LGBTQ+ Sensemaking: The Mental Load of Identifying Workplace Allies

The sensemaking process is complex and mentally demanding, inviting sensemakers to establish and apply schema about individuals and groups. This study assesses the ways LGBTQ+ employees evaluate coworker’s ally status through the application of schema and the further sensemaking that follows the schema creation. We conducted 35 interviews with LBGTQ+ employees to understand the ways these employees processed decisions and weigh the risks during the construction of ally-status schemas about coworkers. Findings indicate that LGBTQ+ employees assess colleagues’ likelihood toward allyship, or not, through sensemaking in three domains: (1) Demographic, (2) Reference to Industry, and (3) Observed and Experienced Interactions. We conclude this study with practical recommendations addressing both the creation of plausible but inaccurate schemas, the larger burden of mental load, and a discussion about the importance of bridging the gap between sensemaking by marginalized populations and ally status perceptions.