Open Your Eyes, Domestic Abuse
Affects the Workplace

03/06/07

The employee who has been annoying you by calling in sick at the last moment, getting upset after taking personal phone calls, and having trouble concentrating might have bigger challenges than getting work done on time. This employee may be a victim of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is believed to cost American businesses between $3 and $5 billion a year in absenteeism, turnover, lowered productivity, and increased health-care costs. With one in three women reporting physical abuse at the hands of a husband or boyfriend at some time in their lives, it’s likely you’ll have an abused employee on the staff at some point or another.

Not your problem? Consider this: 71 percent of HR and security people surveyed by Harvard School of Public Health say they’ve had an incident of domestic violence occur on company premises. States have various laws under which you may be liable for such acts of violence. At the very least, you could be liable under OSHA’s general requirement that you maintain a safe workplace.

Note the Signs
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and other organizations with a mission to end abuse, here are some signs an employee may be in trouble:

Physical indicators, such as bruises or bandages, explained away as being "accident-prone"

Signs of distress or depression, such as crying at work

Frequent and/or harassing calls at work

Frequent absences from work—especially those that are sudden and sporadic

Little or no access to resources such as money, credit cards or a car

Mentions stress at home or refers to partner’s anger or temper

Decreased productivity or inattentiveness

What Can You Do?
If you suspect an employee has an abusive partner, have a closed-door session with her (or him—10 percent of victims are male). Tell her you can see that something is weighing on her mind. Don’t probe unless the employee is forthcoming about the problem, and never play amateur psychologist even if she is. Instead, refer her to your employee assistance program (EAP) or local mental health counselors.

If the problem is out in the open and the employee fears a partner or former partner, offer to:

Screen phone calls

Provide an escort to and from the parking lot or public transportation

Provide a payroll advance if money is needed to move, buy a car, or other necessities

Obtain a restraining order in those states employers can do so

Permit flexible hours

Send paychecks to another address

Grant unpaid leave to find solutions to the problem

Adjust your expectations temporarily

Whatever you do, keep privacy intact

You can also help abuse victims "come out" by hanging posters in lunch or break rooms, leaving brochures in conspicuous areas, and putting hotline stickers in washroom stalls. All this creates an atmosphere in which an employee may be more forthcoming with you or a coworker.

What about Performance?
You have sympathy for abuse victims, but you have a business to run and victims can be erratic employees.

First, understand that by helping the victim, you’re helping improve productivity all around. And your expectation of improvement may be the catalyst an employee needs to deal with this type of situation.

The organization EndAbuse recommends using a "Second Chance Contract" when an employee discloses in a private meeting that she is the victim of abuse. Imagine you’re about to fire or issue a warning over a clear performance issue. She reveals she is in an abusive relationship.

Give her another chance. Spell out the standards she must meet within a certain time in a written agreement. Offer referrals to resources she can use to solve her problem, but don’t demand she leave the abuser or that she give you details she’d rather not. Then stick to the agreement.