Say What You See

At a Cornell workshop entitled "Domestic Violence as a Workplace and Campus Issue," ILR Director of Workplace Issues KC Wagner offered strategies for supporting colleagues.

They include:

• Say what you see ("You seem to be distracted.")

• Show concern ("Is anything bothering you that I should know about?")

• Show support ("You know my door is always open.")

• Refer colleagues to resources ("The university has the FSAP (Faculty and Staff Assistance Program) and hotlines that you can access any time.")

Remain nonjudgmental; do not become another source of anxiety for a co-worker who might be a domestic violence victim, Wagner said.

"But, if there is a work-related consequence to a domestic violence situation, supervisors have a right to address the issue in the workplace," she said.

"It's advisable to do so with the goal of working with university resources to have a discussion to help that employee stay productive and safe," said Wagner, who facilitated the October workshop.

Held in the ILR Conference Center, it was sponsored by the Campus Life Labor Management Diversity Committee.

Jim Morris, consultant from the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, also spoke at the workshop.

"We are seeing an increase in employees looking for help in coping with the stresses associated with the current economic times, but domestic violence issues are ongoing, in good times as well as bad," he said.

"Most of the time, the victim of domestic violence thinks that no one else at work knows that something is up," Morris said.

But, he said, "often there are subtle signs -- increased uneasiness as the workday draws to a close, unexpected absences, arriving late, appearing distracted -- as well as the more obvious ones such as harassing phone calls and bruises, and these do have an effect on the workplace."