. This provides important insights for organisations and employees that can guide them to target factors in the workplace to improve the mental health of LGBTQIA+ employees.
Keywords: Work engagement, LGBTQIA+, psychological meaningfulness, psychological
availability, psychological safety, stress, depression, minority stress
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