OPTIONS FOR ACTION – BLUEPRINT FOR ACTION

Executive (CEO) Engagement MAKING THE BUSINESS CASE Legal mandates Liability Employee engagement Corporate responsibility Economic equation / business cost

Managing the Workplace Environment EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY FOR WORKPLACE SAFETY Meeting legal mandates and acknowledge their value Human quotient (employees) Productivity (business) Disclosure issues (for safety of co-workers) versus confidentiality Security policy and plan Should be clear and available to all employees Example: Posting in common areas (as critical as “Exit” signs)

Managing the Workplace Environment DEVELOPING & IMPLEMENTING A COMPREHENSIVE DV POLICY Defined accountabilities (HR, Legal, Security, EAP) Incorporating all aspects of Workplace Violence Integrating DV as part of Crisis Planning Addressing the entire employee population Includes part-time, transient and contract workers

Managing the Workplace Environment DEVELOPING & IMPLEMENTING A COMPREHENSIVE DV POLICY Policy Implementation/Training Clear identification of who is trained (senior HR executives, managers to what level) Engaging the EAP in management consultation and training (how to deal with potential victims) Policy review procedures (to keep up to date)

Managing the Workplace Environment POSITIONING THE EAP IN THE WORKPLACE Promote use for all quality of life issues (to de-mystify it, make it accessible for DV victims) Making EAP “present” and visible in the workplace (EAP personnel visiting, being “real people”) Building more expansive relationships with the EAP Who needs training? Value of providing it?

Managing the Workplace Environment COMMUNICATION Changing the way we speak about the issue; modeling the communication for the positive Changing from speaking to the person with the “problem” to presenting healthy options/framing it as health promotion Workplace wellness context Communications process How information gets to executives, managers, co-workers, employees How conversation is taken to all levels and maintained

Managing the Workplace Environment COMMUNICATION Promotional materials More than the new employee handbook Show value of EAP Put DV resources in context of all EAP offerings Increase frequency of promotion to employees

Community Involvement INVOLVING IN THE COMMUNITY Integrate community-based/non-profit DV agencies into the resource mix Part of the referral network Part of the promotion (options offered to employee – EAP or the local DV shelter or agency) Example: Poster could include both the employer’s EAP information plus Hotline number

Collaborations BUILD BROAD COLLABORATIONS WITHIN COMMUNITY Local DV agencies Law enforcement Criminal justice system GOAL: MORE INTEGRATION OF EMPLOYER, EAP AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Opportunities Shared assessment tool, used by all EAPs and community providers, to address all concerns the EAPs are seeing – holistic assessment Training on how to use it Collaboration with community providers/agencies

DATA FOR REFERENCE Maine Dept. of Labor – study on perpetrators Ref: If batterer is using work time to batter (texting, phone, computer, etc.), it is workplace theft of time and resources Reeves, C.A. & O’Leary-Kelly, A.M. (2007), The Effects and Costs of Intimate Partner Violence on Organizations. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(3),

DATA NEEDED Data sharing between EAPs and employers To track Local and/or industry-specific DV incidence statistics (by zip code/geography) Employer/EAP response should be appropriate to the population Collaboration with SHERM for national surveys

30 DAY ACTION PLAN Capitalize on new administration / moment of opportunity Call Joe Biden Enhance training for managers to include handling workers who are batterers as well as workers who are victims Understanding EAP role and interface

30 DAY ACTION PLAN Working Women’s Magazine – top 100 company survey – add a question regarding DV focus to survey Would help encourage other companies’ involvement 24 x 7 live answer for EAP hotline calls, not a recorded message