Employees and Family Domestic Violence

14 October 2020|blog whs-blog

It’s National Safe Work Month and Mental Health Month this month, October 2020. With this and the effects of COVID-19 what better topic to discuss than Domestic and Family Violence.

There is increasing recognition that what affects employees affects employers and Domestic Violence is unfortunately one of those things that affect some employees. As a result, many businesses now have policies around this to support employees. Understandably, this has an impact on productivity. However, the more support you can provide, the less impact there is to productivity so certainly an issue to support for many reasons. In fact, according to Access Economics, the estimated cost of domestic violence to business is $456 million a year, with a further $609 million per year in productivity losses, due to lower revenue, increased costs, staff turnover and reduced access to human capital.

There are other benefits other than productivity to employers who prioritise the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees and respond to family and domestic violence including; improved outcomes for employees affected, improved staff engagement and work satisfaction, reduced illness and absenteeism, reduced staff turnover and employment costs.

Family and Domestic Violence is a workplace issue. If the perpetrator harasses an employee at their workplace it can put the health and safety of the employee and co-workers in danger. Workplaces can be a safe place for employee’s experience family and domestic violence (therefore consideration should be given to this when requiring employees to work from home) and much needed social support and as mentioned already may affect work productivity. Working from home was used by many employers to help manage the impacts of coronavirus. Whilst this was to manage their safety, Family and Domestic Violence is also a real risk that needs to be considered with employees working from home – due to coronavirus or otherwise and there was a recent case highlighting this.

Recognising the signs of an employee experiencing family and domestic violence is therefore important and there are plenty of resources to help identify, some for example are; absence or lateness, bruises or injuries, unusual work breaks or start and finish times, displaying anxiety, distracted, depressed, jumpy, lack of focus or difficulty making decisions.

The question R U OK? is a good place to start however continue the conversation and follow up. There are great resources specific to the workplace, such as; White Ribbon Australia and DV Work Aware.

At HR Business Direction, we are passionate about both helping our clients get an OI from their people and creating working environments that support and prevent mental health. We believe this allows us to make a true difference in society for businesses and individuals.

Leisa Messer BBus(HRM); GradDipIR; CAHRI; IRSQ
Managing Director | HR Strategist
leisa.messer@hrbd.com.au
07 3890 2066
www.hrbd.com.au