Watching for Signs
Statistics based on a survey of Canadian workers who had experienced domestic violence¹:
38% reported that domestic violence affected their ability to either get to work or show up on time
and over 50% reported that at least one abusive act happened at or near their place of employment
The impact and costs of domestic violence on the workplace are far-reaching.
|
Signs at Work (of someone who may be experiencing domestic violence) |
Impacts and Costs (to the Business) |
|---|---|
| Poor concentration, errors, slowness, irregular quality of work |
Puts other employees or the company at risk and/or affects the reputation of the company |
| Unusually high number of phone calls or text messages at work |
Impacts employee morale – for either the employee subjected to domestic violence and/or for their co-workers (e.g. frustration, fear for their safety, confusion) |
| Withdrawn, solitary, or frightened | Decreases employee productivity and efficiency |
| Reluctant towards professional development | Increases absenteeism and staff turnover. The employee lacks development which could affect her performance |
| Requests for special accommodations, such as early departures, changes to schedule, etc. | Requires additional time for managers to manage human resource difficulties |
| Physically present, but performance is absent (presenteeism) | Requires workloads to be redistributed in the team |
¹ Can Work Be Safe When Home Isn’t’? Initial Findings of a Pan-Canadian Survey on Domestic Violence and the Workplace. Canadian Labour Congress & Western University’s Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and
Children. https://canadianlabour.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/dvwork_survey_report_2014_enr.pdf
