Sept. 1, 2008

HR Executive

Violently Ill

Each year, victims of domestic violence lose nearly 8 million days of work, the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and almost 5.6 million days of productivity, according to a 2003 study by the CDC.

Denise Curran, a psychotherapist at the Chicago-based employee-assistance-program provider ComPsych, trains employers to pick out the warning signs in potential victims: receiving repeated outside phone calls, sudden outbursts of tears, acting anxious, preoccupied, unfocused or depressed. And, of course, visible bruises.

To address the issue, she says, companies should create a policy that allows victims to take time off and connect them with an EAP that can provide counseling and other resources. Curran says companies also can gain the trust needed to get an abuse victim to seek help by offering a training program on the topic and showing that anyone who steps forward will be treated with support, not scrutiny. Often, once employees take part in the training program, they may go to their EAP counselor on their own to disclose they are being abused, she says.