Support To Help Grieving Employees

Grieving the passing of a friend or loved one is hard enough at the best of times. But the social isolation, physical distancing measures and general lack of normality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic only stand to exacerbate an already painful and difficult situation.

If one of your employees should lose a loved one, it can be tough to know how to help — especially if they are away from the office, either furloughed or working from home. The lack of face-to-face interaction makes a manager’s job, at a time when their team member really needs them, even harder.

With this in mind, here are some tips to help employers and managers better support grieving employees:

1. Understand the stages of grief

Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross identified five distinct stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Understanding these different stages — especially that not everyone will experience them in the same order and for the same length of time — can be helpful for both manager and employee alike.

The bottom line is there is no right or wrong way to grieve. By understanding this, managers and employers will be able to provide better, more tailored support.

2. Don’t assume

When it comes to grieving, never assume anything. What is helpful for one person won’t necessarily be for another. This is particularly important in terms of work. Don’t assume that trying to keep someone busy and occupied will be beneficial.

While it’s true that some individuals do find that this helps, for others, extra work is definitely not a wanted distraction.

3. Signpost support

Your organisation will (hopefully) have policies and procedures in place to help grieving employees deal with their loss. Employee Assistance Programmes can play a vital role, providing individuals with 24/7/365 support in the form of professional counselling and other useful information at a time when they need it. Some Group Risk plans also offer bereavement and probate resources as part of their benefits.

The key is to ensure your managers are fully aware of all the resources available to grieving employees and are in an informed position to point individuals to the support that will be of most benefit.

4. Assess resources

Finally, while much of a manager’s focus will be on the grieving employee, be sure that they don’t neglect the other members of their team. With one employee taking time off, or potentially working reduced hours, there will inevitably be an impact on their colleagues in terms of workload.

This reality should always be recognised before the situation gets out of hand and the rest of the team begins to feel the strain. Resources should be assessed and tasks managed accordingly to avoid a wider impact.

Here To Help

Some popular employee benefits are set up to provide support in times of grief. For instance, Group Life plans can include bereavement and probate resources, and Employee Assistance Programmes can provide invaluable support to help employees and family members navigate through challenging life events.

In addition to a loved one passing, loss can be felt through the break-up of a relationship, or children leaving home and a household becoming ‘empty nested’. Other milestone events such as reaching a landmark age, approaching retirement, or moving home can also all cause distress and lead to distracted employees.

If you would like to know more about the solution on hand, please do get in touch.