The name of this blog comes from our mission at INFLUENCE: “To empower people with clarity and confidence.”
Our objective is to provide brief but meaningful topics (under 500 words) that inspire, educate and empower leaders through resources both inside and outside of INFLUENCE. This week’s edition is provided by David Salmons.
Having dealt with the recent loss of a family member, we’re reminded that grief can have a profound impact on our lives. It also reminds us that as organizational leaders, understanding a bit about the process of grieving, particularly as it’s experienced in the workplace, is helpful to leaders and those they lead.
What follows then is a quick introduction to the topic, with the following comments being excerpted from the writings of Clinical Consultant Johanna Turner in her Grief at Work brochure. The brochure was produced for American Hospice and is located at: https://americanhospice1.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/gawbrochure.pdf.
We encourage you to download the entire brochure for reference.
Establishing the topic’s scope, Johanna writes: “Grief is the normal and natural response to loss, a universal human experience. More than 8 million people will be directly affected by a death this year… [and] most of them will be in the workplace during the grieving period…”
“The most obvious effects of grief are on our feelings. Almost all emotions can be part of a grief reaction, and they may be experienced with dizzying speed and intensity. Fear, depression, anger, relief, despair, peace, guilt, numbness, agitation, and a seemingly bottomless sorrow may all be part of our grief. There is no order or scale by which to measure these emotions.”
“When a co-worker or a person you supervise is grieving, when an employee is seriously ill, and certainly when an employee dies, the needs of the workplace and the needs of affected workers may conflict. The suggestions offered here will help, but seek additional support if you need it. Consider more in-depth training for supervisors and managers so that all will be prepared for managing workplace grief.”
At a minimum:
- Know your company’s pertinent policies and programs so you can offer appropriate support.
- If the employee has not returned to work after the loss, stay in touch. Co-workers may be doing so, but supervisors should make sure they stay in touch, as well.
- Remember that this grief is necessary and not something to ‘snap out of.’ Create an environment where grief work can progress.
- If your company has an employee assistance program (EAP), familiarize yourself with the help it can offer. Make sure your HR office can provide a list of community resources, as well.
- Set an example. Your caring support and professionalism lets everyone know that your company stands by its employees and encourages others to do so.
- Read all of [the Grief at Work] booklet. Make it available to others.
In summary, keep in mind that grieving individuals will need to decide how private they need to be, so it can be a good idea to give them private space to gather thoughts, a temporary schedule adjustment, or even a shift in workload to allow processing. Also, even for people who generally feel supported through socializing, grief can be draining and disorienting, so it may be best for only one person in the office to coordinate the good intentions of co-workers, such as through gifts of flowers or food.