Due to Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual (LGB) individuals' status as a statistical minority as well as historical and societal influences, LGBs have been targets of prejudice and discrimination in the U.S. However, there has been surprisingly little systematic examination of the nature and prevalence of sexual orientation harassment (SOH) in the workplace. Therefore, existing literature on harassment, discrimination, and hate crime constructs were examined in order to create a comprehensive list of possible SOH behaviors. The resulting measurement tool, the Workplace SOH Measure (WSOHM), as well as measures of sexual and racial/ethnic harassment, expected correlates, and group differences were administered to a convenience sample (N=107) of working individuals. Factor analytic work supported the WSOHM as containing five separate underlying behavioral categories: Coercion, Expectation/Stereotyping, Heterosexist, Exclusionary, and Derogation/Stereotyping Behaviors. Partial support was also found for the relationships between SOH and organizational climate, depression and anxiety, the male to female ratio of workers in the participant's occupational field, and the overall validity of the WSOHM as a measure of workplace SOH. The practical uses of the WSOHM in organizational contexts are discussed.
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