Why is workplace support important?
For all of us, there will be times when death intrudes on our lives and expectations. No-one should have to deal with these distressing times alone, and workplaces can play an important role providing:
- flexibility to allow an individual to adjust to their new circumstances
- information on financial, legal and other practical issues
- understanding and social support
Providing a supportive workplace can also have benefits for the organisation. Research suggests compassion in the workplace:
- reduces anxiety
- helps people feel valued
- helps people resume a sense of normality
- increases bonds between co-workers
- generates higher levels of shared positive emotion
- builds a collective capacity for healing
Further resources
For more background on why workplace support is important, see:
- Section 5, pp23-29, A Road Less Lonely by SPPC and GLGDGG
- Grief in the Workplace by Sue Ryder.
- Grief at Work - Developing a bereavement policy by the Irish Hospice Foundation
- European Working Conditions Survey (2015).
- Grief in the Workplace from Bereavement by This Can Happen (2024)
