Intimate partner abuse perpetrated by employees

This exploratory study examined partner abuse perpetration in the context of employment. Qualitative and quantitative data from 29 men convicted of partner abuse were gathered through focus groups and a brief survey. Men attributed absences, reduced productivity, and errors to their perpetration of abuse and described harassing their victims using employers' phones, vehicles, e-mails and by enlisting coworkers. Findings also suggest that zero-tolerance policies may be ineffective and that employers may benefit from partner abuse training. For example, participants reported that their employers offered them alcohol-abuse services instead of batterer intervention, despite the fact that substance abuse was not a factor in all of the cases. These findings need to be tested through a larger scale, empirical investigation.