According to the Grief Recovery Institute, 1 in 5 people say that loss has impacted their ability to work. Grieving is a completely normal and common emotion, yet it is still one that is rarely spoken about openly. We may be able to relate slightly but we can never understand what that person is going through or how their loss may be impacting them truly.
Grieving is also just more than losing a loved one. There are many types of grief including disenfranchised and anticipatory grief. It can also show up in unexpected ways when we may least expect it. The main thing to know about grief is that it doesn’t have a time limit. That’s what can make it such a complex emotion, especially when it comes to grief in the workplace.
Different Types of Grief
There are many types of grief and we often hear that there’s five stages of grief. This isn’t strictly true, depending on the type of grief. There are many types of grief that can be misunderstood.
CIPD found that only around half of UK organisations have any formal bereavement or grief policy, and just 38% of managers feel confident supporting someone experiencing loss.
Organisational Grief
With no official legislation for bereavement leave and absence due to grief, it’s entirely up to your business. This means that grief can become taboo and something that businesses shy away from, just like any other inclusive practices that should be a given.
Organisational grief starts with businesses attending training and having the right policies in place. This enables line managers to not only have the necessary training but to have the correct language and actions to use. Just like other inclusive practices that show compassion and understanding, employees who are grieving should feel that the workplace and managers provide a safe space. Grief doesn’t take a day off. It sits beside us in meetings, inboxes, blank stares at spreadsheets.
Our ‘Coping with Grief’ workshop is a psychologically safe space where teams and leaders learn the following:
🌿 The different types of grief (including disenfranchised and anticipatory grief)
💬 How to have compassionate, trauma-informed conversations
🛠️ How to build grief-aware policies, boundaries, and check-ins
🤝 How to support colleagues without overstepping or minimising their experiences.
When 56% of your team are grieving, it’s time to be equipped to help employees when it comes to grief.
The festive period in particular can be a challenging time for those who are grieving. Providing your team and employees with the necessary training could be that one thing that makes them feel seen and supported. Let’s chat and ensure that we don’t stop grieving.