Work is a place dedicated to stated goals and objectives, commerce, and duties, but workplaces are also human places and are not immune from death, grief, and mourning. Every year in the United States, millions of people at work are grieving. Grief at work comes in many ways from the deaths of colleagues, the deaths of loved ones, and the deaths of colleagues’ loved ones. Some companies have robust programs in place to help grieving employees, but others do not. Key facts about grief at work for you to think about and share.
GRIEF TAKES A TOLL
Grief takes its toll in the workplace not only in the human costs of sadness and emotional pain, but also financially. Grief’s economic toll on the economy is estimated to be as high as $125 billion annually. These corporate costs came from not only the costs of bereavement leave, but also from hidden costs related to errors in judgement which can lead to mistakes, injuries, and accidents.
GRIEF IS INDIVIDUAL
Most of us have heard of Elisabeth Kubler=Ross’s Five Stages of Grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance); however, what most people do not realize is that these stages were developed based on the stages that people who are terminally ill go through and not what people grieving for others go-through. The truth is that everyone grieves individually and grief can include sadness, anger, and a host of other emotions. Bottom line, there is no right way to grieve and it’s harmful to judge people’s grief or tell them to move on to the next stage.
CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
We all grieve individually, but mourning and grief practices also differ by culture. For instance in the Dine (or Navajo) tradition, talking about the deceased can keep the deceased’s spirit from moving on and physically impact their loved ones. African Americans believe that death does not sever the bonds between the living and the dead and their Homegoing celebrations are both a time to grieve the loved one and celebrate their life. Jews believe that a person’s soul returns to God immediately after death so the body should be buried within 24 hours. All cultures have different beliefs and knowing and understanding them all is impossible, but the important thing is to be culturally curious and understand that not everyone shares the same death rituals.
ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT
Every work place in the United States will be impacted by grief and it is important for organizations to support grieving employees with generous bereavement policies, death education for managers and employees, and flexibility. Death education for managers should focus on flexibility and on how to support employees within existing corporate policies.
SUPPORTING COLLEGUES
The bottom line about supporting colleagues is to be kind and follow the grieving person’s lead. Some people want to talk about their loved one and others don’t. It’s also important to think carefully about what you say as some people are not comforted by being told their loved one is “in a better place” or “with the angels.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY
I’ll be sharing additional articles on grief at work and will include resources to help you assess your bereavement policies and how you can help employees through the grieving process. In the meantime, share this article with your management team and ask them for insights as to what they think you could be doing better to support grieving employees.
This is the first in a series of articles about grief at work. In future articles, I’ll write about bereavement leave, support groups, and how to help managers and coworkers support grieving colleagues. Please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to learn about.
#grief
#griefatwork
#bekind