How to support bereaved colleagues

Organisations need to get better at supporting bereaved colleagues. Here’s a look at some of the resources available.

It was World Mental Health Day on Thursday 10 October, the day after I attended a The Good Grief Trust webinar detailing its excellent plans for National Grief Awareness Week (2-8 December).

It got me thinking about how organisations respond when a member of the team loses someone close.

It's an important consideration in my role as NED, but in fact grief is never too far from my thoughts. My 13 and 14 year olds lost their father to Sudden Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) almost two years ago, and this coming weekend marks two years since a friend of ours died by suicide.

Working with my husband, I was fortunate that I had autonomy over the time I could take and still have the flexibility needed when things get too much for either me or my children. The world may move on, but that's rarely the experience for those involved.

Sadly, one of my closest friends wasn't in such a fortunate position. She was expected to be exactly the same person she was, working to the same high standards and travelling internationally, before the trauma she suffered - and is still experiencing.

It'll come as no surprise, that she's no longer with that company. I'm glad to say that bit by bit she is bossing some new ambitions.

The long lasting impact of grief

Old fashioned office attitudes to bereavement have to change. If companies want to be truly people-first, they need to demonstrate that with their behaviours.

Marie Curie UK says that grief can have a significant impact on a person's ability to do their job. It can affect their sleep, appetite, confidence, and how well they can concentrate. This can be for a significant amount of time.

The grief journey is different for everyone and in fact never really ends. As anyone who has ever lost someone will know, eventually you just learn to live around the pain. But there are ways to ease the path for people.

Making sure that your organisation has a suitable grief policy in place is a great place to start and Marie Curie has resources that can help. Cruse Bereavement Support offers Grief First Aid Training.

The image is of a square box featuring a quote from David Kessler, www.grief.com. It reads "Just because someone carries their grief well doesn't mean it isn't heavy."

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