Most people spend a lot of time at their place of work, and special relationships are forged with the people they work alongside. It’s inevitable that when one of our colleagues dies the impact can be tremendous in a variety of ways. Individuals may find the loss difficult to handle, productivity and performance can be compromised, it may create disruption, and office/work dynamics may change.
When an employee grieves
Grieving is a natural and universal response to loss and each staff member will experience and respond to the loss of a colleague in their own unique way. However, there are some common feelings and symptoms they may share, these include: sadness, anger, guilt, mood swings and depression, difficulty concentrating or making decisions and a general lack of interest in job related details, all of which may impact on their performance and ability to function. Those closest to the deceased may be significantly affected, but all staff will need time to adjust.
What can be done to support employees?
Strength and sensitivity are essential when trying to help staff deal with the loss, and also keep the business/department running smoothly. Employees who are grieving the loss of a colleague are more likely to cope better with the situation and remain productive employees if they feel they are being supported by their management and employers. Listed below is information about how employers can help their employees following the death of one of their colleagues.
- When it is possible, share information about the employee’s death and the nature of the death in a timely and sensitive manner. When information is sparse, be honest and tell staff what you do know, telling them something is always preferable to telling them nothing, this will be more comforting for staff and show your concern as manager. You may wish to extend this information to staff who may be away from the office if you feel they may be directly affected by the loss of their colleague.
- Pass on information about funeral and memorial services and the wishes of the family. Try and allow time off for those who wish to attend the service, or perhaps send a representative.
- Send condolences to the family.
- Encourage co-workers to share their feelings and stories about the individual.
- Take time to honour the deceased colleague’s memory. This could be done in a number of ways. You may want to consider sharing tributes in the company newsletter. Organising or taking part in a fund raiser, donating to a charity of the family’s choice. Arrange a night out or a work only memorial lunch. However you decide to honour the person’s memory the arrangements are best left to the people who knew and were closest to them. Allowing colleagues key roles in planning and carrying out the chosen event is likely to make them more effective and comforting for all involved. When arrangements are made on a management level they can sometimes become misconstrued and seen only as being done “for show”.
You may wish to consider speaking to your HR department, so you are clear about the correct protocol particularly when dealing with practical issues.
Life goes on
Although touched by an employee’s death as a manager you will need to continue dealing with the day to day needs of the business and this will at some point include finding a replacement for the member of staff who has died.
The recruitment of a new staff member should be carefully timed and planned and you may wish to consider waiting for a while rather than looking for someone immediately. Consider introducing the new member of staff to the rest of the team they will come directly in contact with and make them aware of the circumstances of the position they are filling. Creating an understanding with both new and existing colleagues will help to prevent the new employee becoming the target of feelings of resentment and hurt. Be aware of how you and others react to the new employee; feelings of disappointment or anger in relation to their performance or attitude may be less to do with the individual and more to do with your own grief about the person they are replacing. It may be helpful to reorganise roles and responsibilities or move furniture; by creating new teams and a new office layout, you can help spare the feelings of new and old staff by not having someone sitting at the deceased‘s desk doing their work.
It can be particularly difficult for the manager, who is dealing with both the practical issues and supporting their staff whilst grieving for the loss of their colleague also, do not neglect your own needs during this difficult period.
Ref: WPW0066 this information was reviewed July 2024.
