The Impact of Grief and Loss on the Workplace

Grieving Employees' Financial, Emotional and Social Impact on Work

Aug 22, 2009 Kirsti A. Dyer

Grief does not stay quietly at home. Grief follows people to work. Grieving employees or employers can have a financial, emotional, social and physical impact on work.

Grief is the normal response to a loss. When grieving a person may experience physical, emotional, behavioral and social reactions to a loss, change or end in familiar patterns.

Most people are unable to entirely separate their personal and professional lives, so when grief strikes in their personal life, these grief responses may spill over into the workplace in several different ways.

The grieving person may be an employee, a manager or the CEO of the company. The person grieving a loss can have a direct financial, emotional, social and even physical impact on the workplace.

Financial Impact of Grief in the Workplace

In 2003 The Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation, Inc. released a one of the few research-based studies to date that looked at the impact of grief and the hidden costs of grief in the workplace. Many of the losses experienced by people are personal losses.

The grief incidents included in their study were:

• Death of a love one—immediate family
• Divorce
• Family crisis
• Financial loss
• Death of others—extended family, friend or colleague
• Major changes in lifestyle
• Pet loss
• Other losses or changes—pregnancy, in-laws, sexual problems, infertility, legal

Authors John W. James and Russell Friedman conservatively estimated that the grief caused by the death of loved ones, divorce and other life events cumulatively costs businesses in the United States more than $75 billion—and that was in 2003. Current realistic estimates for today would put the financial losses to business due to grief and loss as much higher.

Emotional Impact of Grief in the Workplace

A person experiencing a loss can experience many emotional responses to the loss. These emotional responses are often classified as behavioral or psychological and they include feelings of helplessness, sadness, anxiety, disbelief, apathy, irritability, denial, numbness and poor concentration.

Understandably having employees in the workplace who are having difficulty concentrating are numb, apathetic or irritable can have a negative impact overall on the workplace. A grieving persons who is having difficulty concentrating is more likely to make errors, have a reduced productivity and ability to function normally in the workplace resulting in losses to the business.

Social Impact of Grief in the Workplace

There are many different ways that a person grieving a loss can have a impact on the social aspects in the workplace for employees and employers. Cordial interactions between employees and employers and employees and the public are very important in most companies. Grieving employees and employers who may be irritable or helpless may have more difficulty maintaining social niceties with co-workers and customers resulting in losses to the company.

Of the management level people interviewed for the Grief Index study, 85% indicated that their decision-making ranked from Very Poor to Fair in the weeks or months following the grief. Of these, 60% indicated that some of their decisions had a direct negative financial impact on their company. In addition 80% of those in supervisory level positions indicated that their interactions with those under their supervision after the loss was Very Poor to Fair compared to their interactions prior to the loss. These results indicate how difficult having a grieving supervisor is on those being supervised.

Physical Impact of Grief in the Workplace

The physical impact on the workplace can be the most serious, especially for those workers who are operating machinery or driving vehicles.

Grieving people often report problems with focusing or poor concentration. In addition many grieving people turn to alcohol and other substances as ways of coping with their grief. Poor concentration or operating under the influence can have serious consequences for those who drive vehicles or operate heavy machinery. Inability to operate vehicles or machinery can result in damage to products and injuries to the grieving person, to co-workers and possibly even to clients.

According to the results of the Grief Index report, 90% of those in physical lobs indicated a much higher incidence of physical injuries due to reduced concentration in the weeks or months following the grief incident. Of these, 50% reported that the reduced concentration may have directly led to accidents or injuries, which cause additional time lost from work.

Helping Those Grieving in the Workplace

People need to recognize that grief does not stay home when someone is experiencing a loss or a major life challenge. Understanding more about the normal grief response is one way to help those grieving in the workplace and minimize the impact of grief in the workplace. Knowing what resources are available in the workplace for grieving employees is another useful way to help.

What appears to help most of all is for the person to be in a work environment that is supportive of someone grieving a loss rather than forces the person to hide his or her grief. Having support from the workplace goes a long way in helping the person work through the grief process and be able to return to work fully functioning.

Resources:

James J.W. and Friedman R. 2003. Grief Index: The "Hidden" Annual Costs of Grief in America's Workplace. The Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation, Inc.

The copyright of the article The Impact of Grief and Loss on the Workplace in Workplace Culture is owned by Kirsti A. Dyer. Permission to republish The Impact of Grief and Loss on the Workplace in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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