Domestic Violence in the Workplace

What Does Domestic Violence Have to do With the Workplace?

What affects employees affects their employers. When one is three women are affected by domestic violence, it is very likely that domestic violence will affect the workplace. In the past, employers have viewed domestic violence as a personal issue rather than a workplace problem. The good news today is that the employers who do address it can provide real help to victims and reduce the associated risks involved with domestic violence.

Victims and perpetrators of domestic violence impact the workplace in many ways. In addition to the increased risk for workplace violence, domestic violence also results in decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, increased stress, increased health care costs, and increased turnover rates. The victim of domestic often has to flee his/her home in an effort to escape an abusive relationship. Escape from the home often includes abruptly leaving the workplace as well.

There are two primary reasons that domestic violence comes to work:

Domestic violence is about control. The victim's job represents independence and while the victim is at work, she/he is not under the abuser's immediate control.
The victim is vulnerable at work. Because his/her work hours, parking arrangements, and geographical location are predictable, the abuser knows where and when he/she can find the employee.

Workplace Statistics

The Abuse Doesn't Stay at Home!

Murder is the Number One cause of on-the-job death for women in the workplace and 20% of those women, on average, are murdered by their partner at the workplace (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1993).
Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 incidents of on-the-job violence involve cases in which the victims knew their attackers intimately (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report: Workplace Violence, 1992-96(July, 1998, NCJ 168634) at 5).
Almost 75% of all working women surveyed, reported being harassed (i.e. stalking, harassing phone calls, unwanted attention) at some point in their careers by current or former boyfriends or husbands (Family Violence Prevention Fund, San Francisco, 1997).

Hidden Losses to the Workplace

Domestic violence is responsible for an estimated 175,000 lost workdays per year (Family Violence Prevention Fund, San Francisco, 1997).
According to the most recent statistics available, domestic violence costs employers between $3 & $5 billion dollars per year in medical expenses (Bureau of National Affairs, 1990).
Businesses forfeit an additional $100 million a year in lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism, and non-productivity due to domestic violence. (Colorado Violence Coalition, 1991)
37% of women victims of domestic violence reported feeling the effects of abuse in the workplace reflected in lateness, missed work, difficulty keeping a job, and difficulty advancing in their careers (EDK National Telephone Poll, 1997 - A Survey for the Liz Claiborne Company).
In a recent study of Fortune 1000 Senior Executives regarding domestic violence and the related costs to the workplace: 66% reported that their company's financial performance would likely benefit from addressing domestic violence among their employees; 47% reported that domestic violence negatively effects productivity; 44% reported that domestic violence directly increases health care costs. (Roper Starch Worldwide Study for Liz Claiborne, 1994)

Tips to Make the Workplace Safer (for Supervisors and Managers)

Because domestic violence is so prevalent in our society, it is safe to assume that there is currently someone employed at your organization who is involved in an abusive relationship.

As a supervisor or manager, it is no longer acceptable to say, "That's a personal problem" or "There's nothing I can do." Supervisors and managers can help to improve the safety of the work environment for both victims of domestic violence and co-workers who could be placed at increased risk for becoming a victim of workplace violence.

Listed below are some suggestions to use in the workplace to improve safety.

Things to be observing and documenting regarding the employee:

unusual absences and/or late arrivals
bruises, or other signs of emotional distress
changes in work performance
mood swings or changes in personality

Things you can do to educate yourself and your workforce in an effort to prevent incidents of workplace violence and to offer assistance to the employee you are concerned about:

Contact your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) professional and the Office of Human Resources to discuss concerns and resources, as well as to discover ways to offer support to the employee. * Know the work-site and community resources.
Read and understand the policies and procedures regarding workplace and domestic violence.
Educate the victim and other employees about the workplace violence policy and procedures for reporting incidents of violence.
Provide security with a picture of the perpetrator.

Actions you can take with an employee you are concerned about:

Discuss safety/security issues with the employee and suggest possible actions (i.e. safety plan, referral to EAP).
Help the employee document all incidents of harassment and/or stalking that occur in the workplace.
Encourage the victim to save any threatening e-mail or voice-mail messages. These can be used in the future for legal action and/or evidence or violations of an existing restraining order.
Offer to change parking arrangements for the victim so that he/she is close to the building entrance.
Offer to screen phone calls and transfer potentially harassing calls to security.
Assess the safety of the victim's workplace, and relocate the victim to another more secure building or area when appropriate.
Make sure the restraining order includes the workplace, and make sure the workplace has a copy on hand at all times (if applicable).
Encourage the victim to identify an emergency contact person if the supervisor or manager is unable to contact the victim.
Use an escort service to walk the victim to and from his/her vehicle. Do not ignore the situation. If a workplace intervention is appropriate, either at the employee's request or to respond to a workplace threat, early intervention can often prevent incidents of workplace violence.
Ask the victim what additional changes are needed to make the workplace safer and more secure. No one knows the perpetrator better than the victim!