IKEA and pme against domestic violence
What to do if a colleague is affected by domestic violence? Beate Mini works as Head of Health and Wellbeing at IKEA Germany. In this interview, she explains what support IKEA offers together with the pme Familienservice for affected employees of the Swedish furniture store.
Around 35 percent of all women are affected by physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lives. When employees are victims of domestic violence, their workplace is often a place of refuge for them. "Companies have a duty of care," says Beate Mini.
Why did IKEA Germany decide to offer support services for those affected at IKEA?
Beate Mini: This was triggered by a conversation with my colleague Kai Hartmann. At the height of the first coronavirus wave, he told me that IKEA would be supporting women's shelters in Germany because the coronavirus pandemic was making the situation for women exposed to domestic violence even more precarious. He cited estimates that 3 to 5 percent of women in Germany experience physical domestic violence, and around twice as many experience psychological violence, contact restrictions, etc.
We had to assume that IKEA employees would also be affected. This gave rise to the idea of putting together a first aid package for those affected, if possible with the help of Family Services.
Why is it important for companies to take responsibility?
Domestic violence is a very serious issue because it directly threatens or even injures people - physically and psychologically. It affects all areas of life, both private and professional.
People in such situations need protection and specific advice as quickly as possible. Through our contact with the Frauenhauskoordinierung association, the umbrella organization for women's shelters and advice centres, we learned that there were already difficulties in finding places in women's shelters. Many were at full capacity at the time. Affected IKEA colleagues also have a job at IKEA, which entails a certain local connection. IKEA wanted to offer help here as quickly as possible; for example, by financing accommodation costs for a transitional period.
At the same time, we were able to build on existing support services via the pme Familienservice , which many of our IKEA employees have known and trusted for years. Companies have a duty of care and can often provide faster and more targeted support through existing structures than public counseling centers.
Why did you also decide to work with the pme Familienservice on the issue of domestic violence?
We have been working together for many years and have been able to offer our employees competent support.
The pme has a very large network of experts and has been working with other social and charitable institutions for many years. We have designed the process together and also discussed with psychologists and social workers which path and process might be suitable here. Such close cooperation creates trust and security, which is what we want for the employees concerned.
What structures and assistance have you initiated together with the pme Familienservice to offer affected employees support during the coronavirus pandemic?
In addition to immediate support for employees affected by domestic violence, IKEA Germany has set up a Corona Relief Fund. This was a special relief fund for employees who had to shoulder extraordinary expenses for health, education and social services due to coronavirus and who found themselves in financial difficulties through no fault of their own. Employees were able to apply anonymously. The pme supported us in reviewing all submitted applications and submitting them anonymously to IKEA for a decision. The five-member IKEA decision-making committee consisted of representatives of the company management and works council members, and decided on a case-by-case basis whether financial support could be provided.
We also looked for other ways to "help people help themselves" so that the employees affected could also be helped in the long term. We received a total of 300 requests and disbursed almost 600,000 euros in aid. We continued to operate this aid fund in the second year of coronavirus.
And apart from the financial support?
In times of coronavirus, almost everyone's sense of stress increased. Regardless of whether this stress is caused by one major incident (grief, distance, fear of illness, etc.) or many small ones (aggression on the road, home office meetings and homeschooling not working, everyone in a confined space, arguments and noise) - constant stress over a longer period of time has a negative impact on the immune system.
For this reason, we have widely communicated the specific help that the pme can provide in cases of stress. This includes, for example, specific tips on how to reduce stress or deal with it better, lots of training, yoga, meditation options and other tools to reduce stress. Not forgetting the fact that the pme Familienservice is available to discuss any concerns as part of life coaching. This also included online childcare for parents working from home.
Will the support services remain in place after the pandemic?
We have been working with pme Familienservice for 25 years. All services are still available. We are also continuing the support for victims of domestic violence initiated by Corona.
We see that the opportunities for life coaching are being used more frequently than in times before Corona. The same applies to the many good events offered by the pme Academy. Only the IKEA Corona Relief Fund had a limited duration of two years.
What channels does IKEA use to inform employees about the services offered by pme Familienservice ?
We inform our employees about pme offers and current events at the pme Academy on a monthly basis via notices, information in the staff restaurant and in discussions on the stairs.
We also have an information point in every IKEA store with contact details for Familienservice and flyers with information on support services. In many stores, representatives of the pme present themselves once a year at staff or works meetings and introduce the offer in person. We also regularly communicate the offer on internal communication channels and on our intranet.
New employees are already informed during their induction about how and on which topics they can contact the pme Familienservice .
Many victims are ashamed to talk about what happened to them. How can victims who come forward in your company be sure that their conversation will be treated confidentially?
Confidentiality is always an issue when people turn to a contact point with personal concerns. Especially when this service is provided by the employer. That is why it is important to IKEA that contact can be made outside the company and via private means of communication. People seeking advice don't even have to give their name if they don't want to.
The specialist advisors at pme Familienservice treat those seeking advice very carefully and professionally. A short question is asked to establish legitimacy, which may only be answered at the end of the conversation. It has been agreed with the pme that anonymity and confidentiality will be guaranteed at the beginning of the contact. Information will only be passed on to the employer with the consent of the person concerned. For example, when it comes to the reorganization of work-related issues. The colleagues involved here are also obliged to maintain confidentiality. The pme's services in this regard are billed centrally - here too, no conclusions can be drawn about specific individuals.
What channels does IKEA use to find out what private issues your employees have and where they need support?
Our employee survey and risk assessment of psychological risks at work provide us with a lot of feedback on topics that have an impact on the health of our employees. However, nothing is as effective as a personal discussion - either with the manager or the local contact person from the works council or the representative body for severely disabled employees.
Thank you very much for the interview!
Domestic violence: How managers can help affected employees
