From Board Rooms to Break Rooms: Domestic Violence is in Your Workplace
About a decade ago, I started receiving invitations to provide trainings and consultations for multiple companies in the Boston area. Those invitations were not a coincidence; almost 10 years ago, Massachusetts passed Chapter 260, An Act Relative to Domestic Violence. Included in this legislation, which went into effect August 8th, 2014, was the requirement that employers in Massachusetts with 50 or more employees are required to offer up to 15 days of unpaid leave to victims of domestic violence and their family members. This leave is meant to give survivors of domestic violence and their loved ones an ability to access counseling or advocacy, seek safe housing, attend court, or attend to any other needs directly related to their experience of domestic violence. Many companies were inviting domestic violence organizations, like the one I was working for at the time, to help update the language in their employee handbooks and offer strategies on how to raise awareness about this new law.
One of the participants in a workshop I offered around that time, worked in HR at a company that had lost an employee to domestic violence the year before. In another workshop, I had a participant who had just joined his company’s HR team weeks before an employee murdered his spouse. While these two examples may not happen every day at every company, there are survivors of domestic and sexual violence who show up to work every day, in every industry, in every city and town. Every company has or will have employees who have been directly or indirectly impacted by domestic or sexual violence. A 2018 national survey of domestic violence survivors found that 83% of respondents reported that their abusive partners disrupted their ability to work. Among those who reported experiencing one or more disruptions, 70% said they were not able to have a job when they wanted or needed one, and 53% said they lost a job because of the abuse. 49% said they missed one or more days of work, 18 % missed out on a promotion or raise, and 38% said they lost out on other work opportunities.
If companies want to invest in their employees’ wellbeing and support their longevity and productivity at work, addressing domestic and sexual violence can be a crucial and even lifechanging or lifesaving step. For some survivors, their workplace is one of the few places they experience safety and stability. Workplaces can offer tangible and effective options to help increase an employee’s access to safety and support if they are experiencing abuse. But we can’t expect employees to ask their employer or HR team for support if we haven’t explicitly demonstrated that this is an issue we care about. Despite the prevalence of sexual and domestic violence, they continue to be issues shrouded in secrecy and shame.
Employees who are unsafe in their relationships may not know where to access support. Employers don’t have to become experts in domestic violence; they can offer universal education- such as pamphlets or posters in bathrooms and common areas like lobbies or kitchens that promote local resources. Companies can invite a speaker- like JT Consulting- to present at a lunch and learn to facilitate meaningful dialogue that can educate and empower employees. These simple actions can have a powerful impact on individuals and the company culture. When we post resources or invite speakers we help to eradicate the stigma that keeps so many survivors suffering in silence. We show our employees that we care about them and we care about their safety.
Working to provide support and access to resources that can increase employees’ safety doesn’t just benefit that individual. A National Resource Center, Workplaces Respond, found in one study that one in five workers experienced the impacts of intimate partner violence at work. Of these workers, 66% had this type of violence perpetrated in the workplace or on their workplace premises. If we want to keep our workplaces safe, we need to invest in the safety of our employees. Years ago I worked with a survivor who was able to talk to her employer and together they created a plan to increase everyone’s safety (including requiring key card access and sharing the abuser’s photo with security personnel) while also protecting the survivor’s privacy. This was only possible because the survivor had a trusting relationship with her employer and felt able- with support- to talk to them about what she was experiencing. Companies can take proactive steps to make sure every employee- no matter how recently they were hired- knows that their wellbeing and safety matters. And when our employer demonstrates they are invested in us, we become more invested in our company.
I was so glad to see an increase in conversations about domestic violence in 2014, but nearly a decade later, and very few people I know- across many businesses and industries- know about the domestic violence leave requirements of employers in Massachusetts or have ever heard this issue addressed at work. We don’t have to wait for a law to change or tragedy to strike to raise awareness about an issue that has impacted so many of our colleagues. We can enact small, simple actions, and make a tremendous impact.
Not sure where to start? We’re here to help. Schedule a call to learn how partnering with JT Consulting can enable you to support the safety and wellbeing of your employees today.
