Navigating grief at work: how to handle the death of a colleague

Suffering from bereavement is a difficult time in anyone’s life, especially if the person you have lost is a close work colleague or friend. Dealing with grief can impact someone physically, emotionally, and psychologically, leaving long-lasting scars that might affect their ability to do their job.

Research suggests that at any given time, one in ten employee’s are likely to be affected by a bereavement (McGuiness 2009). This means if you have a large team of staff, it’s likely that you’ll have to provide support to at least one employee who is bereaved.

Though dealing with bereavement in the workplace can be difficult to manage, it’s important that you do manage it and that you provide your employees with the level of support they need to get through this difficult time. This doesn’t just mean providing time off work, but also includes analysing responsibilities to ensure employees can meet them all, whilst providing emotional support.

Handling the death of a colleague

If a colleague has passed away it’s going to impact upon the entire workforce, particularly those closest to the deceased. For this reason, it is important the manager handles the situation sensitively.

Here are some things to consider:

Communicating the news of the loss is important; make sure this is done quickly, personally, and sensitively.

• Make sure your employees know that there is support for anyone who needs it.
• Managers should contact the employee’s family, offering their condolences and giving them the information of someone the family can speak to if they need to discuss things like pensions or outstanding pay.
• Managers should inform employees about any funeral arrangements that have been made and help to ensure as many employees can attend as possible (if this is at the request of the family).
• If the company decides to do something to commemorate the individual, the family of the deceased should be included; this is also true for anniversaries of the death.

You might find that your workforce becomes disengaged after the loss of a colleague. This can be difficult as you will want to be sympathetic, yet equally you need your employees to work effectively so that the business is not impacted more than it needs to be. Reading tips on how to re-engage employees is a good idea, as is something like a support group.

Your employees won’t expect you to have all the answers, to be able to take away their grief or to make them feel instantly better, all they expect is some support and sensitivity.

Ways to remember and honour an employee who has died

It might be appropriate to think of ways in which you can remember the person who died.

For example, you might consider some of these ideas from Marie Curie:

• A book of condolence for staff to share their memories.
• Commissioning a memorial.
• Holding an event to honour and remember the employee.
• Organising a fundraising event in support of a charity that had meaning for them.

Finalising an employee’s affairs

As mentioned above, HR or a senior manager (this could be yourself) will usually contact the family or next of kin of the employee who has passed away to answer any questions they may have in a sensitive and empathetic manner.

They should provide information about practical things like:

• Pay
• Their pension
• Other benefits, such as life insurance
• Returning any personal belongings

They should then take the necessary steps around the data relating to the person who has died. This might include removing information (email address, details on databases, circulation lists) and informing key stakeholders about the death, such as contacts from external organisations like suppliers.

In summary

In summary, handling the death of a colleague in the workplace is a challenging and sensitive task that requires thoughtful and compassionate management. It’s essential to communicate the news promptly and empathetically, provide emotional and practical support to grieving employees, and offer condolences to the family of the deceased.

Managers should assist with funeral arrangements and commemorate the deceased appropriately, ensuring they include the family. Additionally, re-engaging the workforce and addressing their emotional needs is crucial to maintaining a productive work environment. By handling the bereavement process with care and support, employers can help their team navigate this difficult time while honouring the memory of their colleague.