STUDY FINDS WORKPLACE SUPPORTS HELP VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
STAY EMPLOYED, PRODUCTIVE
Victims of domestic violence may be more likely to stay employed
when the workplace offers some type of support, according to a study conducted
by a research team at the University of Kentucky.
“Working
Women Making it Work: Intimate Partner Violence, Employment, Disclosure and
Workplace Supports” is one of the first studies to look at the role of
workplace policies in helping victims of domestic violence maintain employment.
The study was presented in March at the International Work, Stress, and Health
2006 conference in
“Maintaining
employment is very important to the employed victim, and to the employer, since
turnover is very costly on both sides,” said Jennifer Swanberg, Ph.D., who led the study with her
colleagues TK Logan, Ph.D. and Caroline Macke, MSW.
“In our study, among women who told someone at work about the partner
victimization, the use of workplace support initiatives that include flexible
working hours, supervisor-approved workload modifications, and implementation
of safeguards such as the screening telephone calls, may have helped then to
remain employed.” This research is part of National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism funded study on women’s health and partner victimization that
has been awarded to Dr. Logan.
The
International Work, Stress and Health Conference was sponsored by the American Psychological
Association, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the
National Institute of Justice, the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
For more information on the study, contact Jennifer Swanberg, Ph.D.,