Grief in the workplace
Developing a bereavement policy
Keywords:
Bereavement policy, workplace, survey, employee, compassionate leaveAbstract
AbstractWhat do workplaces do when an employee is bereaved? What, if any, support and special provision do they make? The Irish Hospice Foundation surveyed 34 Irish organisations to explore their policies and procedures for supporting bereaved employees. While all the organisations had experienced employee-related bereavement in the previous 12 months, only four had any kind of formal, written policy. The majority made some kind of provision for compassionate leave, but this varied widely, and decisions about further leave and support were sometimes left to line managers’ discretion. This article outlines the key findings from the survey and suggests a template that could be adapted by workplaces to provide a clear and consistent bereavement policy that would benefit the organisation, line managers and the individual employee alike.
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