Minority Career News
July - September 1998
Good G r i e f!
By F. Renee'
Management is facing an emerging emotional frontier in the workplace. This frontier
comes in the form of grief, and the grieving process after the loss of loved ones or
coworkers. This is an area that managers can begin to address by taking a look at the
demographics of their employees. If there are a number of baby boomers under your
management, prepare to implement grief management. This is a growing trend in some
workplaces because baby boomers are “calling attention to grief much as they have other
once-private issues . . .” according to a recent article by Kay Harvey of Knight Ridder
Newspapers. Extended time off from work is not an option in many cases, nor does it
assure the return of a workplace-focused employee. Thus, it is the goal of good grief
management to minimize time off, and to maximize the grief recovery process. Below
are some suggestions and resources for implementing grief management in the
workplace.
Suggestions:
- Provide an atmosphere for letting emotions out. Listen and respond with sensitivity.
- Provide support resources (access to professional counseling or informal
bereavement support groups)
- Encourage participation in life-affirming activities (planting something,
making/creating something).
- Establish an in-house grief library.
- Provide support without infringing upon the dignity and privacy of the individual.
Resources:
- American Hospice Foundation
- Professional Associations for psychologists and psycho-therapists
- Books (see suggested list below)
Suggested List
- The Journey Through Grief, by Alan Wolfelf
- No Time for Goodbyes: Coping With Sorrow, Anger and Injustice
After a Tragic Death, by Janice Harris Lord
- When Parents Die: A Guide for Adults, by Edward Myers
- The Worst Loss: How Families Heal From the Death of a Child,
by Barbara Rosof
- Grief at Work, a booklet provided by the American Hospice
Foundation
Recognition of grief as a workplace issue also requires sensitivity to cultural and ethnic
traditions surrounding the grieving process. Consequently, this emotional frontier offers
some formidable challenges, but the rewards can be just as noteworthy when managers
acknowledge the realities of grief, and take proactive measures to manage the process of
grieving effectively.
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