A third of workers in Carlow and Kilkenny have experienced domestic abuse.
That’s the main finding of ‘The Impact of Domestic Abuse on the Workplace’ survey.
The poll carried out by Amber Women’s Refuge is the first of its kind to attempt to quantify the impact of domestic violence and abuse on employees and their employers in the two counties.
200 men and women across Kilkenny and Carlow responded.
A third said they’ve experienced Domestic Abuse in their personal life – two thirds of those saying it negatively impacted their work performance in some form with almost 4% impaired by a physical injury.
70% did not disclose the abuse to their employer/manager. However 65% of those who made a disclosure said their employer/manager was ‘helpful and empathetic’ to their situation.
38% experienced significant stress while at work, while almost a quarter had to deal with frequent phone calls, messages or emails from their abuser while at work – a fifth even experienced physical threats from that person during their workday.
Amber is calling on employers and people managers to first acknowledge and then address the impacts of domestic abuse being experienced by some of their employees while at work.
They say 1 in 4 Irish women and 1 in 7 Irish men will experience abuse from an intimate partner in their lifetime.
They are very often someone who works with us or for us.
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