A safe haven

Employers can play a life-changing role in preventing violence, helping employees victimized by domestic abuse

Story by Gina Mangan

 IT’S BEEN NEARLY A DECADE since 28-year-old Jennifer Lang endured psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, but she has yet to forget the painful details.

Nor has she forgotten the swift and supportive response of her employer at the time, Menasha Corporation. 

For a while Lang tried to hide from her supervisors and co-workers the indicators that she was being beaten, threatened and strictly monitored by her husband, who she said tried to prohibit her from working with men and would check mileage on her car to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere but to work. She tried to hide the tears and bruises. She didn’t tell anyone that she was sometimes late to work because of fights at home. Not only was she embarrassed, Lang said, but she was afraid she would lose her position as a temporary employee.

But she couldn’t disguise the hurt anymore after arriving to work in tears after a particularly brutal fight stemming from her former husband’s demands that she quit her job. In the process of hitting her, he had also struck their son. 

“I came to work that morning visibly upset and sobbing,” Lang said. “My supervisor was wonderful, and within the hour she had got me into contact with an Employee Assistance Program counselor and I got help getting in touch with the Christine Ann Center.”

When it came time for her and her son to move into the Oshkosh-based Christine Ann Center domestic abuse shelter, Menasha Corp. supervisors allowed her to take two days off of work. They also made sure Lang arrived each morning safely to the secured Menasha Corp. building in which she worked. Managers arranged for a coworker to park Lang’s car for her, so she could be dropped at the front door and come immediately inside. They varied her work schedule and helped her plan alternate routes to work.  

Instead of sending Lang back to her temporary employment agency, as she had once feared, Menasha Corp. hired her as a full-time permanent employee.

The company’s reaction to Lang’s crises not only changed her life, but it very well may have saved it.

 “At the point in time when Menasha Corp. supervisors realized what was going on, they had a decision to make,” said Alex Hummel, community outreach and education coordinator for Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services in Oshkosh. “They could have taken the approach that it was none of their business, or they could have decided it was absolutely their business. They decided it was their business.”

Impact on the workplace 

COST ANALYSIS STUDIES SHOW that not only is reaching out to employees who are suspected victims of domestic abuse the right thing to do, but helping them connect with resources also has the potential to affect an employer’s bottom line. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the annual cost of intimate partner violence is more than $5.8 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health services. The average cost per incident for individual female victims is estimated at $483 in medical costs and $203 in mental health services. 

The annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence was $727.8 million in 2003. Victims lost a total of nearly 8 million days of paid work due to violence.

In addition to ethical, moral and economic concerns, ensuring employee safety at the workplace is also a matter of state and federal law, said Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department crime prevention Deputy Steve Herman. The Wisconsin Safe-Place law mandates that employers provide safe work environments. Employers may be held liable for failing to provide a workplace safe from crime and violence, whether it be domestic violence situations that spill over into the workplace or violence at the hands of coworkers or customers, Herman said.

“I would stress the importance of having in place solid policies and procedures for preventing and handling all types of threats and violence in the workplace, and to review those policies on a regular basis,” he said. “Without procedures, employees within the company aren’t going to know for sure how to handle conflicts and situations that come up.”

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department can provide area employers with its 69-page “Security Guide for Business” developed by Northeast Wisconsin Crime Prevention Practitioners, which includes sample policies. Crime prevention officers are also equipped to do security evaluations of the physical environment at area businesses, which includes a walk-through of the premises and a review of policies.

When Lang’s ex-husband was about to be released from prison three years after being arrested in 2001 for a violent incident involving her, Lang said she alerted Menasha Corp. managers not only out of concern for her own safety, but for that of her coworkers.  The company at that point took aggressive action involving relatively simple steps, Hummel said. They called in local police to conduct a walk-through security check, circulated photographs of the perpetrator, equipped Lang with a pager and provided all employees with codes that would alert Lang if her ex-husband was spotted on the premise.

“I wasn’t only worried about me,” Lang said. “I was concerned for my coworkers. I wanted to make sure we were all safe.”

Situations such as Lang’s are likely repeating themselves in companies throughout the region, state and nation. In many cases it’s unbeknownst to co-workers and supervisors. The CDC has estimated that one in every four U.S. women are victims of domestic abuse at some point in their lives.  The majority of those victims work at the same place as do the perpetrators, Hummel said.

Employees may fear exposure or are embarrassed. Employers who suspect employees are having trouble with domestic violence are often unsure how or whether to approach that employee, Hummel said. 

