The Prevalence and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence Intrusion in the Workplace

ABSTRACT

This study examines the prevalence and consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the workplace. Surveys were completed by 1,390 employees in 32 different companies representing different organization types. Over half of the women and almost a quarter of the males reported that they had been an IPV victim at some point in their lives with 16% reporting victimization in the previous 12 months. Younger workers and workers who witnessed IPV frequently as a child were more likely to be current IPV victims. Further, 41% of lifetime victims reported significant workplace consequences, such as missed days of work, tardiness, and perpetrator intrusion. Younger workers, a history of IPV physical injury, more frequent IPV events over longer periods of time, and a history of stalking were associated with a greater number of IPV work consequences. The cumulative effects of IPV as well as active victimization contribute to negative workplace consequences. With significant numbers of employees experiencing IPV and reporting workplace consequences, the present research underscores the need for employers to develop a more precise means of understanding cost and response.

KEYWORDS:

• Intimate partner violence
• productivity
• workplace policy
• workplace violence

Disclosure of interest

This manuscript was supported by Research Grant Number 5 R01 0H007947 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC. The authors maintain they have nothing to disclose.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Washington State University Institution Review Board and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.