FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In the first large-scale study specifically examining the effect of domestic violence on the workplace, University of Arkansas researchers found that individuals who have been abused miss work for health-related reasons more frequently and are tardy more often than employees who are not victims of domestic violence. Moreover, the research showed that employees abused by an intimate partner are exhausted more frequently and have more difficulty concentrating at work than employees who are not abused by an intimate partner. These results were true for both men and women.

“Although our results indicate that domestic-violence victims experience difficulties at work, they also indicate that organizations have an opportunity to develop very loyal employees when they assist their employees who are dealing with domestic violence,” said Carol Reeves, associate professor of management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business and lead researcher on the study. “Several employees who had been victims of domestic violence praised their organizations, their co-workers and their supervisors for support offered to them when they were being abused.”

Reeves and professor Anne O’Leary-Kelly, chair of the management department, received two grants totaling $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to study the effects of domestic violence on the workplace. Within a broad survey about job satisfaction and personal well-being, the researchers asked many specific questions about whether employees were being abused by an intimate partner and the types of abuse they suffered, including threats of physical harm, stalking, physical force, and sexual and psychological abuse.

Reeves and O’Leary-Kelly discovered that almost 30 percent of women and 13.6 percent of men who participated in the study said they had been abused at some point in their lives. Slightly more than 10 percent of the women and 8 percent of the men said that they had been a victim in the past 12 months.

These percentages are high compared to national domestic-violence victimization rates. In 1995 and 1996, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice sponsored the National Violence Against Women Survey, which reported that only 1.3 percent of women nationwide had been victims of intimate-partner violence in the past 12 months. A little more than 22 percent of the women surveyed reported having been abused at some point in life.

Arkansas frequently ranks in the top 10 states in the rate of domestic violence. Despite this knowledge, Reeves and O’Leary-Kelly were startled by the rate of victimization among employed workers in Arkansas. O’Leary-Kelly said that there are several possible explanations for the higher rate of victimization found in their study, including differences in survey methodology. As they expand their study to other organizations across the country, the researchers will try to better understand if past studies of domestic violence underreported victimization rates or if rates in Arkansas are much higher than the national average.

 “It is clear that a lot of people are struggling with this issue, and it affects their work,” O’Leary-Kelly said. “Many employers are reluctant to address domestic violence because they believe it is a 'family’ matter. But it is clear that domestic violence affects their bottom line.  Fortunately, there are actions employers can take to protect their workforce and assist their employees who are struggling with this issue.”

After seeing their preliminary research results, Reeves and O’Leary-Kelly thought someone needed to bring expertise on this issue to Arkansas. On Nov. 11, the Workplace Effects of Family Violence Conference will be held in Fayetteville. Sponsored by the researchers, the Walton College and the National Institute of Justice, the event will include presentations on the corporate costs of family violence, the effect of perpetrators on the workplace and the benefits of corporate commitment to end intimate-partner violence.

“Strong policies about domestic violence are one of the most important actions employers can take to assist their employees and protect themselves,” Reeves said. “That’s why representatives from organizations like Verizon and Macy’s, who have developed effective policies around domestic violence, will speak at the conference. In addition, the head of corporate security from L.L. Bean will discuss security measures employers can take to protect all of their employees.”

Local speakers will include Melissa Smith, human resource manager at McKee Foods in Gentry, Ark. Smith will speak on the policies her company implemented after one of McKee’s employees was murdered by her husband on company grounds several years ago. Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe and Jane Randel, vice-president of corporate communications for Liz Claiborne, will be the keynote speakers of conference. For more information about the conference, contact Teresa Clark at (479) 575-2856, or go to http://cmed.uark.edu.