Effects of Home Violence Spill Over into Workplace

The effects of home violence are not limited to the confines of the home _ the victim also may take these problems to work, according to a University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center assistant professor.

"When an individual has a serious personal problem such as home violence or domestic abuse, it takes energy away from the task of growing into a healthy, mature, well-functioning adult. It has a big effect in every sphere of one's life and certainly in the workplace," said Dr. Sandra Allen, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a co-director of the Emotional Health Center.

"Personal problems such as these often have significant effects on absenteeism, self-esteem and motivation of employees," Allen said. "People who are experiencing home violence-abuse cannot help but have self-esteem problems. When we think of self-esteem, we think of valuing and respecting ourselves, and being in a violent situation is certainly contradictory to that.

"Victims of home violence usually have higher absenteeism rates since they are spending much of their energy dealing with the problem. It is not unusual for them to be too tired to go to work. There may also be physical evidence. Blackened eyes, bruises and other telltale signs of physical abuse could be embarrassing to them," Allen said.

"A variety of psychological and emotional disorders are evident among those who experience home violence-abuse. Depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and sometimes post-traumatic stress disorder may surface," she said. These often translate into poor work performance. They interfere with the quality and performance of work.

"Another problem that occurs in the workplace as a result of home violence is distance. Since people in violent situations may try to keep it a secret from co-workers. They create physical and emotional barriers with fellow workers, resulting in estrangement and distance."

Fear is a very real feeling that victims of home violence also experience, Allen added.

"Victims are often afraid that the abusive person will show up at work, stalk them, or make threatening or obscene phone calls.

"Children who are involved in a family in which violence exists, even if the violence is not directed at them, suffer and develop their own set of problems. Therefore, the root problem becomes magnified, and then the person at the worksite becomes even more distracted," said Allen.

"The victim not only has to deal with the relationship with the abuser but also with the problems the child is experiencing.

"The problem mushrooms into affecting other relationships at work and outside the workplace."

Allen pointed out that people in violent and abusive relationships may tend to repeat those behavior patterns in other areas of their lives.

At the workplace, a person may play either the victim or the abuser role. Those individuals who are abused at home may react to this by continuing to play the role by allowing others to invade their space or to beat up on them in nonphysical ways. The abuser may be a bully at work who violates other people's boundaries.

"The flip side of the effects of home violence in the workplace also may be seen. The victim may begin to see the workplace as a refuge, a safe place, an opportunity to focus only on the job. The employee may begin to work longer hours and take on additional tasks and responsibilities," Allen said.

Although co-workers and employers can be helpful to individuals involved in an abusive relationship, it is important for them to understand that they are not responsible for taking care of the situation for the victim, Allen said. Only the person involved can resolve the situation.

Co-workers can listen, give moral support and offer suggestions about shelters for abused spouses. Listening and reflecting back what the person has expressed is often helpful because it allows the person to process the issues they are confronting and begin to generate possible solutions, Allen said.

If an employee's work performance suffers because of violence at home, the employer should handle it like any other situation.

The employer should counsel the employee _ "this is interfering with your work and it is affecting your fellow workers, too." The employer can give suggestions to the employee to obtain further help which might include a company counseling service or consultation with employee assistance program personnel, Allen said.

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