3 Ways To Support a Grieving Employee
In the West, our relationship with death differs significantly from other parts of the world. While in the US it is heavily regulated and turns into a process containing large amounts of negativity & grief, in places of the world such as Thailand, India, or Mexico it is viewed as more of a continuation and honoring of an individual’s legacy. Here, we often forget that ultimately death and to die is human and as mentioned most famously said by a nostalgic icon who many of us have grown up with: Mister Rogers from A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood -
“Death is something many of us are uncomfortable speaking about, but to die is human. And anything human is mentionable and anything mentionable is manageable."
When it comes to humanizing death & managing it in the workplace in the event an employee loses a loved one, it can be hard to find a balance between understanding and respecting your employee’s needs and also respecting professional boundaries. In the midst of a pandemic, death is something that many are grappling with now. Combined with the overall stressors of the pandemic & lack of access to a physical shared space with employees, employers are finding it harder to help support employees through grief.
Helping grieving employees being one of the hardest & most delicate tasks you’ll have to undertake as a business leader and it is important to make sure you stay aware of some key factors that can help you can ease the transition your employee has to face when going into their “new normal”. By following the 3 tips below, you can not only help your employee know that you are there for them but also ensure that your company values are being upheld.
1. Communicate With The Bereaved
In order to pre-emptively have measures in place when helping employees deal with the loss of loved ones, some questions that you can consider that may help are:
How can you support your team members through a tough time and successfully transition them back to a normal work routine?
How do you balance the emotional needs of your people with the need for your business to continue operating as usual?
How can you better prepare for this (inevitable) situation?
Upon hearing of the news that an employee has lost a loved one, it is important to work on showing emotional intelligence towards the employee. Be sure to contact them directly in order to express your condolences & letting them know that you are there to support them in any way they might need. While an in-person visit may not be an option currently, take some time to get in touch with them personally; either via a separate e-meeting room or via a phone call & assure them that you care about them as a person and their needs are important to you as well.
2. Consider Granting Bereavement Leave
If the employee is unable to get back to work directly, consider letting them have the necessary time off in order for them to focus and process the immediate crisis they are facing. Be sure to also figure out how to delegate their additional workload to employees and alert HR to contact other employees discreetly so that there is full transparency within the company. This not only helps your employee see that you are there for them but also helps demonstrate to your other workers that you uphold your company values. If you are pre-emptively planning for employee grievances & loss, consider adding bereavement leave options in employee contracts.
3. Be Patient Upon The Employee’s Return
Depending on the severity of the employee’s loss, the time it takes them to return fully to their working capacity can vary. Show them and reiterate that you still care about them as a person and support them with actions such as:
Lightening their eventual load and allowing them to get back into their flow gradually
Helping them avoid situations and scenarios that may trigger emotions and memories of grief
Depending on the culture of your company or whether yours is a spiritually based organization, you may also consider bringing in support in accordance with the bereaved employee’s expression of faith.
Be sure to keep full transparency and an open-door policy so that employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns with you and that you are available to listen. much of the success of your business relies on the talented people on your team. If you take care of them and meet their emotional needs, everything else will follow.
Key Takeaways
In Estate Planning, dealing with death and mortality is a regular occurrence. Be it in planning out your life & legacy for you and your loved ones or dealing with the possibility of losing your older family members, when planning out your future legacy and the security of your assets, dealing with mortality becomes a common conversation topic. By focusing on taking the stigma out of our own mortality & making death into a conversation that is mentionable, therefore manageable, we are better able to take control over all the decisions we lose out on with death and loss of loved ones.
With estate & legacy planning, we aim to help you take control over your own mortality and the mortality of your loved ones and set up systems in place so that in the event of a death, you avoid the unnecessary additional hassles of securing assets and the confusions that may arise in order to secure one’s best interests. By having a clear plan in place and one that shifts as you & your loved ones make your way through the seasons of life, you can ensure that everyone is aware of what one’s best wishes are and that they are being honored in the best respect.
So if you feel that you are ready to take the next step in being comfortable with your mortality and the mortality of your loved ones and put your mind at ease about the future, take the first step and book a free consultation with us. By allowing us to lead you through the conversations on death and how to make it manageable, you let us help you achieve peace of mind and security on knowing that your best wishes are always represented.