“Everybody gets caught up in the emotion of the situation,” Hummel said. “There’s fear and concerns about privacy. But often all a supervisor needs to do at first is sit down and talk with that employee, which can be the starting point to some amazing action – which was what happened in Jennifer’s case.”

Pro active measures 

THAT’S WHERE THE CHRISTINE ANN Center Domestic Abuse Services can help, Hummel said. The organization is able to provide workshop sessions for area employers, which includes education on the signs of domestic abuse, recommended security measures, policy compliance issues and suggested talking points for managers and co-workers.

For example, Hummel and Lang have led “lunch-and-learn” sessions for a variety of area employers, including U.S. Bank in Oshkosh. 

“It’s been a very positive learning experience, and I think most of us walked away with a better understanding of how to deal with a situation where we suspect someone is being affected,” said Beth Ballwanz, senior training manager for U.S. Bank.

U.S. Bank voluntary participants were alerted to signs of domestic abuse, including unexplained bruises and injuries, trouble concentrating and frequent fluctuations in work quality, absenteeism, anxiety and stress, and the reception of frequent and upsetting telephone calls at work. Hummel and Lang also encouraged managers and employees to talk with their employees, providing some suggestions for opening statements and questions. They also provided tips on ensuring the safety of known victims, including obtaining restraining orders that include the workplace, screening phone calls, relocating the victim’s work space to secure areas, reviewing parking arrangements and changing work schedules and duties so they are unpredictable to the perpetrator.

“We got a lot of new ideas, and just having tips on what to say is very valuable,” Ballwanz said. “A lot of times managers and coworkers aren’t sure what they should say, or if they should say anything.”

Creating a culture that encourages open dialogue and support of employees who are in conflict or crisis is critical to head off all types of workplace violence, said Karen Dorn and Cheryl Stinski, co-owners of the Menasha-based Alternative Resolutions Inc., which provides mediation services and conflict resolution training to area companies. It’s not just domestic violence that takes its toll in the workplace. There are other interpersonal conflicts that create security concerns for employees, ranging from conflicts between co-workers to disputes with customers or terminated employees, the women said.

The media is littered with stories about workplace violence, including the mid-September high profile murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le, who police say died in an incident of what they believe would be considered “workplace violence.” Although the number of workplace homicides has declined during the past 15 years, the number of assaults, threats, bullying and harassment appears to be growing.  For example, there were 16,840 nonfatal workplace assaults or other violent acts reported in private-sector businesses in the U.S. during 2007, an increase of more than 15 percent from 2005, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Recognizing and dealing with harassment and bullying in the workplace can go a long way toward preventing conflicts from escalating, Stinski said. It’s not just physical violence that makes employees feel unsafe. It can also be verbal assaults, harassment and bullying, she said.

Stinski and Dorn encourage employers to establish a clear process for addressing conflicts. Part of that process is working with employees to define expectations of appropriate and respectful behavior while at work and to hold workers accountable when they fail to meet expectations. Part of the accountability piece should include the provision of resources for employees, Dorn said. Those resources might include conflict resolution training and coaching, as well as formal mediation services.

Creating a culture that openly addresses workplace violence and harassment permeates all types of conflicts employees might be involved in, including those that involve domestic abuse, Dorn said.

“You don’t leave home at the door. People come into work with issues that affect their moods, attitudes and productivity,” Stinkski said. “When supervisors and managers show that they’re ready and able to deal with conflict, it sends the message to employees that it’s okay to come to them for help dealing with it.”

On the other hand, the head-in-the-sand approach to conflict does nothing to keep workplace conflicts from escalating, and additionally may discourage victims of domestic abuse from seeking out resources or trying to ensure safety at work.

“If a superior notices a change in attitude or behavior and suspects something is going on, they may try to engage in a conversation that might uncover the domestic violence and lead to opportunities to get her help and to take some safety precautions in the physical work environment,” Stinski. “But if the victim feels like it’s not okay to bring it up or fears getting fired, her safety might be at risk.”

At the very least, she may not be able to achieve her full potential as a productive employee, Hummel said.

“Jennifer is a perfect example of someone who is a great person and an excellent worker. When companies have someone like that, you don’t want to lose them,” he said. “You want to see these professional women flourish.”

Gina Mangan is a freelance writer based in Oshkosh and is raising three children. Readers can email her at gmangan-schmitz@new.rr.com.