A corporate culture that takes death and grief into account can lead to a supportive and empathetic working environment that strengthens employee loyalty. They feel seen and valued when the company cares about their well-being and offers support in difficult life situations.

Integrating and communicating grief into company guidelines

The sudden death of an employee is a devastating event for the team. Companies that are not prepared for this situation and do not have an action plan in place often leave their employees helpless. It is important to establish structures, contact persons and appropriate offers of help and to integrate these into the corporate culture. Communicating these guidelines and offers is also crucial so that employees know that they can receive support.

Offer training for HR departments and managers

HR staff and managers should definitely be trained to deal sensitively with bereaved people and offer resources for support. In one of my cases, a manager herself experienced how the death of a loved one affected her work. This experience motivated her to raise awareness of the issue of grief in her company. Through targeted workshops, we were able to train contact persons to deal with bereaved people more sensitively and confidently. If they reach their limits in very stressful cases, I can provide support as an expert with my offer of end-of-life and bereavement support coaching.

Provide grief support programs and employee resources

By providing appropriate programs and resources, employees and their families can find support in times of grief. However, it is not enough to simply provide such programs. It is essential to publicize information about these services and the contact details of an internal point of contact. This can take the form of flyers displayed in the canteen, articles on the intranet or in internal company magazines, as well as presentations.

Agreeing flexible working arrangements

Dealing with grief is very individual. It is important to recognize the needs of the grieving person and find flexible solutions. For example, this may relate to changing working hours and the possibility of working from home. When grieving, it is completely normal for mourners to suddenly be overwhelmed by their feelings and cry. When working from home, they would be in a protected environment and could switch off the camera and microphone for a while or leave the meeting in such situations. This gives them the opportunity to face their grief with more privacy.

It also depends on the needs of the grieving person as to when the right time is to return to the normal working environment. One of my clients, who lost her son at 24 weeks of pregnancy, wanted to return to work two weeks after the death of her child. She appreciated the structure that work gave her. There are other bereaved people who need more time before they can return to work. The opportunity to work by the hour or from home, where they have more privacy, is much appreciated.

Promoting open communication and staying in dialog

It is important to create a space of trust and openness in which employees have the courage to talk openly about their feelings. This helps to break the stigma around grief and facilitate dialog. My client mentioned above unfortunately experienced that none of her team colleagues sent a condolence card, came to the funeral or reacted in any way to the death of her son. Even when she returned to work, there was silence. This burdened her all the more as the sympathy of her husband's colleagues was great.

Many people are insecure and afraid of saying the wrong thing in a situation like this. For this reason, they say nothing at all. The simple sentence "I'm so sorry, I don't have the words" is so comforting for the grieving and completely sufficient. We don't have to and can't do anything to alleviate the pain. What we can do is be there for the other person and provide a space in which grief is allowed to be present.

More well-being in the workforce

Bereavement programs in the company and a compassionate and supportive corporate culture promote the well-being of employees, strengthen their loyalty to the company, increase work performance and have a positive effect on team dynamics.

Susanne Schlenker

© Leadership Choices

The author:
Susanne Schlenker, an experienced leadership coach and resilience trainer with 26 years of corporate experience at SAP, also works as a death and bereavement counselor. In her role as an expert in resilience and Associate Partner at Leadership Choices, she supports managers and employees in coping with crises, stress and loss. Her aim is to establish empathetic structures for dealing with grief issues in companies.
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