Episode 4 - The Hidden Costs of Domestic Violence at Work

What if the biggest drag on your team’s performance isn’t a skills gap but a safety gap? We pull back the curtain on the hidden costs of domestic violence at work—lost productivity, turnover, rising healthcare claims, liability exposure, and a brand hit that repels top talent—and turn it into a practical, human‑centered plan leaders can use right away.

Drawing from April’s lived experience as both a survivor and a business owner, we connect the dots between compassion and compliance. You’ll hear how abuse shows up at work through missed shifts, anxiety, and stalking, and why structure alone doesn’t equal safety. We break down five core cost drivers so you can prioritize action where it matters: absenteeism and presenteeism, turnover, healthcare costs, safety and liability, and reputation risk. Then we move from theory to practice with Carmen’s story—a strong manager pushed out by on‑site harassment—and show exactly how resources, a safety plan, and trained managers could have kept her on the team.

To help you act fast, we outline three concrete steps: offer private, on‑demand resources without requiring disclosure; implement a clear domestic violence workplace policy; and equip managers with trauma‑informed language and discretion. We also flag two pitfalls to avoid—leaning only on EAPs and assuming “it’s rare here”—and explain why a simple, well‑communicated policy reduces legal risk while raising morale. If you’re ready to protect people and profit, grab our free customizable policy template at encaseimurdered.com/safe work and start today.

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Transcript

Framing The Hidden Business Costs

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Episode four The Hidden Costs of Domestic Violence at Work Welcome to the Safe Work Advantage Podcast, where we help HR professionals, managers, and business leaders create safer, more supportive workplaces for employees facing domestic violence. I'm April Hardy, survivor, advocate, and founder of In Case I Murdered LLC, and this is the show where compassion meets compliance and safety meets strategy. What if I told you that domestic violence is costing your company millions? And you have no idea that it's happening. You may never know how many of your employees are silently enduring abuse, but you will feel it. An absenteeism, a turnover, burnout, and extreme exposure. A 2022 Health Advocate article reports that businesses pay approximately$729 million a year in lost productivity alone, with combined medical and mental health care costs exceeding$4 billion due to domestic violence-related things. This isn't just a personal issue, it's a business issue. And most companies aren't tracking it. I know these hidden costs intimately because when you're self-employed and being abused, you are the business that absorbs every single cost. When I was in an abusive relationship, I was running my own business. Every time my abuser sabotaged my work, I lost income directly. Every client call that I missed because of fear, counseling appointments, court prep, or my children's trauma, that was revenue I would never get back. Every hour that I spent in survival mode instead of focusing on my business, that was growth that I couldn't achieve. I was living proof of every statistic that I'm about to share with you. The lost productivity, the healthcare costs, the inability to focus, I've experienced it all. The difference was I didn't have an employer to absorb those costs. I absorbed them myself. It could have easily destroyed my business. I also worked briefly as a 911 dispatcher while I was being abused. And even in one of the most structured, security-conscious workplaces, I was still vulnerable. My abuser would fight with me before and during my shifts. He threatened to take our infant daughter when I was helpless to stop him. He knew my schedule and where I would be, and he knew that I couldn't leave my post without someone to take over. My workplace had no resources to help me stay safe. That's why I'm so passionate about helping companies to understand these hidden costs. Because I was one of them. I know exactly what domestic violence costs a business because I've lived it, both as a victim and as a business owner. So let's break down exactly what domestic violence is costing your business. There are five. One, absenteeism and inability to be present. Victims miss work for court dates, injuries, fear, and other medical appointments, counseling appointments, things like that. And when they're at work, they may be too distracted or afraid to focus. 2. Turnover. Domestic violence is a leading cause of job loss. Replacing an employee can cost you up to 200% of their salary. 3. Healthcare costs. Survivors often have higher rates of ER visits, stress-related illness, and chronic conditions, all of which can impact your health insurance premiums. 4. Safety and liability. If violence spills into your workplace and there's no safety plan in place, your organization may face lawsuits, workmen's comp claims, or worse. 5. Reputation risk. Employees talk. If your workplace isn't safe or responsive, talent will leave, and top candidates won't want to come. Domestic violence costs US businesses an estimated$8 billion annually, according to a 2017 article by Fortune magazine. In 2020, UN women reported that over 21% of full-time employees are domestic violence survivors, and many report being harassed at work by their abuser. Companies that proactively address domestic violence have lower turnover, higher morale, and reduced legal risk. Let's talk about Carmen, a manager at a national retail chain. She was a model employee until her partner began stalking her at work. He would text her fifty times a day, making it so that she couldn't focus on her work no matter how hard she tried. If she tried to just ignore her phone, he would park his car across the street, facing the store. On particularly bad days, he even came inside and yelled at her. As the months progressed, she began coming in late and missing shifts. After three months of it, she quit. Had they offered resources or a safety plan, Carmen might have stayed and thrived. What you can do. Addressing domestic violence doesn't have to be expensive, but ignoring it will be. Here are your first three steps. 1. Provide access to private resources. Don't wait for a disclosure. Make safety support available to all staff just in case. Safe Work Advantage supports your HR team with private, trauma-informed safety training employees can access at any time, without asking for permission. It bridges the gap between compassion and compliance, and it shows your staff that their safety truly matters without creating additional work for you. 2. Implement a domestic violence workplace policy. Make it clear that you take employee safety seriously and have procedures to support it. 3. Train your managers. Give them language and tools to respond with empathy and discretion. Two common mistakes to avoid. 1. Relying only on EAPs. Most survivors won't call an employee assistance hotline, especially if they fear retaliation or exposure. And most EAPs don't involve intimate partner homicide prevention as part of their support system. 2. Thinking it's too rare to worry about. With one in three women experiencing intimate partner violence, according to 2023 research from the National Library of Medicine, the odds are it's already in your workplace. You might be thinking, I don't have time to overhaul our HR policies, but I would argue that you don't have time not to address this. One wrongful termination lawsuit costs more than implementing a policy and takes far more time to defend. Also, you don't have to overhaul your HR policies. A simple, clearly communicated domestic violence policy is a strong starting point. You can get a customizable template for free at encaseimurdered.com forward slash safe work. It's simple, customizable, and designed to help you take your first confidence step. What is your biggest concern about addressing domestic violence at work? Email me at staff at aprilhardy.com or DM me on LinkedIn with your answer. I'd love to know. Thanks for listening to the Safe Work Advantage podcast. If you found this helpful, be sure to subscribe and share it with someone in your network. For your free domestic violence training template and other workplace resources, visit incaseamurder.com forward slash safe work. Until next time, stay safe and help others do the same.