Ask a trans person!

[Logicaly]

So here is my question. For those of you that where working when you started your transition, how did you handle it? Did you explain to your employer what was going on or just do it and if any questions came up then answer them?

I'm worried about the reaction my employer will have and as well how to handle it with my customers as I have a lot of public interaction since I'm in charge of all sales for the company.

[Linus]

Originally Posted by Logicaly

So here is my question. For those of you that where working when you started your transition, how did you handle it? Did you explain to your employer what was going on or just do it and if any questions came up then answer them?

I'm worried about the reaction my employer will have and as well how to handle it with my customers as I have a lot of public interaction since I'm in charge of all sales for the company.

I face customers regularly (as a technical trainer, I can't really escape that). The first step I took was talk to my direct manager and let them know what was going on. I then went to HR and spoke to them about how to address it with colleagues. Since many of us work out of homes and only meet now and again, I have it slightly easier (I rarely have to share a bathroom with colleagues). Together with HR, I put out an email that detailed how I wanted to be referred to (name and gender) and a FAQ on things to expect during my transition (FTM).

HR left the choice to me if people had questions. I'm pretty open and the only question I really got was how to pronounce my name (Linus can be prounounced as Lie-nus or Lyn-us and since we're IT both were fairly common, depending on whether coming from the US or Europe).

The choice of whether to transition and then address it or address it first depends, IMO, on the company and culture of the company as well as size. I'm lucky in that my company already has gender discrimination written into the corporate policy and it's fairly strictly adhered to. I can send you the FAQ if you want to use it as well as a copy of my letter I sent if it helps you (just PM me your email).