Never Saw It Coming |
Three human resource landmines that could cripple your business if you don’t invest the time, energy and dollars to defuse them
by Shannon Sutherland
There is nothing more volatile or potentially explosive than angry, frustrated or disenfranchised people. In the office or at the job site, they can be the detonators of three human resource landmines that, as a manager or business owner, you should strive to avoid. A wrong step, after all, could trigger costly legal action that might leave you without a leg to stand on. Domestic violence, unpaid overtime and infringements on religious freedoms are in the news, in the courts and quite possibly going unaddressed in your workplace. As an employer, are your current human resource policies defensible?
Hidden Landmine #1: Domestic Violence in the Workplace
The door swings open and the office goes suddenly silent. The tapping of keys, the low chatter of co-workers and whisper-scratches of pen on paper all stop. Then the first notes of a song, strong and clear, ring through the room. It’s Ain’t Too Proud to Beg by The Temptations, a loud and utterly desperate rendition sung by the young man now striding slowly but purposefully through the office.
I know you wanna leave me, But I refuse to let you go….
He’s carrying flowers. The pretty, dark-haired woman he is walking towards, the ex he wants back, begins to weep but doesn’t move. With the exception of the very few who gape and giggle, all other employees virtually disappear. They turn away, duck into offices, slide down into their seats. Nobody does anything until the man and the object of his attention collapse into each other’s arms. Only then do people slowly and warily begin to move about again.
Upon hearing this anecdote, related third-hand via one of that unfortunate woman’s co-workers, Kate Woodman seems familiar with the scenario. Even if it ended without incident, “it’s awful,” says the researcher with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. “But not unexpected. This is what happens when people don’t know how to respond to a potentially violent situation. They simply don’t respond at all. Domestic violence is largely about intimidation, and unfortunately it even intimidates those who are bystanders.”
With the help of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, which is providing $250,000 over five years, Woodman is developing a tool kit to train managers and staff about their responsibilities to address workplace violence. It may be overdue. The Occupational Health Office for Ontario Workers recently identified domestic violence as the fastest growing type of workplace violence in Canada. In the United States, domestic homicide is the leading cause of workplace death for women.
Overall, according to a 2007 study by Prairie-based RESOLVE (Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse), almost 70% of victims of family violence say their partners interfered with their work. Half say they were harassed by them at work, with nearly as many claiming their partners refused to even let them work. The fact is that developing a workplace violence policy in Alberta, just as it is in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec, is a legal necessity. The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code (Article 27) requires employers to develop policies and procedures around potential workplace violence which must then be made available, in writing, to workers. Under the code, employers must develop appropriate responses to workplace violence, as well as procedures for reporting, investigating and documenting incidents, and train workers to recognize when those incidents are occurring. Failure could result in legal action under the Criminal Code of Canada and provincial legislation such as the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism, or Occupational Health and Safety acts.
Beyond legal concerns, domestic violence spillover in the workplace can have a significant emotional and psychological impact. “Being involved in a highly publicized murder case has not only been very trying on my family life, but in my work life as well,” says a former colleague of medical clerk Liana White. White, pregnant with her second child, was killed in a domestic dispute at her Edmonton home in 2005. Her husband was later convicted of second-degree murder. “Everyone at work knew what I was going through – and continue to go through to this day – and they all felt it. They could see it on my face.”
Liz Claiborne Inc. developed its first domestic violence policy in 1991. The company’s Employee Assistance Program offers counselling, support and referrals for victims. It’s also a resource for associates wanting to learn more about domestic violence or wanting to find out how to help a friend, family or co-worker. Human resources and corporate security personnel at the company have the ability to assist victims as well by, for example, assigning special parking spots, escorting people to and from cars, screening telephone calls and removing an employee’s name from automated telephone directories. They also allow time off for victimized employees to seek safety and protection, attend court appearances and arrange for new housing.
Dennis Butler, vice-president of workplace solutions for Liz Claiborne, was part of the team that developed the company’s policies on domestic violence in the workplace, and since 2002, he has managed its responses to more than 120 reported cases. “People know it’s wrong, but they don’t think it’s their business and they don’t know what to do about it,” says Butler. “For example, with the case where the man came in singing and acting in a threatening manner, in our workplace that would trigger a risk assessment.”
The provincial government does provide businesses a sample risk assessment questionnaire with which to address potential violence. One of the questions is, “What was the relationship of the abuser to you?” But among the listed options, “other” is the closest one to “partner” or “spouse.” “I would call that a missed opportunity,” says Butler. He says domestic violence needs to be formally acknowledged. While companies are morally or sometimes legally bound to protect their workers from violence, they need to do so to protect their bottom line as well. “We’re not asking business people to act as counsellors, but we can address issues of performance, productivity and workplace safety,” he says.
A family friend of White says there is no way that something as traumatic as a violent death can happen and not affect all aspects of one’s life. “I was physically at work, but mentally I was everywhere but there,” she says. In other words, domestic violence is bad for business, and business owners who fail to pay attention to potential risks may live to regret it. Their employees, sadly, may not.
Pages: 1 2
