Seeing With New Eyes

I just returned from speaking at a "Family Focus Day" at one of our member companies -- the company provided a program open to all employees focused on domestic violence and how it affects the family -- and the workplace.

I was speaking with a gentleman afterwards who told me he was amazed and intrigued that his company would spend a half a day on the topic of domestic violence in a forum that was open to everyone -- so he came.

He told me he is now "seeing with new eyes" -- he said he learned so much he'd never known and never considered before - - what the signs are, who it affects, how it impacts work, and how you can help a co-worker, friend, or family members in getting the help they need to be safe and secure.

He said he didn't think he'd ever known anyone involved in family violence before he came to the event -- but now he's not so sure.

He said what he realized is that maybe he didn't have the eyes to see and recognize it before, and that perhaps now he does.

That is what we ultimately hope for -- that by people "seeing with new eyes" in workplaces and communities, they will be able to recognize the signs, learn how to respond, and how to refer the people they care about to services that can help them.

Here's to "seeing with new eyes" -- and kudos to that gentleman and all his co-workers who took time yesterday to learn about the impact of domestic violence on the workplace.