LGBT Pride Month: Being your true self in the workplace

LGBT Pride Month is taking place in June, as it always does, in honour of the US Stonewall uprising in 1969. While inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community is something that Fresenius Medical Care UK & Ireland strives to do all year round, Pride provides the opportunity to reflect and spread the still much-needed awareness of LGBTQIA+ rights each year.

Pride month is about acceptance, equality and celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. It encourages people to be proud of who they are, no matter their identity or who they love. To celebrate pride this year, we spoke to some of our colleagues about their experiences of inclusion in the workplace as members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Director of Nursing UK & Ireland, Chris Chisholm, told us “Early on in my time at Fresenius Medical Care, I felt I was able to be who I am – there were no qualms holding me back. People flourish if they are allowed to be the person they want to be openly. The minute someone has to be a different version of themselves to fit social norms, that’s when they go into themselves, and this really impacts their day to day lives.”

Kris Paule, Training and Education Lead UK & Ireland, echoes this sentiment, and stated that she thinks “embracing Pride is about being able to share all the parts of who we are and knowing that you have a safe space to express yourself. It allows us to be more creative at work, fuel new ideas and be innovative. Fresenius Medical Care creates an open environment without judgement around our gender identity.”

Scott Simpson, our Employee Relations and Engagement Advisor, joined the organisation recently. He explained, “I have a hybrid role, meaning that I spend some of my role in the field, visiting clinics and some working from home, and this means I get to see and speak to a large part of the business, from the management team to frontline workers. You can clearly see the diversity of the workforce across all different aspects including LGBTQIA+, gender, race, religion and so on. It’s something that has already really stood out to me. It’s clear that openness about who you are is really driven from the top, which immediately made me feel comfortable and open at work.”

Chris Chisholm went on to say, “It’s important that we consider everyone in the organisation as individuals, rather than being grouped together by job title or region. We’ll only achieve our end goals if all employees are given the opportunity to thrive and succeed through being themselves in the workplace.”

At Fresenius Medical Care UK & Ireland, we are proud of all the people within our organisation and strive to ensure they are all comfortable to be who they are at work. We recognise and value every single person’s difference and individuality. Only when people are feeling their best and authentic self, in a safe and inclusive space, are they able to work to the best of their ability and better the future of our patients.