Have you ever worked alongside someone in a branch, call centre, or back-office team who was once steady and engaged, but lately seems a little “off”? Maybe they’re arriving late more often, making small errors they never used to make, or pulling back from the usual team chat. In the high-pressure, people-facing world of banking (and in so many other workplaces across South Africa) these quiet shifts can be early warning signs that gender-based violence is casting a shadow, even if it’s happening outside the office doors.

The encouraging truth is that noticing these signs early gives us the power to intervene safely, support one another, and stop the ripple effects before they grow. Let’s talk about what the latest research shows and why this matters for careers, teams, and the organisations we care about.

What the Numbers Reveal About Spillover

Recent national data reminds us how widespread the issue is. According to the Human Sciences Research Council’s first South African National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study (2024), 33.1% of women aged 18 and older have experienced physical violence in their lifetime, that’s an estimated 7.31 million women. When including sexual violence, the figure rises to 35.5% (around 7.85 million women).

Intimate partner violence affects roughly one in four ever-partnered women. And while much of this happens in personal lives, it doesn’t stay there. Studies consistently show it spills into the workplace through absenteeism, presenteeism (being physically present but not fully productive), reduced performance, and even job loss or stalled careers.

A 2024 survey in Gauteng found that 62% of women workers reported experiencing some form of workplace violence, with Black women most affected. Research also shows that women who experience violence are about 10% less likely to participate fully in the labour force, and many face real barriers to career progression. In service-oriented environments like banking (where focus, client trust, accuracy, and teamwork are everything) these effects can show up quickly and ripple outward.

The Subtle Signs Worth Noticing

Early warning signs are often quiet and easy to miss or explain away as “just stress.” Research and workplace observations across South Africa highlight common patterns that deserve gentle attention:

• Changes in attendance or energy: More frequent lateness, unexplained absences, or sudden exhaustion that affects shift reliability or client interactions.
• Shifts in performance or focus: Small but noticeable drops in accuracy (think transaction errors or missed details on calls), hesitation in client conversations, or difficulty concentrating during high-stakes moments.
• Emotional or behavioural changes: Visible anxiety, withdrawal from team interactions, over-apologising, or fearfulness, especially around personal phone calls, messages, or certain topics.
• Isolation or external pressures spilling over: Pulling back from colleagues, seeming monitored or controlled (e.g., frequent check-ins from a partner during work hours), or appearing overly compliant or fearful of authority.
• Physical or unexplained cues: Bruises or injuries with vague explanations, or sudden changes in appearance or self-care that coincide with other shifts.

These aren’t diagnostic checklists; they’re invitations to notice with care. In banking teams, where people often work closely or cover for one another, these patterns can affect everyone if left unaddressed.

How It Echoes Through Careers

For the individual, GBV can quietly erode confidence, mental health, and professional momentum. Anxiety, depression, and trauma responses make it harder to perform at full capacity, speak up in meetings, or pursue growth opportunities. Women, who make up a large part of the banking workforce but are still underrepresented in senior and top management roles, often feel these barriers most acutely.

Many survivors report losing jobs, missing promotions, or stepping back from development because the mental load at home leaves little room for anything else. The result? Lost potential, financial instability, and careers that don’t reflect someone’s true capability.

The Team Ripple Effect

No one works in isolation. When one colleague is carrying a heavy burden, the effects spread:

• Team members often step in to cover shifts, correct errors, or manage extra workload; leading to their own stress and fatigue.
• Morale and trust can dip when issues go unspoken, creating a quieter, more cautious culture.
• In client-facing or interdependent roles (branch counters, hybrid teams, call centres), small lapses can affect service quality and collective results.
• Unaddressed patterns can foster a sense of “walking on eggshells” or a culture where people hesitate to raise concerns.

Studies show that colleagues of those experiencing domestic violence or GBV often report their own work being affected through worry, tension, or having to pick up the slack.

Why This Matters for Banking and Workplaces Everywhere

In any team-based, service-driven environment (whether banking, retail, education, healthcare, government, or corporate offices) these ripples translate into real costs: higher absenteeism and turnover, lost productivity, recruitment expenses, and risks around compliance, reputation, and client trust. The broader economic burden of GBV in South Africa has been estimated at between R28.4 billion and R42.4 billion annually.

More importantly, it affects the human fabric of our organisations, the very people who deliver results every day.

The Hopeful Part: Early Recognition Leads to Early Support

Here’s the good news: spotting warning signs early gives teams the chance to respond with compassion and skill before harm deepens. This is where practical, culturally grounded training makes a real difference.

Impilo’s programmes (including the one-day “Resilient Families, Safer Workplaces & Communities” workshop and the comprehensive GBV Banking eLearning series) equip people at every level with clear, usable tools. Teams learn to recognise early signs safely, intervene using the evidence-informed 5 Ds Upstander Framework (Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, Direct), respond supportively with “Listen & Believe” approaches, and build everyday protective norms that strengthen the whole group.

These aren’t abstract awareness sessions. They’re practical skills tailored for South African realities, honouring our diversity and ubuntu values, and designed for real banking (and other workplace) pressures. Content development draws on deep expertise to ensure cultural relevance and immediate applicability.

Every investment in this kind of training not only protects careers and teams but directly funds Impilo’s vital work supporting vulnerable children (especially ages 0–3) and strengthening families in all communities.

Let’s Build the Habit of Noticing, Together

The silent drain we explored last week becomes far less powerful when we learn to spot the early ripples and act with care. In banking and across every industry, small, consistent acts of noticing and supporting create safer, stronger workplaces, and better outcomes for everyone, including the children and families connected to our colleagues.

If this resonates with what you’re seeing in your teams, I encourage you to read the full piece and then explore how Impilo can support your organisation. The one-day workshop is a powerful, low-barrier entry point for teams, while the eLearning series offers deeper, sustained capability building.

Reach out to Impilo today. Because when we get better at spotting the warning signs early, we protect people, strengthen careers and teams, and help build the safer South Africa we all want, one supportive action at a time.

This article forms part of Impilo’s GBV awareness series, with content expertise supporting Impilo’s mission of child protection and family strengthening across South African workplaces.

What early signs have you noticed (or wondered about) in teams around you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, let’s keep the conversation going.