There are few events in life that are more stressful than the death of an immediate family member, be it a spouse, parent, sibling or child. In fact psychologists and psychiatrists describe the loss of a loved one as being the single most difficult life event most individuals will ever have to face. The immense psychological impact of such a loss is well documented as are the mental components the bereaved individual experiences.

It’s important to note that a grieving period is normal and necessary and that the length of the grieving period will vary from person to person. Bereavement leave in Canada provides employees with up to three days of paid leave to deal with the death of a family member and while this standard recognizes that a bereaved employee requires time to settle an estate, attend a funeral or simply have ‘downtime’ in order to deal with their loss, employees often offer other forms of leave (family/emergency) for employees so that they may adequately grieve their loss and settle the affairs of the deceased. A Federal Labour Standards Review Commission recommended in June 2009 that the current bereavement leave period be extended from three to seven days of paid leave.

While it may be clear to psychologists and experts that a bereavement period is necessary, it is not always clear to employers what their role in this process should be nor how they can help a bereaved employee get through this phase. A bereaved employee will be better able to overcome their loss if their employer remains flexible and implements a simple and compassionate strategy.

• Keep in touch- If they have not returned to work, personally stay in touch with the employee and acknowledge their loss.
• Give them your support and patience- Let them know that you understand the first days, weeks and months back will be difficult.
• Have printed grief resource material available- For those that may require additional help provide necessary information where they can go for assistance.
• Be flexible with work and time. Offer flex days as to when they come in or if they need additional time off or permission to leave it they are struggling. Consider temporary role reassignment if they normally work front and center with the public- if need be can they be given a less public role.
• Redistribute work load if necessary and let fellow colleagues know of the plan. Be aware of overloaded fellow colleagues.
• Rituals are important- post a memo as to the time of memorial or funerals. Make arrangement to cover the office so other colleagues can also attend.

Employers who perform these simple steps and remain sensitive to a bereaved employee will be better able to understand when the employee is able to cope with the regular demands of their work. Another area employers need to be prepared for but often overlook is the death of one of their own employees: the obvious need to replace a deceased worker often overshadows the impact on the employee’s family and to the organization’s morale itself. Employers should retain the same sensitive mindset when dealing with this issue. Devlin offers some tips employers should carry out in this instance as well:

• Condolence note- Write a personal letter to the family member and let them know what you really appreciated about the employee and how much you valued the employee. Share special memories.
• Put together a special memory book where all staff contributes a memory of the employee and it is compiled and sent to family members. This is beneficial to both the family and to the deceased’s co-workers in dealing with grief.
• Offer specific help to the family- Paper work can be very overwhelming after a death. Have appropriate staff help with insurance, workers compensation forms, benefits packages, last paycheque and information on bereavement leave.
• Where needed and if possible arrange to have meals delivered; offer to help with children and daily tasks.

As in any area where employers want play a positive role in dealing with their employees, employers need to be prepared for these difficult and stressful events with a set of tools that better enables all individuals and stakeholders affected by the loss. To overcome the challenges and adjust to the changes in a healthy manner, employers demonstrating a human sensitivity to this subject will maintain a more productive enterprise and respected reputation.