Death of a Colleague
Managing Grief In the Workplace
Death in the Workplace Can Be Like a Death in the Family
Let’s face it. We all spend practically as much time with our “workplace” family as we do with our own family. We come to deeply know our colleagues; we know their strengths, their weaknesses, their quirks, and their life stories.
They can become our extended family.
When a co-worker dies, the work environment can feel challenging for workers. Even when death comes after a long-term illness, it can impact co-workers almost as though it was a surprise. Returning to the workplace after a death can be hard for people who worked closely with the deceased.
The death of a person in a “workplace family” impacts both the individuals and the company.
Individuals who have been impacted by the death of a colleague may experience these physical and psychological symptoms:
Irritability or impatient with co-workers
Feeling distracted or lacking focus and concentration
Inability to meet deadlines or participate fully in meetings
Feeling forgetful or foggy
Lacking in motivation
Symptoms of low-grade depression or anxiety
Fatigue or sleep disruption
Body aches or headaches from tension
When a colleague dies, it helps to have help
As a grief counselor, I have supported many companies, of all sizes, as they navigate grief and loss in the face of a colleague’s death. Since the death of a colleague can be younger employees’ first encounter with grief, it can sometimes impact them in an outsized way. This is especially true if the death was sudden or happened at the workplace or in the presence of colleagues.
When grief impacts a workplace, the most effective strategy is to support the grievers. This can include educating them about loss, validating their grief, providing coping skills that will help them adjust to a workplace without their colleague, and giving them a space to process their grief within the workplace community.
There are two common options that companies seek when responding to workplace death
Group Grief Counseling sessions on-site at the workplace, or virtually. These sessions allow grievers to process their grief in the workplace community with professional guidance. Employees find these sessions very cathartic because they provide the opportunity to share memories and express their feelings in a safe environment. These sessions also provide an opportunity to begin to find closure and move forward in the new workplace normal.
Individual Grief Counseling. For employees who were especially close to the deceased or experienced the death more directly, individual sessions can be very helpful in discussing their feelings, worries, or other more personal emotions in a 1:1 setting.
Schedule a call to discuss how I can support your team during this difficult time.