Season 2 Episode 23: Minisode on Worker Safety & Well-Being: When Workers Are Survivors Themselves
About This Episode
In this fourth installment of the multi-part minisode series on worker safety and well-being, Ruth and David explore when workers are being targeted by their own perpetrator and the implications for the workplace. David and Ruth discuss:
David’s history with worker personal disclosures about their own victimization
How workers going through Safe & Together Model training are seeing their own experience reflected in the material
How agencies are using the Safe & Together Model to identify employees whose performance is suffering due to abuse and provide them with greater support
Perpetrator behaviors that target the workplace and, as a result, may cause survivors to have performance issues including missed days, lateness, being distracted or unable to focus at work, irritability with coworkers, and feelings of being overwhelmed.
Ruth and David wrap up by outlining some strategies for agencies, including:
Explicitly recognizing in employee safety policies the link between coercive control, employee performance, and the ways perpetrators target workers as a powerful form of control.
Clearly articulating how the agency will support and respond to an employee experiencing domestic violence, including how performance concerns will be handled sensitively and in context.
Clearly safeguarding survivor confidentiality among peers, particularly in agencies where fear of reporting, job loss, or shame is heightened, by establishing specialized processes for handling information.
Clearly defining the consequences for abusive behavior when the perpetrator is a fellow employee.
Ensuring agency policies are responsive to survivor needs, including options such as reassignment or schedule rotation to address safety risks like stalking that may affect performance or well-being.
Proactively communicating workplace policies on a regular basis so survivors have the information they need to protect themselves from threats to their safety or employment.
Training supervisors, managers, and HR staff to apply these policies consistently, including routinely considering domestic violence victimization as a possible factor in performance concerns.
Instituting flexible workplace policies that enable employees to attend court proceedings related to domestic violence, including protection order hearings, criminal cases, and family law matters.