More workplace support is needed for staff facing grief

 

Conversations around death and dying don't have to be uncomfortable if employers are able to foster an open culture, says Paul Fraser, People Management, October 4, 2022.

Speaking Grief in the Workplace Should Not Be an Option

 

"Helping Break the Silence of Grief in the Workplace by Creating Grief-Informed and Grief-Sensitive Workplace Cultures"

 

INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL GRIEF COACHING

 

Does your workplace reflect and support a compassionate and grief-informed workplace culture?  Be proactive and bring the power of grief sensitivity to your office and show that your organization fosters a culture of care, compassion, and concern.

 

 

The unpredictable occasion of death will affect every workplace at some point, and no organization, regardless of size, is exempt from its impact. Employees spend the majority of their awake time with coworkers developing personal and professional relationships, and when a death occurs the sympathetic care and concern take on a personal nature with an emotional and financial impact to the business.

 

Whether a CEO or blue collar worker, when grieving the loss of a loved one, you are simply a human being with a broken heart, and that broken heart can overtake the heart of your entire organization. Whether three days or three weeks away from work due to a loss, the grief is ever present and can’t be turned off like a light switch when an employee returns and is expected to perform as a fully functioning worker.  Whether managing a traditional, hybrid, or remote work setting, one thing is constant… the effects of grief will directly or indirectly cross the threshold and penetrate employee morale and productivity.

 

  • Do you know how to respectfully honor an employee’s grief and communicate support in a compassionate and grief friendly manner?

  • Do employees and teams feel supported when grieving a loss?

  • Do you know what is best and worst to say to a grieving employee?

  • Are you aware of the unspoken impact of grief in the workplace?

  • Do you know the grief-related costs to your company’s bottom line?

 

 

The Workplace Grief 101 Webinar is an introduction to fostering an environment where individuals feel safe, comfortable, and supported when dealing with a loss.

 

  • Understand grief, the grieving process, and the emotions resulting from the loss of a loved one.

  • Raise awareness around the myths, stigmas, and judgmental perceptions surrounding grief.

  • Learn best and worst things to say to someone who is grieving.

  • Compassionately respond to and support grieving employees.

  • Offer sympathetic care and concern for all supervisors, peers, and subordinates who are closely associated with the bereaved employee.

  • Understand the cultural diversity in grief-related rituals.

  • Reduce or prevent the effects of grief-related productivity and loss revenue.

  • Demonstrate a proactive commitment and appreciation to the well-being and goodwill of your workforce and organization.

SCHEDULE A CHAT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION

“Survey results show that few employers are doing enough to support their grieving workers and their managers and that communication about bereavement resources and training needs to be improved in the workplace.” The State of Grief Report: The Changing Nature of Grief, New York Life Foundation, December 2022

“A 2021 survey by EY consulting found that 90% of U.S. workers say that empathetic leadership improves job satisfaction, while 79% say it decreases turnover.” Employee Benefit News. July 28, 2022

“It’s insane when you really think about it that we give months off for maternity and paternity leave but not for the death of a family member.” Jack Canfield, Co-Author of the Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul Series

“The COVID-19 pandemic is easing up, but the grief crisis doesn’t end as we adjust to the ‘new normal.’ Grief resulting from the pandemic is devastating and complex on many levels,” said Dora Carpenter, Founder of the Institute of Professional Grief Coaching. “The spectrum of loss is huge and the long-lasting ripple effects can’t be avoided or left at the threshold when entering the office door. Grief resulting from any loss, if not addressed, not only affects the physical, emotional, social and functional well-being of employees, but also co-workers, teams and the overall organization.” Press Release, June 24, 2021

"For every COVID-19 death, about nine Americans will lose a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse, or child." Tracking the reach of COVID-19 kin loss with a bereavement multiplier applied to the United States, Ashton M. Verdery, July 28, 2020

“Grief after the death of a loved one inevitably follows people to work, where employers and co-workers often are unprepared to handle the immediate sorrow or the surges of pain that ambush mourners at milestones like birthdays and holidays. Some of the shortcomings can be linked to insufficient bereavement leave policies, but often what fails is the human response to a suffering colleague.” As baby boomers age, ‘we are in for a death boom.’ Grief expert urges support for mourning workers. Alexia-Elejalde-Ruiz, Chicago Tribute, January 3, 2019

“For the past century, Americans’ response to grief has been to minimize its impact and suppress the emotional pain. We treat grieving as an individual affair, with mourners responsible for “getting over” their losses, mostly in private… Everyone eventually loses someone dear, some of us sooner rather than later. Mourners’ unexpressed distress can manifest in them physically and in their interactions with others – in how they work, raise children and create policy. Validating and supporting the bereaved at the time of loss is not just the compassionate thing to do – it’s a necessary investment in the collective good.” Pandemic grief could become its own health crisis. Lochlan Donald, The Washington Post. February 26, 2021

“Even in the wake of Covid-19, I find the conversation around grief and loss in the workplace lacking. Few companies have truly publicly acknowledged the devastating loss of this past year and its impact on employees.” How The Pandemic Has Exposed The Gap in Bereavement Support. Katie Lynch Forbes Councils Member, May 24, 2021

Who Benefits from Addressing Grief in the Workplace?

 

Executives - Managers and Supervisors - Human Resources Professionals - Professional Practitioners - Federal and Local Governments - Community Organizations - Small Business Owners - Death Care Professionals - Unions - Trade Associations - Healthcare Organizations - Educational Institutions - Churches - Hospice Organizations - First Responders Organizations – Nonprofit Organizations - Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation Facilities – Legal and Eldercare Practices - Insurance Agencies – Entrepreneurs - Coaches - Health and Wellness Programs - Correctional Institutions – Law Enforcement Organizations - Military and Civilian Personnel . . . and more

 

A Message from Our Founder . . .

 

During my years of working in the cemetery, I experienced the loss of coworkers, family members of coworkers, pets of coworkers, and personal family members and friends.  Even as death care professionals, we were never prepared, instructed, offered grief support, or educated on what to do, how to respond, or how to help each other cope with these workplace-related losses.  We were allowed a brief time to cry it out amongst ourselves, but were instructed to quicky return to our offices to handle the business of serving the grieving families that walked through the front door.  How do you work as a death care professional but have no knowledge of how to handle a death that affects your very own workplace?  If not addressed, the painful emotions of loss such as disbelief, sadness, anger, vulnerability, isolation, denial, guilt, and regret can lead to unresolved grief, which ultimately has a negative impact on individuals, families, workplaces, schools, communities, and our grief-avoidance society as a whole.  We must do more to address this unavoidable sensitive event and normalize the conversation surrounding loss, death, and grief.

Dora Carpenter, Founder, Institute of Professional Grief Coaching

Grief is the journey. Gratitude is the destination.®

What are you waiting for?

 

It's not a matter of if loss, death and grief will visit your workplace . . . IT'S A MATTER OF WHEN!

 

SCHEDULE A CHAT AND TAKE A PROACTIVE APPROACH

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL GRIEF COACHING